31. Swift, Jonathan, 1667-1745.

A modest proposal for preventing the children of poor people from being a burthen to their parents or country, and for making them beneficial to the publick / by Dr. Swift. (Dublin : Printed by S. Harding ; London : Re-printed; and sold by F. Roberts in Warwick-Lane, and the pamphlet-shops, 1729)

Writing a pamphlet to set out a “Modest proposal” was common in the period. Usually the person was proposing an idea to improve trade or industry, and Swift consciously uses this form to bring before the public his scheme for bettering the lot of the Irish. His idea is that the children of Irish peasants be bred for the table. The points in favour of his proposal are set out in sober detail in an attempt to shock the English into a realisation of the plight of the poor in Ireland.

I have been assured by a very knowing American of my acquaintance in London that a young healthy child, well nursed, is, at a year old, a most delicious, nourishing and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted, baked or boiled.