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The Irish Famine
Page 2
The Famine
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Irish Peasant Taking Potatoes
to Market
The Pictorial Times
February 28, 1846 |
Emerald Isle—that's
what many people call Ireland, or Eire in the Irish
Gaelic language. The island gets its nickname from
its lush green meadows and tree-covered hills. "It's
so green, so very green," reported a recent visitor
to the island. Plus its mild marine climate ensures
that Ireland stays green year round, as pictures from
space satellites show.
Damp low-lying clouds sometimes settle on the island.
The fog makes the land look a little magical, especially
in areas where medieval castles and farmers' cottages
peek out from the mist.
Ireland has been—and still is—a largely
rural area, with many people working in agriculture.
Its warm climate and dependable rains make Ireland
a good land for farming. But this way of earning a
living brought a tremendous tragedy to Ireland in
the mid-1800s. At this time at least one half of all
Irish families depended upon the production and use
of potatoes. However, in 1845 a disease started killing
potato crops. A few days after farmers dug up potato
hills, the potato piles would start to rot, turning
into mounds of dark smelly slime. The disease spread
far and wide, infecting potato fields throughout Ireland.
Because potatoes formed the basis of the Irish diet,
people began to starve or die of fever from weak health.
Prices of other food items, like grains, shot up.
The already poor farmers, who now lacked income from
the sale of potatoes, could not even afford to buy
corn. Landlords evicted them from their homes, and
families poured into poorhouses by the thousands.
Great Britain, which ruled Ireland, tried to relieve
the misery, but efforts fell short. People visiting
Ireland struggled to describe what they saw in newspaper
reports. In most cases, travelers felt totally overwhelmed.
The Irish Potato Famine, or Great Famine, lasted for
about five years. In just a short time, the demographics,
or population make-up, of Ireland changed dramatically.
About 1,100,000 people died of famine-related causes.
Approximately 1,500,000 emigrated from Ireland, moving
mostly to English-speaking countries. The largest
number by far traveled to the United States, where
they became an important part of the history of our
nation.
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