Final answer:
Jonathan Swift's 'A Modest Proposal' is a satirical essay from 1729 that suggests the poor Irish should sell their children as food, highlighting British indifference to Irish suffering.
Step-by-step explanation:
A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift is a satirical essay published in 1729. The essay is known for its audacious suggestion that the poor Irish people should sell their children as food as a solution to poverty and overpopulation. This outrageous idea is used to satirize the British government's indifference towards the suffering of Irish people during a time of severe economic hardship.
The satirical nature of the essay aims to bring attention to the plight of the poor and criticizes the British policies without actually advocating the consumption of babies. This proposal is intended to shock the reader and highlight the dire situation in Ireland, as well as the lack of effective solutions being proposed by politicians at the time.