Jonathan Swift wrote his satirical pamphlet, A Modest Proposal, in 1729. In it, he argues that the best way to solve the problems of Ireland (which the ruling classes identified as hunger, poverty, large Catholic families, and a lack of work ethic and morality on the part of the Irish) was to establish a market whereby Irish children could be sold to butcher shops by their parents to become delicacies. His suggestion is, of course, not in earnest, but the extreme nature of it was to draw attention to the more serious suggestions he was advocating.
The text of A Modest Proposal:
Ballinabricky 