The key to the survival of this agricultural population was the potato. Potatoes were introduced from the Americas in the 16th century and their extremely high yield per acre made them an excellent staple food source. In 1845, Ireland produced 15 million tonnes of potatoes per year, providing the bulk of calories for around 3 million people. Contrary to popular stereotypes, the Irish also grew many other crops like wheat, oats, barley, and peas, but the potato was by far the country's most important crop.
Enter Phytophthora Infestans, better known as potato blight. Native to America, the country of origin of the potato, blight is a fungal infection that thrives in humid environments and causes infected crops to die back to an inedible black mush. It entered Europe in the early 1840s, where it ravaged potato crops in countries like Belgium and Holland. However, when it reached Irish shores in 1845, the effects would be apocalyptic.
Famine is coming
Late blight ravaged the potato harvest of 1845. This first scourge was somewhat sporadic and it took weeks for the authorities to realize the extent of the disaster. In total, around 40% of the country's potato harvest was destroyed. The consequences have been particularly severe in the eastern, southern and central regions of Ireland, with many counties reporting that the vast majority of potatoes have been lost. Ireland had faced famines before, there had been one between 1800 and 1801 and another between 1816 and 1818, but this crisis would be a different beast entirely.
Action was clearly needed and that responsibility lay with the British government. However, in order to understand the British reaction, we need to address a few points.
#angortamor #history #irishhistory
Music: Epidemic Music
Sources:
David Ross, Ireland: History of a Nation, (2002)
James S. Donnelly Jr, The Great Irish Potato Famine, (2001)
Neil Hegarty, The History of Ireland: A History of the Irish People, (2011)
Ruth Dudley Edwards, It's time to get over the fact that the Great Famine was not genocide", October 4, 2015, Independent.ie, https://www.independent.ie/opinion/its-time-to-get -over- the-fact-that-the-great-famine-was-not-a-genocide/31580188.html?regTokenst2.s.AcbHMkiVKA.i6veejCfrrfAXRjD7KVSF6GaTePPtb_ZyoTxICCSybgawl3_IeUp_oRidOqgXqLjHWwqsqo1WowS6jy 4Trc9wveqhTYS SDQNboohQyDYx5oXxm9UIgbqP0s9cMgYXqk2.xs4Qz1pkXu4OSDodZQUteLasdMhTNlQAKz3DEmel-XryUv_xscenTPz1p62BReAyrnsrDkQeXlWLChaHjsAGUw.sc3
Tim Pat Coogan, The Famine Plot: England's Role in Ireland's Greatest Tragedy, (2012)
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