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Irish Emigration to New York City Essay

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Irish Emigration to New York City

The Potato Famine - How, Why, and When the Famine Started

Many historians equate the Irish immigration to America with the potato famine of the 1840s, but is is clear that a considerable number of Irish had made their way to Great Britain’s colonies on the North American mainland before 1800. For example, many Irish families came and settled the colonies in the early 1600s. Harbors and towns were named after settlers. Some of these settlers even became Royal governors; one example is Sir Thomas Dongan, who became governor of the colony of New York in 1682. Some other examples of early settlers: in 1670, Charleston, South Carolina was settled by Irish and English emigrants. Sullivan's Island …show more content…

Irish farmers were allowed only to raise a small crop of pototoes, turnips, and cabbage; these crops formed their diet. What little they did have and grow they often shared with neighbors. The average wage for farm laborers in Ireland was about eight pence a day. At the time, this was only about a fifth of what a wage earner might make in the United States, and this was one of the first reasons that led the Irish to emigrate to America.

But why did the majority of the Irish come to America in the 1840's? The main reason is a result of a potato famine that occurred. In the space of five years (1845-1850), a great hunger overtook Ireland when the potato crop failed. During this time period more than a million Irish died of starvation. When the potato crops first began to fail, it was because of frost, dry rot, and curl. In 1845, the potato famine ruined about three-quarters of the country’s crop. Over four million people in Ireland relied on the potato as their chief food source. A major part of the food produced in Ireland was exported to other countries, and so this was a loss to them as well. The newest wave of potato problems was caused by a fungus, Phytophthora infestans, which had probably made its way into the country on a ship. The fungus invaded the potato plant, germinated, and aided by the warm weather, reproduced rapidly,. The crop that was planted

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