Final answer:
The narrator in Jonathan Swift's satirical essay 'A Modest Proposal' is addressing the severe economic and social troubles in Ireland, particularly the oppression of the poor in a predominantly Catholic Ireland under British, Protestant rule, during the early 18th century.
Step-by-step explanation:
To what real-world problem from Swift's time is the narrator referring? The narrator in Jonathan Swift's A Modest Proposal is referring to the acute and dire economic conditions and the treatment of the poor in Ireland under British rule. While the text of the proposal is satirical, it was written during a time of significant hardship for many Irish people, alive with religious and political tension between predominantly Protestant Britain and a largely Catholic Ireland. Swift's work was a sharp critique of the British government's policies and indifference towards the plight of the Irish poor.
During Jonathan Swift's time, one of the major real-world problems was the religious clashes between the Protestants and Catholics, which were part of broader political and economic struggles. These tensions were accentuated around events like the Easter Rising and the question of Irish home rule, which was an ongoing political conflict. This division reflected broader disagreements around religious sovereignty, the power of the British government in Irish affairs, and the economic disenfranchisement of the Catholic majority by the Protestant minority and British landlords.