Causes/Affects of the Irish Famine

A detailed Summary of Causes/Affects of the Irish Famine

The Irish Potato Famine was the worst

tragedy in the history of Ireland. The outcome of the

famine would result in hundreds of thousands dead, the failure of the economy in Ireland, and

emigrants forced to leave their homes and country just to try to survive.

In the mid 1800s there were many seasons that produced poor crops, and in some cases no

potatoes at all. These seasons were taken

lightly, and just thought to be bad crop seasons. After these

bad seasons, farmers became upset and began to grow poorer quality potatoes known as 'Lumper

potatoes' or 'Horse potatoes' instead of the

stronger, healthier potatoes. These new potatoes were

originally grown for feed for farm animals and

were more prone to disease, but because they grew

the poorest conditions possible, humans would

have to eat them due to the loss of the healthier

In 1845 a crop disease known as 'blight'

would be introduced to Ireland. It was a disease

would cause potatoes to rot while they grew. The Irish discovered the problem when they found that

they were harvesting black potatoes. At first

they blamed the problem on poor weather, or

quantities of alcohol and by fighting. Many more

Prime Minister told landowners that lived in England to give their renters some support. Very

people died of fighting after arriving in

such an impact on millions of people's lives.

Approximate Word count = 1132
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History

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