The Great Potato Famine

1735 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: origins of the potato famine

The Great Potato Famine

The Great Potato Famine is characterized as one of the leading disasters in Ireland’s history. It began in the summer of 1845 with the appearance of an unusual disease growing on potato crops throughout various parts of Europe. With the spread of this disease, it soon targeted Ireland consuming the major crop of potatoes. The famine began by this mysterious disease that hit many parts of Europe during 1845. This disease known as the blight was caused by a fungus known ‘phytophthora infestans’. Prior to the blight, two main diseases known as ‘curl’ and ‘dry rot’ attacked Ireland but were not as destructive (Kinealy 33). The blight was known to be originated from South America through cargo ships that were transporting goods to Europe. The fungus was carried over through the potato leaves which soon would spread to the actual potato leaving the potato black and rotting with a rancid smell arising from it (Kinealy 30). The fungus would commonly feed on healthy potatoes and quickly decompose of it. With the hit of the blight and many others causes Ireland as a country was threatened. This was the first time that Ireland was hit this hard with “Western Europe’s worst modern peacetime catastrophe,” people were dying from diseases and starvation, and others try to find safety in Britain and the United States (Newsinger, 1).

The dependency of the potato was related to the population during the time of the blight. With the major population the potato was the main crop. The country’s population rapidly growing, it had reached about five million citizens at the time of the Union to well over the eight million mark in 1841 (O’Brien 103). With the population growing, the conditions of Irela...

... middle of paper ...

...’s position in the situation. Even before The Great Potato Famine, a cycle was beginning within the economy and government itself which in the end caused the Famine. Due to the major population, dependency, economy, and government of Ireland, such a tragedy occurred which led to the starvation, depopulation, and immigration from Ireland.

Works Cited

Kinealy, Chrisitne. This Great Calamity. Roberts Rhinehart Publishers; Colorado, 1995.

Kinealy, Christine. “How Polotics fed the Famine.” Natural History Jan 1996: 105.

Newsinger, John. “The great Irish Famine: A crime of free market economics.” Monthly Review: An independent Socialist Magazine April 1996: 47.

O’Brien, Conor and Cruise. A Concise History of Ireland. Thames and Hudson; New York, 1985.

Ranelagh, John O’Beirne. A Short History of Ireland. Cambridge University Press; Cambridge, London, 1983.

Show More
Related

  • Ireland Starves and Lives to Tell: The Effects of the Great Potato Famine

    1583 Words  | 4 Pages

    “It must be understood that we cannot feed the people” (Kinealy Calamity 75). The mid 1800s in Ireland were characterized by extreme poverty, death, and emigration. The Great Potato Famine, also known as “The Great Hunger,” first hit in 1845; however, its effects lasted into the 1850s and can still be seen today. Prior to the famine, Irish manufacture and trade was controlled and suppressed by British government, which made Ireland an extremely poor country. Farmers in Ireland were forced to export crops such as corn, wheat, and oats to Britain, which left the potato as the main dietary staple for the people, especially the poor. Therefore, when the fungus Phytophthora infestans caused some, and eventually all, of the crop to rot over the next couple of years, the reliance on the one crop made the people of Ireland extremely susceptible to the famine. The effects were devastating, and poverty spread across the nation causing a huge increase in homelessness, the death-rate, emigration, and a change in the Irish people and country overall.

    Read More

  • The Economic Impacts of the Great Irish Famine

    1777 Words  | 4 Pages

    The analysis of the Irish economic problem, the Great Famine, was a remarkable topic to study by several classical authors such as, Thomas Malthus, John Stuart Mill, David Ricardo or William Senior. A contextualization skim of the economic characteristics of the country is required in order to know about their main ideas with respect to the topic, taking into account the aspects like the land property, the political power and the relation between Ireland and England.

    Read More

  • Maya Angelou's Literary Analysis

    1463 Words  | 3 Pages

    Ms. Angelou left her birth place as a young child after her parents had broken up. Ms. Angelou and her brother were sent to live with her fathers’ Mother in Stamps, Arkansas. Some may call Ms. Angelou’s 1969 autobiography ”I Know Why the Caged Bird Sing” her claim to fame, some may call her poetry her occupation, and more over there are still some that would like to call her Freelance writings Maya Angelou’s life’s work. Ms. Angelou was so much more. Ms. Angelou has been known for being a Civil Rights activist, a poet, a philosopher, a teacher, an Award-winning Author, an actress, a screenwriter and the

    Read More

  • Maya Angelou's Graduation into Maturity

    522 Words  | 2 Pages

    In her first autobiography, Maya Angelou tells about her childhood through her graduation through, “Graduation”, from “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” when she is about to graduate. She starts as an excited graduate because she was finally going to receive her diploma, a reward for all her academic accomplishments. On the day of her graduation finally comes, that happiness turns into doubt about her future as she believes that black people will be nothing more than potential athletes or servants to white people. It wasn’t until Henry Reed started to sing the Negro National Anthem that she felt on top of the world again. Throughout her graduation she felt excited to disappointed, until Henry Reed sang and made her feel better.

    Read More

  • The Fall of the Potato: Causes of the Great Famine

    1434 Words  | 3 Pages

    There are several circumstances to take into consideration when looking at the causes of the Great Potato Famine in Ireland. Due to the great dependence the Irish people had on the potato, it is clear how blight could devastate a country and its people. To understand the Irish people's dependence on the potato for diet, income, and a way out of poverty, it is necessary to look at several key factors that were evident before the famine. Factors such farming as the only way of life, rise in population, and limited crops explain why the people of Ireland relied on the potato. But not only do these reasons clarify why the famine hit the Irish people so hard, other important factors play into effect as well. By looking at the weak relationship between England and Ireland through parliamentary acts and trade laws, it is more evident what the causes of the Great Famine are and why it was so detrimental.

    Read More

  • Tuberculosis Essay

    1146 Words  | 3 Pages

    Active TB patients are IGRA positive and are symptomatic. The granuloma model: macrophages get infected in non-activated macrophages, necrosis occurs, lymphocytes also activate macrophages. MTB continue to grow and spread. The tubercles bexome liuqified and extracellular bacterial growth ensue, releases liquifed caseous material into the bronchiole causes causing and this can be transmitted tooter people.

    Read More

  • Causes Of The Great Potato Famine

    1138 Words  | 3 Pages

    During 1845-1846 events in Ireland would change the lives of many. The Great Potato Famine was a major incident that shocked the entire world. This incident was cause by a disease that traveled from ships overseas. The Great Potato Famine affected one of the biggest crops at the time, which was the potato. Many people got sick from this disease otherwise known as, Phytophthora Infestins. Phytophthora Infestins killed about 1 million people in Ireland.

    Read More

  • Essay On Potato Famine

    1158 Words  | 3 Pages

    With 3 million either gone or dead from the island of Ireland, 1845 was possibly the most painful year in its history. It was also obvious that something was afflicting Ireland, with the smell and sight of the crops. Death rate grew high, and immigration even higher during this time period of the famine. The Great Potato Famine of 1845 had a massive effect on Ireland in population decrease, the reactions of the people, and effects it had on the future of Ireland.

    Read More

  • Causes Of The Potato Famine

    1066 Words  | 3 Pages

    Beginning in 1845 and lasting until 1861 the Great Potato Famine of Ireland killed over a million people, and causing another million to leave the country. The famine began in September 1845 as leaves on potatoes suddenly turned black and curled, then rotted. The cause was an airborne fungus (phytophthora infestants) originally transported by ships traveling from North America to England. Many other factors contributed to this devastation.

    Read More

  • The Great Starvation of Ireland

    2739 Words  | 6 Pages

    Over the years, the people of Ireland have suffered many hardships, but none compare to the devastation brought by the Irish potato famine of 1845-1857. A poorly managed nation together with ideally wicked weather conditions brought Ireland to the brink of disaster. It was a combination of social, political and economic factors that pushed it over the edge.

    Read More

  • The Great Famine

    1752 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Great Famine of 1845 lasted for many years in Ireland. During this time, many people of Ireland suffered in numerous ways. In such devastating and dark times “deaths began to mount and tragic horrific scenes ensured all over Ireland: Mass Graves, Corpses gnawed by rats, hunger marches, and roadside deaths” (Kelley 137). In these grey times for Ireland, the country battled many hardships to overcome this era. The Great Famine was historically dated from 1845-1851, although the effects of the Famine lasted until 1852 (Kelley 136). The major cause of the Famine was a disease called the blight, but there were many other aspects that caused the catastrophe in Ireland.

    Read More

  • Addressing Human Trafficking: A Call for Action

    1464 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Modern-day slavery and the sex trade in the United States has become a $28 billion dollar industry, rivaling drug trafficking” (Tomas 1). “Human trafficking is the fastest growing crime and the third largest organized crime in the world after the drug and arms trade. UNICEF estimates that 5.5 million children are trafficked globally every year”(Ezeobi 2). “Dec. 6 of this year marks 150 years since the ratification of the 13th Amendment formally abolished slavery in the United States”(Krulak 1). “In spite of more than a decade of efforts to rescue victims and raise awareness, the overall problem of modern-day slavery is actually getting worse” (Krulak 2). “Human trafficking is the fastest growing criminal enterprise in the world”(Krulak 2). “We’ve seen increases in trafficking case filed, prosecuted and convicted”(Perez 1). “The NHTRC received reports of 9,298 unique cases of human trafficking”(Lee 2). “Of those cases, 64% involved sex trafficking, 22% involved labor trafficking, nearly 3% involved both sex and labor trafficking”(Lee 2). An additional 12% were unspecified”(Lee 2). “The National Center for missing and Exploited Children says at least 100,000 children across the country ate trafficked each year”(Alcindor 1). “Polaris project, a non-profit that runs the national human trafficking hotline, has received 58, 911 calls since December 2007”(Alcindor 3). At least 2,081 callers have identified themselves as a

    Read More

  • The Great Potato Famine

    1658 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Great Potato Famine was a huge disaster that would change Ireland forever. The people in Ireland were extremely dependent on potatoes and when the blight came the economy went down. When the fungus attacked the potato crops slowly crop by crop throughout Ireland, people began to lose their main source of food. With the people in Ireland’s huge dependency on the potato, people began to starve or get sick from the potatoes. No one had any food to eat. The potatoes were black inside with molds through out it that came from the fungus from something in nature. The weather that brought the blight also was one of the causes because they could not control how the weather was bringing the fungus. Ireland was under the British government and did not help Ireland when they needed Britain. The aftermath of the Great Famine was not only a huge drop in population, but emigration, and much more.

    Read More

  • Essay On Health Promotion

    1128 Words  | 3 Pages

    Health promotion consists of all actions that encourage maximum spiritual, mental and physical functions despite of whether an individual is ill or well. Most of these plans are aimed at bringing positive lifestyle changes (Van Leuven, & Prion, 2007). A major core competency for all NPs is health promotion. Through regular screening, immunizations and counselling, NPs can guide their patients towards the goal of health promotion and disease prevention. As a future NP, my goal is to provide patient-centered, holistic care focusing on health promotion and sickness prevention. I also believe that an understanding of practice models like Pender’s Health Promotion Model will enable me to empower patients to obtain self-efficacy and behavior specific changes.

    Read More

  • Tuberculosis Prevention

    1822 Words  | 4 Pages

    There are several ways to prevent tuberculosis. One is to control existing infections from those infected including people, pets, and cows. Unfortunately, more than 1/3 of the population has tuberculosis, making it hard to contain every case of tuberculosis. The BCG vaccine exists, but it is not very useful in countries like the US. The body’s defenses against tuberculosis are effective but fail once the immune system becomes suppressed. Antibiotics can be used to help prevent tuberculosis, but tuberculosis quickly grows resistant to antibiotics. Much needed research is being done to find a way to fight off and prevent tuberculosis.

    Read More

More about The Great Potato Famine

Open Document