Essay on The Great Famine

The majority of the population consisted of peasants. The peasants, because they had nothing to lose, would marry very frequently, at young ages, and they would have many children. People were able to get married and have so many children because they were able to feed their families with the potato crop, which “could be grown anywhere, even on the most miniscule of plots, and contained just enough nutrients to sustain the life of the poor” (Diner 6). When the potato blight struck Ireland the population dropped by approximately 2 million people, both from deaths and people emigrating to America. People were devastated and realized they had to make changes in order to survive. There was no longer enough food to support a large family, therefore, marriage rates and birth rates dropped

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.

     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).

K.H. Connell, in his paper “Land and Population in Ireland, 1780-1845”, describes and explains the significant population growth in Ireland prior to the famine of 1845 and how the uses of the Irish land changed with the population growth.

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

It changed the way our government runs today. Not only was it a man made famine but it was an act to industrialize and militarize the society.

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

Potatoes, a large part of Irish diet at the time, developed a fungus that made the crop inedible. Unfortunately, the fungus traveled to other crops, which resulted in the food supply becoming depleted. No food in an area obviously makes it difficult to live and thrive in that area.1.5 million people died in this famine and approximately the same amount emigrated on boat towards America. (Ellis Island-Immigration Timeline) Upon arrival, the Irish were overwhelmed with employment opportunity, after passing through Ellis Island of course. For the Irish especially, America was a saving grace. Something as simple as food, which modern American society often takes for granted, was such redemption. For a better perspective on the issue, in 1864 the Republican Issue made it very clear that, “Foreign immigration which in the past has added so much to the wealth, resources, and increase of power to the nation…should be fostered and encouraged." (Ellis Island 1820-1880) The federal government was making these statements even before the vast groups made their way over. They knew that immigration could only benefit the nation’s success as a

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

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

Immigrants from Ireland were driven to the United States due to the Great Famine of 1845-1850. Many people were almost completely dependent on potatoes, an easy-to-raise crop, due to Britain’s change of religion. These potatoes then fell victim to the unknown disease that left many families starving, and people dead. Families saved money for several winters to be able to send even one person to the United States, although they would only be able to arrive if they managed to survive the unsanitary and unsafe journey over. After arriving, many Irish immigrants began working in factories, or took jobs in the households of native-born families - then sent money back to Ireland to feed their suffering families, or to pay for another family member

In the summer of 1845 a potato disease struck Ireland. A fungus Photophthora Infestans turned the potato harvest into decaying blackish masses of rottenness, unfit for human or animal consumption. Potato diseases had

Ireland 1845, food was suddenly scarce, money was hard to earn, and what little was earned was immediately spent for survival. The people of Ireland had grown up used to missing meals due to crop failure. However, previous crop failures couldn’t compare to the potato famine of 1845. For the next five years, the blight destroyed nearly all the potato crops and killed many Irish. About one million people died during this time in Ireland because of the starvation and disease. About two million fled the lands of Ireland in hopes of escaping the starvation, disease, death, and poverty that had taken over Ireland since the famine. The tenant farmers, who suffered would farm land that belonged to the absentee landlords. They would grow many crops, most of which were very successful. They were only allowed to keep the potato crops for their own; the rest of the crops would be harvested and exported to England. The absentee landlords lived like kings while the tenant farmers were forced to sell everything they owned so they could have money to purchase food to stay alive. When they ran out of things to sell they were then forced to scavenge for food scraps just to escape death for a while longer. The starvation and struggle of the Irish tenant farmers could have been avoided if the absentee landlords hadn’t been so greedy with collecting the rent. England could have come to the aid of the Irish people sooner than they did if they weren’t so interested in staying true to their

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.