2. Background
Jonathan Swift grew up in Ireland and saw how badly
the Irish were treated by the English.
The English were prejudiced against the Irish and saw
them as inferior.
English were mostly Protestant and looked down on
the Catholic Irish.
During this time, the Irish were heavily taxed by the
English as well, to the point of starvation.
Most of the land in Ireland was owned by English lords,
who allowed the Irish to work their lands and pay in
crops. The Irish farmers were often left with inadequate
amounts of food after paying the lord
