How Do You Understand The Irish Potato Famine?
In 1845, the failure of the Irish potato crop (and its continuing failure over the next few years) set loose a chain of events that profoundly affected not only Ireland, but the United States as well. By the time the Irish Potato Famine had ended, in 1849, Ireland had lost almost a million people to starvation, and over two million more to emigration. Here’s how this horrific famine came to pass. The Irish were overly dependent on a single crop. Partly for socioeconomic reasons-including the small holdings of the average farmer and the poor quality of his land-potatoes were the Irish crop of choice. As a result, while a good crop of potatoes could sustain a large farming family throughout the year, a bad crop could bring disaster. Irish potatoes were victimized by a microscopic fungus called “Phytophthora infestans,” more popularly known as “The Blight.” Probably introduced to Ireland from continental Europe (where it had already destroyed potato crops), the blight quickly rendered abo
