History Of The Irish Famine

More than a million Irish people died during the Irish Potato famine that hit Ireland between 1845 to 1849 (Pollard, pg. 551). Potatoes were the primary diet of the Irish, especially the Irish Lump potato. When the fungal disease hit, known as “potato blight,” the Irish potato crops were lost. After reading primary sources regarding the Irish Potato Famine, the reader can visualize the horrors that the Irish people endured during the Irish Potatoes Famine including starvation, the physical and the mental effects that go along with it, the loss of family members, and especially witnessing their children starve and die. Both Trench and Bennet had the purpose and intent of recording conditions exactly as they

In 1845, the Great Potato Famine, otherwise called the Great Irish Famine happened. Amid this time there was a high measure of potato/edit disappointment on account of the "late curse" which is a sickness that decimates the leaves, roots or tubers of the potato plant. This was the most exceedingly terrible starvation to happen in the eighteenth and nineteenth century. This illness obliterated the majority of the potato edits in Ireland until 1849. Additionally, in the 1840's Ireland was in destitution. The British had control over their nation and the general population were excessively poor, making it impossible to eat, pay lease or pay charges. In Ireland, Irish ranchers kept on sending out grain, meat and different nourishments to Great

In the early 1800s life in Ireland wasn’t easy, Irish citizens got by day to day by farming and relying on the potato. The potato was their main source of food and money. With out the potato the Irish would have nothing. No one was prepared for what was about to happen in 1845, the beginning of the Great Irish Potato Famine.

In Ireland about a half of the population were living on farms and since they were poor most of them were dependent on potatoes for food. When the crop soon failed after three years of success and it led to a massive famine throughout their nation, killing thousands of people. The Irish had to get out of their poor and suffering country and decided to

     Nineteenth-century Ireland was the most densely populated country in Europe: in 1800, its population was 4.5 million, and by 1841, it had risen to eight million (Kinealy 15). Yet much of this population existed in condition of sorrow and misery lay in the dependence of the peasantry on just one staple crop, the potato; in western countries like Mayo and Galway, nine-tenths of the people ate nothing else (MacManus 602). Here was a disaster waiting to happen, made worst by the rapid rise in population in the first half of the century which forced the peasants to subsist on smaller plots of land (O Grada, The Great Irish Famine 63).

The Irish people would have freight, terror, death and eventually peace with these changes. The potato famine started with blight being discovered by European farmers. The Irish government started to export potatoes and grains to continental Europe to help the Europeans avoid a famine (Smith, 2011). By the end of August of 1845, Ireland was freighted to find out that blight had found its way to their produce (Smith, 2011). The blight in Ireland set off a chain of events that led to the Irish people dying in more ways to get out of Ireland. The government started trying to feed their people by importing corn and grains for food (Smith, 2011). This was not enough to help the young, old and sick. Many of theIrish people were led to complete financial ruin. By the end of 1851 more than a million Irish had died due to hunger and disease exacerbated by malnutrition(Smith, 2011).The only answer for many Irish families was to take a risk and get on a coffin boat and flee to another country. North America was a safe haven for many Irish people. They dreamed of the life they would live in the U.S.A. Nearly 1 million people arrived in many cities which include New York, and Boston (Smith, 2011). When the Irish people arrived, it was a sad reality they did not think they would face. The conditions were despicable. Many families were moved into small rooms with no sanitation, ventilation, day light or electricity (Smith, 2011). The families were charged about $1.50 per week to live in extreme poverty (Smith, 2011). This led to unsanitary conditions for the communities. Diseases were able to thrive in those conditions and one of the more common disease was cholera . The Irish people usually stayed in close proximity to each other and would make a small Irish community. The Irish community strived to make money. They were only hired for unskilled jobs

Potatoes were prime to the Americas and even Europe (when they were shipped back) as they were resistant to cold and could grow in very thin soil. In Europe, it supported the sailors, and even the lower class, only adding to its value. It had also saved Ireland from extinction as it was their only choice to avoid starvation (and began a huge Irish stereotype, among

The Irish began immigrating to North America in the 1820s, when the lack of jobs and poverty forced them to seek better opportunities elsewhere after the end of the major European wars. When the Europeans could finally stop depending on the Irish for food during war, the investment in Irish agricultural products reduced and the boom was over. After an economic boom, there comes a bust and unemployment was the result. Two-thirds of the people of Ireland depended on potato harvests as a main source of income and, more importantly, food. Then between the years of 1845 and 1847, a terrible disease struck the potato crops. The plague left acre after acre of Irish farmland covered with black rot. The failure of the

In the early 19th century many Irish people immigrated to the United States. There were several reasons why Irish people came to live in America. During the American Industrial Revolution, many immigrants from all over, including Ireland, came to The New World to find new opportunities. There were also great religious opportunities from the largely Roman Catholic influence in Irish culture to the various Protestant religions here. All was well and good as Americans and immigrants worked together to expand the railroad and canals in the New England States, primarily New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York (Irish American Journey). In 1819, 43 percent of immigrants to America were Irish (Immigration). In Ireland at the time, most people were farmers and lived off potato crops for

Potatoes. Delicious yet simple, potatoes were at the root cause of a massive upheaval of a country and responsible for countless deaths. Looking at the tragedy which drove a nation to leave its homeland and drive them outward to another country, one which they embraced fully though it did not reciprocate the feeling. Starting from the bottom and working their way up, fully assimilating into the United States and becoming a dominate force within its structure. Most would call them just Americans, yet before a time they were Irish Americans, further still they were Irish immigrants, how far were they able to integrate themselves into a society which wasn’t willing to have them at first?

New York City, originally New Amsterdam, was founded in 1624. With a population of over 8 million, it has been a popular location for immigrants to flock to over the centuries since its founding.

It could be argued that The Great Famine was the utmost turning point in Irish Nationalism due to the lack of action of the British Government, which left deep-rooted hatred for the English within Ireland. Government expenditure for the famine equaled a total of £8 million, 3% of the total government budget. The British Government stuck closer to a laissez-faire economic policy, which is echoed through Charles Trevelyan who claimed that through relief “people grow worse instead of better.” The Irish

In the early 1800’s, relations between Ireland and England were tense. The English were building their support by enforcing plantations, pieces of land that once belonged to indigenous Catholic Irish and putting the ownership to the incoming settlers from England and Scotland. Therefore, the impoverished Irish rented their land out from the wealthier owners who resided miles and miles away. In the 1800’s, the majority of Ireland was dependant on potatoes, as it was cheap and easy to grow for the enormous poor population that resided there. In 1845, toxic disease spread through all of Europe’s potatoes, greatly affecting the Irish, who were enormously dependent on the crop. Because the strong belief in the laissez-faire policy, which prevents

In 1841 to 1850, the loss of potatoes caused about 1.3 million people to emigrate overseas, 70% went to the U.S.A., 28% went to Canada, and 2% went to Australia. During the emigration of Ireland many people had to pay for their own fares to emigrate to the U.S.A., Canada, and Australia. The Fares that were paid for emigration by landlords were only about 3% and these people were usually sent to Canada because these were the cheapest fares, and they were usually sent overseas on coffin ships. To emigrate to the U.S.A was a little more expensive, usually the ones that could afford to pay a little more to emigrate went to the U.S.A. to seek work. Irish immigrant labor in America consisted of unskilled factory workers, which also included children; and Irish males provided much of the labor to construct railroads. Many Irish women could speak English, helping women get jobs as servants in the homes of wealthy second and third generation Americans. In the 1800’s The Irish Potato Famine caused many to die of starvation forcing others to emigrate, leaving about 5 million people in Ireland; in 1845 about 8.2 million, and in 1851 about 6.2 million. Presently there are about 5 million people residing in Ireland and another estimated 20 million Irish scattered throughout the world.

In 1845-47 one million people died as a result of the famine, yet the response of the Irish government to the famine was minimal. “The famine years witnessed the workhouses become overcrowded centres of disease and destitution – in March 1851, 250,611 people were paupers receiving poor relief in the workhouse” (Feriter,2004,p.52) .Voluntary groups such as the Quakers emerged nineteenth century and established soup kitchens.