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 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.

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

The Great Irish Potato Famine was during a period of mass starvation, disease and emigration through 1845-1850. According to the journal, “The Context of Migration: The Example of Ireland in the Nineteenth Century” by James H. Johnson, this caused the population of Ireland to decrease 20-25% and it did not stabilize again until the 1930’s. Although there was a potato crop failure in Europe in the 1840’s, one third of the Irish population was dependent on this crop. This was inevitable due to the sole dependency of the Irish people on home-grown potatoes and the population almost doubling from 1800 - 1840. The journal, “Spaces for Famine: A Comparative Analysis in Ireland and the Highlands in the 1840’s” by Liz Young states that “if the

The famine itself started in September 1845 when leaves on potato plants turned black and curled, then rotted, seemingly as a result of fog which had wafted across the fields. This meant that potatoes then rotted and became inedible. The potato is the staple food of the Irish peoples’ diet, consumed with every meal. It had been known in the past that when potato

1) Immigration (Irish) Potatoe's were a staple in the Irish diet but in the 1840's the potato crops were mysteriously rotting and dying. This spread all across the fields of Ireland causing a famine. The famine lasted for about six years and killed over a million men, women, and children in Ireland. It also caused many of the Irish to immigrate to America to survive.

In the early 1800’s, Ireland was primarily rural. Most farmers worked on rented land from wealthy landlords. All of the corn and crops that they raise go to the landlords which are later exported to England. Potatoes are the main food of the impoverished Irish farmers who grew potatoes and other grains. The potato originated in South America but wasn’t brought to Ireland until later in the 16 century. Potatoes were so loved that they replaced barley and oats that poor people previously ate. This was really devastating because barley and oats were among the few things that poor people could afford. Poor people might have been able to get at least three potatoes every week. By the mid 1800’s, a fungus infected the potato crop. Plants became black

The Irish Potato Famine occurred in 1845 and had killed tons of people. Over 750,000 people had died and more than a million had emigrated. At the time Ireland’s population was only about 8 million so this famine had devastated many families. The people of Ireland at this time were so dependent upon the potato that it was a main staple. The Irish would consume the potato with almost every meal, and for some the potato was the only food that they were ever able to eat. The famine was produced by a protist called Phytophthora infestans (P. Infestans), when it was introduced from central highlands of Mexico.

In 1801 Ireland became subject to British rule after the passing of the Act of Union. While under British rule Ireland was faced with the British Corn laws of 1815, causing them to sell most of their corn crop to England (Stork). This went on before, and during, the famine, causing the Irish to gain a strong dependence on the potato. Consequently, the potato became a very popular source of food, especially for pregnant women.It helped them to gain nutrients throughout their pregnancy and carry their children to full term. This increased the population tremendously and decreased the infant mortality rate as well. Dwyer and Lindsay point out that “[t]he fungus phytophthora infestans arrived in Ireland in 1845 after already damaging crops in America, where it first appeared, England, and on the Continent”(188). In 1845 alone, the blight destroyed about one half of the potato crop in

The Irish are in economic turmoil at home-- a massive famine has hit and has caused a depression in Ireland so great that many decide that they must flee the country to continue to survive. The major choice is America-- land of free, home of the brave-- a fresh start, a new beginning, a place where anything can happen; to survive they must go to America and work, and when they do, they are perceived by the American people as a hardworking class that they can work like slaves to accomplish great technological feats: the Erie Canal, the Union Pacific piece of the transcontinental railroad. The Irish men are perceived as heavy workers who need no breaks-- brutes-- while the women, mostly single women either worked in factories or worked as maids

The Irish Potato Famine began in 1845 and lasted until 1849. The famine occurred when the potato crop failed to grow in consecutive years. The crop failures were caused by late blight, a disease that destroys both the leaves and the edible roots, or tubers, of the potato plant. The causative agent of late blight is water mold. The Irish Potato Famine was the worst famine to occur in Europe in the 19th century.

The Irish Potato Famine can be characterized as a period of mass starvation in Ireland from 1846 to 1852 while Ireland was under British rule. The catastrophe begun by the spread of the potato blight, or the fungus Phytophthora infestans around the late 1840s. Since the potato was the main source of nutrition in the diet of most of the rural population including the peasants due to its ability to grow almost anywhere, the spread of the potato blight was devastatingly catastrophic, sending Ireland into a 6-year famine, causing the death of almost a million people and the emigration of approximately two million. The effects of the Irish Potato Famine was made significantly worse due to Great Britain continuously exporting grains out of Ireland

The Irish will never forgive or forget what the British policies did to their forefathers. Of the Irish who did successfully immigrated to the United States they quickly joined an associations that favored Ireland's independence. The famine is what fueled the Irish emigrant anger and most of them viewed it to be the reason for leaving Ireland in the first place. John Mitchel, journalist for the Nation, expressed the emigrants' angry sentiments when he wrote:

Early as 1845 there was something unthinkable happening in Ireland. It was called the potato blight that decimated the Irish agriculture as it was first discovered in the fields on the Isle of Wight. Consequently, mycologist raced to see who could be the first to identify this fungus that ate away the potato leaves.

The Irish Potato Famine was a period of starvation, disease and emigration, and was known as one of the biggest tragedies from 1845 to 1847. Many people depended on potato crops to survive; however [comma] the potato crops acquired blight, a disease that caused the potatoes to rot while still in the ground. No good crops could be grown for two years [comma] causing Irish tenant farmers unable to pay rent and was forced off their land causing over 21,000 people to die of starvation. The Irish Potato Famine caused many people to leave Ireland to seek work overseas in areas such as England and America. The Irish Potato Famine had a big impact on the history and the economy of Ireland.