the cottier's cabin

Photo: A typified and long-since abandoned cottier's cabin near Loughries, County Down, Northern Ireland.

A cottier in Ireland (c.1700–1850) was a person who rented a simple cabin and between one and one and a half acres of land upon which to grow potatoes, oats and possibly flax. The ground was held on a year to year basis and rent was often paid in labour. Usually, the land available to the cottier class was land that was considered unprofitable for any other use.

The cottier existed at subsistence level because of high rentals and the competition for land and labour. The more prosperous cottier worked for his landlord and received cash after rent and other expenses were deducted. There was no incentive to improve a holding as any such improvement usually prompted a rent increase.

During the early decades of the nineteenth century, the situation for cottiers worsened considerably as the population continued to expand and in turn led to the dramatic events of the Irish Famine of 1845–49. After the Famine, the cottier class almost completely disappeared.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cottier_%28farmer%29