Irish Famine Essay

Submitted By red313
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Pages: 3
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30 March 2011
The Irish Famine In 1845 the ruined potatoes in Ireland cause death by starvation and disease of over 2 million people and the massive immigration of another 2 million people to the United States and Britain. (Black Potatoes: the Story of the Great Irish Famine). This horrific tragedy marked the start of a revolution because of the effortless attempts from Britain to save the starving people of Ireland. Britain was too concerned with the “unhealthy reliance” that might build between then and Ireland, than simply helping fellow human lives (Northern Ireland: Troubled Land). Potatoes were the primary source of nutrition for the Irish because of how inexpensive they were and because of how easily they were grown (Countries of the World: Ireland). Early spring is the best time to plant potatoes and there are absolutely no soil preparations needed. The potatoes should be spaced about tow feet apart and need to be watered thoroughly weekly. This gave the Irish plenty of leeway when and if they were short on water, also so they could save more water for their family and use less of it on their plants. Considering how much we need water to live and how shortages of water could be in Ireland; potatoes were a great food to grow. The best thing about potatoes, besides that they are a great source of nutrition, fiber, protein, and carbohydrates, is that they can easily be stored in the dark with the temperature at about 40 degrees or

below (.). This way the cold nights in Ireland were a great way to store then in their cellars, considering that they did not have any refrigeration. The wealthy class, landlords and nobleman, were hit the least by this famine because of all of the wealth they had to buy other foods in Ireland or from other countries that Ireland traded with. The poorest class, peasants, were hit the hardest because they did not have the money to buy other foods except for the foods that they already grew: potatoes (Northern Ireland: Troubled Land). In these times, you could find a potato farm in the back of almost every home. When you would go to a house in Ireland, the chances are that you are going to find some potatoes, just as you would walk into someone’s house and trying to find some salt. In September 1845 a fungus lurked over the
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