irish potato famine

A detailed Summary of irish potato famine


One hundred fifty years ago in the late summer of 1845 one of the

greatest human ecological disasters in the history of the world began in Ireland.

A fungus from North America established itself in Ireland and commenced to

destroy the potato crop. When the fungus had run its course at least 1 1/1 million,

possibly as many as 2 million, Irish had died and another 1 1/2 million had emigrated. No one can fully capture in words the magnitude or the intensity of the suffering and hardship endured by the Irish people from 1845-1850. The fungus was called phytophthora infestans. The Irish Potato Famine was also called the Great Potato Famine, the Great Irish Famine, the Great Hunger, the Great Starvation, the Famine of 1845-1849, or Black '47. The Irish Potato Famine was the worst famine to occur in Europe during the nineteenth century. Many classify the Irish Potato Famine as genocide and some do not. "Famine is a useful word when you do not wish to use words like "genocide" and "exterminatio


In Ireland there was a dependence of a large section of the population agriculture and the potato crop. The famine was the result of successive crop failures and the insufficient and ineffective relief for stopping the outbreak of starvation and disease. The famine was the most tragic and significant event in Irish history and one of the worst human disasters of the nineteenth century. Ireland depended on the potato as a staple crop after 1800. "Population increased rapidly and reached eight million by 1841, two-thirds of who depended on agriculture. The Irish depended on the potato and the failure of the potato crop in 1845 was disastrous. The crop failed again in 1846, 1847, and 1848. By 1851, the population of Ireland had been reduced by more than two million due to starvation, disease, and emigration to Britain and North America." (http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Congress/2807/index.html).

Clearly, during the years 1845 to 1850, the British government pursued a policy of mass st

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 676
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History

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