The Irish Potato Famine

1
The Irish Potato Famine

• 1845-1848

2
Background on Ireland in the mid-1800s

• Ireland was a farming nation.
• 8 Million people
• Poorest nation in the world
• Only ¼ of the population could read and write.
• Life expectancy was 40 years old.
• Many married by ages 16, 17, and 18.

3
Background on Ireland in the mid-1800s (cont.)

• Most of the farms were owned by the English
  ruling class.
• Poorer farmers worked in exchange for a place to
  live.
• They lived on the farm.
• A poor family would live in a single room hut.
• The Irish poor depended on these farms, and the
  potato, for their existence.

4
The Potato

• Peru introduced the potato to Ireland in 1590.
• A potato harvest could feed an Irish family of 6
  for an entire year.
• By the 1800s, almost half the Irish population
  lived on potatoes alone.
• 3 million people

5
The Potato (cont.)

• The Irish grew a potato called a Lumper.
• They were planted in March and harvested in Sept.
  and Oct.
• This system went on for years in Ireland.
• In September 1845, the potato plants and leaves
  began to turn black and rot.

6
The Famine Begins 1845

• Many thought the rotting potatoes came from the
  fog.
• In actuality, the famine was a fungus brought on
  boats carrying goods.
• The winds would carry the fungus to Dublins
  countryside.
• A single infected potato could spread to 1000
  more in a couple days.
• The rancid potatoes gave off a nasty stench, as
  they turned to mush.

7
Attempted Solutions

• A Relief Commission was created to help those who
  didnt have any food.
• The donations, though, stopped after a short
  amount of time.
• Prime Minister Peel was to oversee operations.
• He took too long to make changes, and not much
  got done.
• Peel tried to distribute corn imported from the
  U.S.
• Many got diarrhea because they were not used to
  it.
• No Vitamin C in the corn (scurvy).
• The first supply of corn was never replaced.

8
The Famine Year Two (1846)

• The potatoes did not grow again in 1846.
• It got so bad, many began living off of other
  food items
• Blackberries, turnips, cabbage leaves
• Seaweed, shellfish
• Roots, weeds, and grass!
• Many began to die, but not from starvation.
• Typhus, dysentery, fever, and famine dropsy.
• Not as many had died the first year b/c they
  borrowed money, sold off livestock, and had the
  imported corn.

9
The Famine Continues

• By 1847, soup kitchens were established, but they
  could not provide enough food.
• People began trying to leave Ireland for
  countries like America.
• One out of five died on the travels over.
• It was not until 1852 that the Irish Potato
  Famine came to a complete end.
• Many began to include corn and other vegetables
  in their diet and rely less on the potato.

10
Famine Facts

• 775,000 to 1.5 million died
• ¼ of the population
• Even today, Ireland is still affected by the
  Potato Famine.
• Smaller population than 1840.
• Many Irish ended up in other countries (like
  U.S.)
• It was the single greatest disaster of the 19th
  Century.

11
Lessons Learned Diversity

• As mentioned, the Irish learned to vary their
  diet.
• The Lumper potato was the only potato affected
  by the fungus, but all potatoes were Lumpers in
  Ireland.
• Genetic diversity in planting is key.
• If they had planted many kinds of potatoes, the
  famine could have been avoided.