promise to stop land annuities sparked off the Economic War.
De Valera responded to the British duty in July, when he brought in the Emergency Imposition of Duties Act. The government put tariffs on a large number of goods imported from Britain, and increased the tax payable on coal and other raw materials in particular. One slogan at the time was: ‘Burn everything British – except their coal.’
The effect of the Economic War, which was to last for the next six years, was devastating for Irish agriculture. Britain was Ireland’s largest export market for agricultural produce, but this dropped significantly over the period. When Cumann na nGaedheal was in power Irish agricultural exports were worth nearly £37 million a year. By 1935 this had fallen to less than £14 million.
Cumann na nGaedheal election poster vilifying Fianna Fáil. 194 LEAVING CERTIFICATE HISTORY
