In 1845, a disease infected the potato crop all over Ireland. The potato being the main food source of the Irish made this result into a horrific, deadly famine killing millions. Some of the Irish people fled from the infected land in search of a new and pure world. They sought refuge in America and Canada. The others who stayed true to their homeland faced a war of life that shattered many dreams and put fear into the hearts of the Irish people. Some people blamed the famine on nature, some on God, and others put forth the notion that Britain, England and the rest of Europe were the sole causes of the potato blight. Although nature did present the Irish people with the potato blight, it was, in fact, the actions of the British and English, which caused the mass starvation and devastation among Ireland. .
The Irish potato was first found in the Andes Mountains of South America. The proper name for it is Solanum Tubersum. It is not only important to the Irish, it is also an important food crop world wide (IHW). The potato was introduced around 1590 AD and could grow in the poorest of conditions with very little maintenance (TGF). The efficiency and ease of growth is what made the potato become so rapidly popular in Ireland. Between 1800 and 1845 AD, around sixteen food shortages had occurred in various parts of Ireland. However, during the Famine, crop failures became national for the first time, affecting the entire country at the same time (TFI). The actual cause of potato failure was phytophthora infestans, or also known as potato blight. The spores of the poison were carried by wind, rain and insects, which came from Britain and Europe (TIF). The potato plants were affected with a fungus, producing black spots and white mould on the leaves, eventually rotting the plant to a squishy type substance. Prime Minister Peel bought two shipments of Indian corn to feed the people, only to discover the corn meal would cause scurvy, diarrhea and citizens with unsatisfied appetite to the former potato-eating Irish (TIF).
Potatoes were exporting the country at a unjust rate and this led to the lack of food in the country. ... Environmental causes of the famine are pale in comparison. ... On top of the laws was the famine of potatoes. The potato was known as the staple food for most of the rural population. Still without the potato, there was enough grain crop to feed the people. ...
Assignment The potato famine was a horrible event resulting in many deaths and mass immigration caused by potato blight, the tenant farming system and Britain's rule over Ireland. Response A cause of the potato famine was the oppression of the Irish Catholics by England. ... Irish Catholics were affected to such a level that they were the most vulnerable part of the population and most likely to succumb to famine. ... The fungal disease potato blight triggered the famine. ... The potato famine, an impotent Irish historical event about the oppression of Irish Catholics and the unbala...
One such example is the Irish Potato Famine of 1847. The famine was the result of the failure of a crop upon which the majority of Irish were dependant, the potato. The potato blight, was a brand new disease. ... After being put into storage, the remaining seemingly healthy potatoes were found rotten months later. ... By the end of the Famine in 1851, the population of Ireland had been reduced by over two million people. ...
The starvation in Ireland: 1845-1852 Over the years, the people of Ireland have suffered many hardships, but none compare to the devastation brought by the Irish potato famine of 1845-1857. ... Less than a year later, in August of 1846, virtually the entire potato crop in Ireland had been destroyed. ... The relatively cheap and easy to grow potato was encouraged as a dietary staple and Irish peasants were forced to use the potato for survival purposes. ... Irish farmers were forced to farm on wastelands and marginal croplands, and the potato was the only crop that would flourish in these ...
The Irish Famine is unique in a few key ways. The fact that Ireland is a western European nation makes the famine, the decrease in population; extreme poverty and dependence on one crop just an Irish thing. ... Another aspect of the Irish Famine which I did not realize at first was the large impact of disease. ... However not all the people of Ireland experienced an increase of wealth or political power after the famine. In the west, most people were still living the subsistence farming lifestyle around the potato. ...
Two very obvious reasons Irish peasants emigrated are Catholic persecution by the British and the Great Potato Famine in the 1840's. ... A second reason the Irish emigrated was the Great Potato Famine. In 1845, a fungus destroyed nearly all of Ireland's potatoes. Potatoes were one of Irelands most depended upon crops. ... Though there are many causes for this, two of them are the British's persecution of Irish Catholics and the Great Potato Famine. ...
The Great Famine that took place in Ireland was a tragic event in which many people lost their lives. ... In Ireland the price of crops doubled and the price of potatoes were ridiculous. ... During the worst part of the famine so many Irish were being evicted from their homes. ... The Irish suffered serverely from not only from the potato famine but from the greed of the British. ... The Great Famine was depicted very well in "When Ireland Starved". ...
Was the famine in Ireland a watershed in the country's history? ... Ireland in the post Famine years was a country of middling farms. ... The failure of the potato crop had all but wiped out the smallest holdings. ... Daly, The Famine in Ireland, Dundalgan Press (1986) 3. ... the Irish language, it is now widely accepted that Irish was under challenge well before the arrival of the potato blight. ...
For most of the 19th Century Irish people were dependent on potato crops to survive, in 1845 they were expecting potato of the "most luxurious character [And] promising abundant yield." ... Mitchel too condemned British policy in Ireland and stated that "The Almighty, indeed, sent the potato blight, but the English created the famine...." ... This also helps us uncover some of the feelings left in the Irish once the Famine stated. ... Donnelly carries on and says that the Irish dependence on the potato was unfortunate since it led to a situation that was far too big to be corrected b...