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The Irish Famine

Causes
1. Subdivision of Land- Farmers in the 19th Century only had about 20 acres each and so if he had numerous sons, he would have to divide land between all of them. Eventually each family was living off 5 acres or less, not enough to feed a family
2. Large Population- The Irish population in 1800 was about 5 million, however in 1845 the population grew by 3 million, or 60%. This was too many people for Ireland to feed.
3. Potato Blight- The Irish were used to famines and had had 14 of them since 1816. However, a new disease, called the potato blight took them by surprise in 1845. First the leaves blackened and died and then the dug up potatoes were rotten.
Chronology of the Famine
1. 1845- This was when, in October, the blight first struck Ireland. Farmers awoke to find acres of potatoes rotten and useless overnight.
2. 1846- The blight struck again, but much worse this time. People in the West (and other parts) of Ireland were starving. The English Prime Minister ordered £100,000 of Indian meal from America for the dying Irish.
3. 1847- The crop of potatoes is better this year, less deaths occur and it seems the worst of the blight is over
4. 1850- The Irish famine appears to be over after 5 years of suffering and death.
Consequences of the Famine
1. Population Decline- By 1851 1 million Irish people had died and another million had emigrated to find work to places such as America. Altogether this means that about 2 million people were lost.
2. Consolidation of Land- Farms now grew larger, not smaller as they did before the famine. Also because of the famine, the landlords were in debt and were keen to sell off their land. The tenants had also learned from their mistakes and no longer subdivided their land to all of their sons, the eldest just got the farm now and the other boys were forced to become priests or emigrate. This meant farms grew in size. As the farms were all growing, the cottier clans, with smaller farms nearly all died out.
3. Change in Marriage Patterns- As only one son now inherited land which meant that he had to wait for the father to die to pass down the land. This meant that many people couldn't afford to marry at young ages. The Catholic Church also became a lot stricter on courting to prevent birth rate rising any more. The children who didn't inherit often had to emigrate.
4. Political Consequences- Many people believed that the famine was the English's fault and so a republican feeling rose in many parts of Ireland. This also increased Republicanism in areas of the USA where large amounts of Irish had emigrated to.
Interpretations Of the Famine
1. Appropriately- The government put certain relief measures in place to aid the people suffering worst. These included soup kitchens, workhouses, public works and more.. Some sources say that the Government were a great help to the Irish in their time of need.
2. Inappropriately- Most people argue that the methods used to help the Irish weren't good enough. Many died doing Public Works and people were so desperate for food that they'd wait on the side of the road for someone else to drop out so that they could take their place. The Workhouses were also very bad quality as they split up families, they worked the people endlessly and they didn't get enough food to survive on. Therefore, many people resorted to stealing to stay alive.

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The Irish Famine

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	Created by Nathan McClure about 8 years ago