Three Fs

The Three Fs were a series of demands first issued by the Tenant Right League in their campaign for land reform in Ireland from the 1850s. They were

* Fair rent
* Free sale
* Fixity of tenure

Many historians argue that their absence contributed severely to the Great Irish Famine (1846-49), as it allowed the mass eviction of starving tenants. The Three Fs were campaigned for by a number of political movements, notably the Independent Irish Party and later the Irish Parliamentary Party during the Land War. They were conceded by the British Government in a series of Irish Land Acts enacted from the 1870s on, with essentially full implementation in the Land Act of 1881. [Michael McDonnell. [http://books.google.com/books?id=pbYTAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA61&dq=%22Three+Fs%22+ireland&ei=tyV4SLf6KIHsiQGgmoGeAQ Ireland and the Home Rule Movement.] Maunsel and Co., Dublin, 1908; page 61.]

Other uses

* The "Three Fs" is an informal mnemonic used by educators to help psychology students remember the primary triggers for sympathetic nervous system activity: Fight, Flight or Freeze controlled by our primal emotional brain, or Amygdala.
* When raising capital for new businesses, some people advise asking for cash from the Three Fs first: Friends, Family and Fools. This can be a quick way of getting the money in return for a lower stake than e.g. a venture capitalist, although personal relationships could suffer if the business folds.

References