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Irish
Channel
Location
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New Orleans |
After the potato famine of eighteen hundred and forty-five in Ireland,
many Irish people rushed to the New World to escape the famine and hopefully
find a new life. Ten years later nearly twenty-four thousand Irish had
settle New Olreans, yet they had many problems. Americans at that time
loathed the Irish, a view which must have been carried down from the years
when the U.S.N.A. was still part of Britain. Poor and broke, the settlers
could not afford to travel north. In addition, most menial jobs were occupied
by slaves, so they were left with harsh jobs that employers would not risk
a valuable slave too. Another problem, was housing, most of the dry land
was already occupied, and if it was vacant, it was more than a poor Irish
family could afford. Because of this most of the Irish residents of New
Orleans settled in a low income housing area of the city between the Garden
Distric and the river, this area became known as the Irish Channel.
In the modern era people of pure European origin are rare in this section
of the city. It is mostly made up of Blacks, a few latinos and a great
number of runaway slaves. There are so many runaways here, they walk the
streets during the day in the face of the local police. During a riot,
however, the slaves will disappear when the police arrive, leaving the
other half of the populace to take the whippings. Although slaves are not
sold in this section of the city, many stores and shops cater to their
needs here, with or without a master present, making it a very anthro friendly
section of town. The only other area of the city anywhere like it is the
warehouse district. |
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