The Irish Potato Famine

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In the late 1800’s the Irish left Ireland when the potato famine hit Ireland. The potato famine was caused by the potato blight, which made the potatoes rot in the ground. At the time the English were exporting wheat from Ireland, which contributed to the famine. The Irish ate a lot of potatoes and due to the fact that most if not half of the population was Catholic, and only a few generations before the famine, A lot of them at the time were tenant farmers, which means that they had to pay rent and they would raise sheep, grow crops, etc. and it was all sent to Great Britain and only a little bit of land was left for the farmer and his family, so they grew potatoes. Potatoes can grow in not so great soil and are relatively cheap, so they grew a lot and many of them probably only ate potatoes and water. So when the famine hit, they were left with very little, if any, food. …show more content…
Under the rule of the English, the Catholics couldn’t own land, get an education, be in the military, vote, publish books, or worship freely. The catholics were forced to live in poverty, due to the penal laws made to make the Irish Catholics second-class citizens in their own country. So most of them ended up emigrating to other countries, such as America. Many people died on the journey, the living conditions were awful for both those pushed and pulled. As history.com said “[they were] herded like livestock in dark, cramped quarters, the Irish passengers lacked sufficient food and clean water. They choked on fetid air. They were showered with excrement and vomit. Each adult was apportioned just 18 inches of bed space—children half that. Disease and death clung to the rancid vessels like barnacles, and nearly a quarter of the 85,000 passengers who sailed to North America aboard the aptly nicknamed “coffin ships” in 1847 never reached their

Irish Potato Famine In America

can harm you.” Irish Blessing. When the Irish’s potatoes began dying in 1845, over a million men, women and children died and thousands were caused to flee the country, many immigrants fled to America. The fortunate people, that were able to pay for safe passage to America on well built and well supplied ships, got to America safely. Some were not so fortunate… Those who survived the journey over, arrived to disappointment and a new life of poverty. In September of 1845, Irish potato crops all across…

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Irish Potato Famine Research Paper

The Irish Potato Famine began in 1845, lasted for more than six years and; took its toll on the daily lives of millions of people, resulted in the loss of millions of lives, and caused another million people to leave the country for their own well being and the hope of finding a better life. Ireland was very agricultural in the mid 1800s, and 8 million of the poorest people in the Western World lived there. Only about a fourth of the people in Ireland could read or write. The life expectancy was…

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Irish Potato Famine Research Paper

Great Potato Famine, also known as the great hunger. The Irish Potato Famine was the worst to occur in Europe in the 19th century from 1845–1849 when the potato crop failed in successive years (Mokyr). One million people died of starvation or the diseases associated with the famine and one million emigrated to North America or parts of England, such as Liverpool, and Scotland, such as Glasgow. The famine was caused by a mysterious disease, the potato blight, it affected the majority of potato crops…

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Irish Potato Famine Essay

Alan Hsieh Mr. Gardner Modern Global Conflict 11/01/2013 Poison Gases during WW1 Poison gases are one of the most fearful weapons through out the whole entire World War I. Even though killing rate of machine gun during World War I was compared more than the killing rate of Poison Gases. Poison Gases is more as a slow term affect during the war, since when enemies are not in battle the opponent can still use poison gases to contaminate the living environment that their enemies lived in. And…

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Great Potato Famine Research Paper

Beginning in 1845 and lasting for six years, the Great Irish Potato Famine swept through Ireland causing mass starvation, disease, and emigration. The Great Potato Famine affected not only Irish living in Ireland during this time period, but continues to affect Irish descendants all over the world today. Ireland in the mid 1800s identified herself as an agricultural nation. Eight million people populated Ireland during the Great Potato Famine and these were amongst the poorest people in the Western…

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Irish to the US AP Human Geography Miyah Davis & Claire Leon Who was involved/who had to migrate - Irish immigrants - famine struck the potato fields in 1840’s - suspicious American Protestants - Anti-Catholic mobs attacked Catholic schools and conveys - were shunned and denied work http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/irishfamine.htm Voluntary Migration or Forced Migration? Irish immigration to the United States was considered voluntary and forced. Due to the potato famine Irish people moved the…

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Potato Famine Essay

The Ireland Potato famine In 1845, the Irish people depended mostly on potatoes and farming. Inspite of the fact that, the Land used to grow crops was not owned by a certain person. In Ireland during 1845, a plant fungus attacked their potato crops. This fungus was called Phytophthora infestans. The fungus covered the potato crop in black rot. This disaster lasted about 5 years and had a horrible effect on the irish people…

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If the Irish were so lucky, why were they so discriminated? Obviously, they weren’t the shamrock-loving gingers we know when they’re being attacked. They had to leave Ireland to survive due to the potato famine, the Nativists didn’t have to make it any harder for them! Let me take you on a stroll through a story of retaliation, loss, and nativism with the Irish-American immigrants… It’s unfortunate that the Irish were hurt so badly, and the Nativists were unarguably to blame. The Nativists thought…

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continue to do so today. The Irish, Italian, and Germans are Immigrates that came to America because they had natural disasters, Religion differences, and lack of jobs in their homelands, each of the immigration groups had different experiences once they came to America; however the Irish, Italians, and Germans all help contributed to the growth of America. Natural disasters are one of the many reasons immigrants left their homeland to come to America. In the text “Irish and German Immigration “it…

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Piggy: United States and Bangladeshi People Essay

six million Irish immigrants came to the United States from the 1820s to the 1900s. The catholic Irish faced religious prejudice from the protestant masters. Their main reason for migrating to America was because of the potato famine and a need for a better life in their future. The potato famine started in 1845 to the 1850s, crops began to fail from the disease called Blight which makes the potato rot and turn black. Potatoes were the Irish main crop and food. Due to the potato famine about 350…

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