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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
Epigraph: ‘a machine of wise and deliberate contrivance as well fitted for the oppression,
impoverishment, and degradation of a people, and the debasement in them of human
nature itself, as ever proceeded from the perverted ingenuity of man.’
—Irish Statesman, Edmund Burke in a letter to Sir Hercules Langrishe in 1792,
describing the Penal Laws introduced by the British government to control
the native Irish population during colonisation.
impoverishment, and degradation of a people, and the debasement in them of human
nature itself, as ever proceeded from the perverted ingenuity of man.’
—Irish Statesman, Edmund Burke in a letter to Sir Hercules Langrishe in 1792,
describing the Penal Laws introduced by the British government to control
the native Irish population during colonisation.
Notes
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Author's note: his cento is derived from archived historical documents (including correspondence, newspaper reports and legislation) relating to British colonial rule in Ireland; the exportation of 4,000 Irish orphan girls aged 15 to 19 years to the Australian colony during the Great Irish Famine, intended as domestic servants and ‘breeding stock’; and the removal and incarceration of daughters of Irish famine refugees in Australia, resulting in intergenerational destitution, abuse and incarceration. This work has been produced with support of an Australian Government Research Training Scheme Scholarship as part of a doctorate examining the experiences of Irish famine refugees to Australia.
Includes
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1Inception i "Our great difficulty", 2022 single work poetry
— Appears in: Axon : Creative Explorations , December vol. 12 no. 2 2022; -
2A Matter of Commerce i "The cry of distress has rapidly", 2022 single work poetry
— Appears in: Axon : Creative Explorations , December vol. 12 no. 2 2022; -
3Live Exports to Sydney i "One hundred and seven days", 2022 single work poetry
— Appears in: Axon : Creative Explorations , December vol. 12 no. 2 2022; -
4Bill of Lading i "Forty thousand pounds worth", 2022 single work poetry
— Appears in: Axon : Creative Explorations , December vol. 12 no. 2 2022; -
5Legacy i "If the children", 2022 single work poetry
— Appears in: Axon : Creative Explorations , December vol. 12 no. 2 2022; -
6Resolution i "It shall be lawful", 2022 single work poetry
— Appears in: Axon : Creative Explorations , December vol. 12 no. 2 2022; -
7Rod i "Young as this child is—", 2022 single work poetry
— Appears in: Axon : Creative Explorations , December vol. 12 no. 2 2022; -
8Judgment i "He struck her and gave her", 2022 single work poetry
— Appears in: Axon : Creative Explorations , December vol. 12 no. 2 2022; -
9Quieting i "Incarnate devils—", 2022 single work poetry
— Appears in: Axon : Creative Explorations , December vol. 12 no. 2 2022;
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Last amended 15 Mar 2023 13:25:40