enced cultural change when they arrived and settled in the New World. He feels that since so much revolution, transformation, and growth took place in the Irish peasant culture in the 1700’s, the Irish immigrants had less changes to make to be able to survive. The book ensues that once an Irishmen left his native land he said farewell to his kin, neighbors, and almost everything that was customary and familiar to him. The move was nevertheless very overwhelming. Mannion contends the immigrants from Ireland were uprooted. He says they were disconnected to their relationships and obligations that brought them together in the homeland and therefore social order could be constructed immediately in the New World. For those who settled in urban areas, there was little homeland experience or tradition that made adaptation easier. He also says it was somewhat less difficult in the countryside to adapt because immigrants continued their old occupation but the rural settlers had to endure living in isolation in an unfamiliar environment. Mannion uses maps to show the various areas settled in Peterborough and Miramichi. According to the book, the major reason for Irish immigration to the New World was economic distress in the homeland. This is the what the next portion of discussion deals with. The abundance of land and its low cost led to an increasingly large agrarian economy. Farms did not have to be subdivided and clachan forms of farming that were used in Ireland did not evolve, except for the Cape Shore. Changing patterns of settlement reflected an emphasis on the fishing industry. Mannion states farming persisted in the area but sons of the Irish immigrants primarily became fisherman. He also mentions that many of the people who lived on the coast subdivided the land and worked in close partnership with relatives who fished jointly. Mannion then tells about the land clearing in these areas. He contends in the book that...
