Coffin ship
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A coffin ship was the term given to the ships that carried Irish immigrants escaping the effects of the potato famine. These ships, crowded and disease ridden, with poor access to food and water, resulted in the deaths of many people as they crossed the Atlantic.
While coffin ships were the cheapest way to cross the Atlantic, often more than half of the passengers died during the voyage.
It was said that sharks could be seen following the ships in packs because so many bodies were thrown overboard.
External link
- Robert Whyte, The Journey of an Irish Coffin Ship, 1847 (http://www.people.virginia.edu/~eas5e/Irish/RWhyte.html) (e-text)