Potato Famine of 1845

At the end of the summer of 1845, a thick rain fell throughout Ireland, carrying with its pores of blight that killed multiple crops, including the potato crop. Because Ireland was dependent on the potato crop, the results of this blight were catastrophic. Britain, who had control over Ireland at this time, did very little to help the now starving and poor Irish. As a result of English disregard towards the Irish during the Potato Famine of 1845, the already fragile relationship between Ireland and England worsened.

When this particular blight, containing the fungus phytophthora infestans, struck the potatoes, it killed the tuber of the plant and potatoes all throughout Ireland began to rot. The blight also hit the rest of Europe and America however, these countries were not as dependent on the potato crop as was Ireland, so it was a mere annoyance to people (Beaumont, 383).

This huge fall in potato crops created a catastrophic problem. The potato had been the ideal food for the hugely poor rural population of Ireland. No other crop could be produced as quickly as the potato and in such high numbers. The potato also contained many nutrients. Consequently, The loss of the crop left millions of Irish citizens facing starvation. As the crisis deepened, the prices of the alternate foods also skyrocketed, making it almost impossible for citizens to get nutrition in their diets and stay healthy (Connolly).

The year prior to the blight, 15 million tons of potatoes were produced. In 1845, the blight cut that total to 10 million and in 1846, yields fell even more, so that only two million acres produced less than three million tons of edible potatoes. In 1847 only over a quarter of a million acres was sown, so only about two mil...

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...over six countries in Northern Ireland. An era of violence and terror had finally ended in Ireland (Connolly).

One hundred and fifty years after the famine, one can still see the effect of the famine in the world, in the number of Irish immigrants spread throughout, the treeless landscape of Ireland, the broken down home structures found along the countryside of Ireland, and the emergence of two countries: Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. It is a fact that the British government did not do enough in aiding the Irish during the famine, which left hatred burning through the surviving Irish. Had the British government done more to help, perhaps not as much of the civil conflicts that occurred would have happened. The Potato Famine worsened the relationship between Britain and Ireland, ultimately leading up to the split of Ireland into two countries.