The famine: why it happened....1) High dependency on the potato crop:• Potatoes were the main food for about 3,000,000

small farmers and labourers.• 1 acre of land could feed a family• People ate up to 7kg of potatoes a day with milk, it

was a nourishing diet.• High dependency on one crop was not good,

Why do you think this is so?

2) Sub-division:

• Every farmer divided the land btw. his sons, eventually there was very little land for each farmer.

• Heavy dependency on farming because there was no industry

• By 1845 1/3 depended solely on the potato crop.3) The Population increase:• 1801 = 5,000,000• 1841 = 8,000,00• This meant there were more people on less land &

people were poorer.

4) The Potato Blight: a fungus that spread in warm, moist weather

• 1844, the potato blight hit Canada, no one knew how to stop it.

• By autumn 1845, it had reached Ireland. (year 1) Strange smell coming from the crop Stalks went black Potatoes went rotten 1/3 of the crop was destroyed.

• 1846 the blight struck again. (year 2)

• This time 75% of the crop was destroyed.

• 1847 only a small amount of potato existed (year 3)

• People were so hungry they ate the seed potatoes.

• Thousands of the poorest people died from starvation (cottiers & small farmers)

• This was the beginning of the great Irish famine that lasted until the 1850s.

What did the government do?• Public works scheme was set up to employ people. This

allowed people to build roads, piers & drains for a wage.

• Up to 750,000 people were depending on the scheme for work.

• The crop failure in 1846 &’47 meant many people were too weak to work.

• The government didn’t want to give free food in case the people became ‘lazy’ or ‘dependent’ on handouts.

Peel’s Brimstone:• 1845 Sir Robert Peel bought €127,000 worth of

maize from Canada.

• It was sold at cost price.

• Relief committees were set up to give it out.

• It fed up to 1,000,000 & reduced impact of famine.

• However it was very hard to cook without other ingredients.

The Workhouses:• The government initially refused to allow the

workhouses to give out free food, but in 147 they changed the law & the workhouses opened soup kitchens, however they continued to make tax payers pay for this service.

Soup Kitchens & outside charity:• More well off people tried to help the poor.• The Quakers collected money from friends of Britain

& doled out free soup to starving people.• Many landlords & PP did what they could & wrote

Newspaper reports, resulting in many donations been sent to Ireland; British ass. for Relief & Distress sent €596,000.

Lack of clothes:• As people were so poor they could not afford to buy

clothes. The bitter winter of 1847 was drawing closer & many would died of hypothermia & disease.

Food leaves during the famine:• Ships of exported live stock & crop from the east of the

country was leaving the shores of Ireland each week.

• This resulted in much resentment for the British government.

• Emigrants who left during this time later supported republican groups such as the IRB & funded the revolt against Britain.

Emigration:• Btw. 1846 – 1850 it is estimated that 1,000,000

people left Ireland.• Many received help from their landlords to buy the

ticket.• Britain & America were the most common

destinations.• Cheap tickets were bought for coffin ships. These

were overcrowded ships in bad condition. Many people died from disease aboard these ships.

• When America discovered the Irish carried disease they closed their ports, as a result many ended up in North America & Canada.

Consequences of the Famine:1) Population decline:• Btw. 1845-1850 approx. 1 million died & 1 million

emigrated.• The population continued to decline until 1901 when it

reached about 4 million.

2) End of sub-division:• Only the eldest son received the land. He took over the

farm when the father died. The rate of marriage decreased & family sizes became smaller.

3) Decline in the Irish language:• Many people from the west & south coast emigrated. They

needed to speak English to get jobs & the Irish language declined.

4) Emigration:• Many people left & went to America, beginning a strong

tradition of emigration to the USA from Ireland.

5) Agriculture changed:• Many tenants evicted, population decreased & farms became

bigger.• Cattle raring & dairy farming became popular.

6) Landlords sold their estates:• Many landlords went bankrupt as tenants could pay rent.• New investors evicted tenants to make profits from farming.