Irish Famine Memorial, Dublin
Topics on the Page
Irish Potato Famine Event Summary
Primary Sources
Multimedia Sources
Learning Plans
Famines in History
- Great Famine in China, 1959-1961 (Mao's Great Famine)
- Ukrainian Famine, 1932-1933
- Great Famine of 1315
- Bengal Famine of 1943
- Ethiopia Famine, 1984-1988
- Vietnam Famine, 1944-1945
|
PAGE SUMMARY
The Irish Potato Famine began in 1845 when a fungus destroyed the leaves of potato plants in Ireland causing potatoes to rot very quickly.
Potatoes were a staple of Irish food, and the lack of potatoes led to a famine, which is a mass starvation. Farmers could not afford to live on their land, and so many people left Ireland and emigrated to places like England, Scotland, the U.S., and Australia with little to no money.
By the time the famine ended in 1852, over one million people died, most of whom had starved to death. The Irish population was greatly reduced, and large groups of Irish immigrants began to flock together in cities around the world.
The famine was thought to be worsened by British rule, as Irish Catholics were not allowed to hold professions or purchase land. The British Government also did little to nothing to mitigate the famine, and left lasting distrust between the British and Irish.
(Emily McDonough, March 2022)
|
Irish Potato Famine Summary
Christy Moore perform The City of Chicago
The Irish Potato Famine
Monoculture and the Irish Potato Famine: Cases of Missing Genetic Variation from Understanding Evolution, University of California Berkeley
Scientists Finally PinPoint the Pathogen that Caused the Irish Potato Famine, Smithsonian, May 21, 2013
British involvement and inaction during the Irish Potato Famine.
Mass starvation: tackling the political causes of famine | ODI: Think change
The Potato Famine and Irish Immigration to America.
Leadership shown by Irish women during the Irish Potato Famine.
 |
| Suggested paths of migration of P. infestans lineages HERB-1 |
Primary Sources
Interpreting the Irish Potato Famine, 1846-1850 from University of Virginia
Irish Views of the Famine
Ireland's Great Famine National Monument. Photo by Bruce Hall
Multimedia Sources
The Irish Potato Famine Documentary combines music, photographs and text (without a voice over) in a short YouTube video.
The Irish Potato Famine offers an animated overview of the event on Vimeo
The Irish Potato Famine and the coffin ships.
Click here to watch a video about the timeline of the Irish Potato famine and how it changes the history of Ireland forever.
Ethiopia's famine: Remembering 30 years on - BBC News
'The Mountains Sing' A Song Of Many Voices The Mountains Sing is a historical fiction novel from a Vietnamese author that covers the Vietnamese Famine and the effects of the American War in Vietnam.
Learning Plans
Hunger on Trial: An Activity on the Irish Potato Famine and Its Meaning for Today, Zinn Education Project
The Real Irish American Story Not Taught in Schools, Bill Bigelow, Zinn Education Project, March 16, 2012
- During the first winter of famine, 1846-47, as perhaps 400,000 Irish peasants starved, landlords exported 17 million pounds sterling worth of grain, cattle, pigs, flour, eggs, and poultry—food that could have prevented those deaths.
- See the book, Paddy’s Lament by Thomas Gallagher.
Forced to Flee: Famine and Plague, Discovery Education
Tom Brady's Roots Run Deep into 19th-Century Boston, The Boston Globe (March 4, 2017)
- Football Quarterback Tom Brady's great-great-grandparents came to the United States during Ireland's Great Famine
Famines In History
Ten Worst Famines of the 20th Century
The Great Famine in China, 1959-1961 (also known as Mao's Great Famine)
- Largest Famine in human history
- 30 million died; 30 million births lost or postponed
- Created by Mao's decision to launch The Great Leap Forward
The Ukrainian Famine: How Joseph Stalin Starved Millions - HISTORY
The Great Famine of 1315
Ethiopia: Ethiopia in Crisis: Famine and Its Aftermath, ~a HREF="/et_00_00.html#et_01_09" from the Library of Congress.
VIETNAM: War and hunger hand in hand famine during the Japanese occupation of Vietnam after the end of World War II.
- During the French-Indochina War, which immediately preceded the American War in Vietnam, between 400,000 and 2 million people starved to death. These deaths are largely attributed to oppressive French policies and Japanese occupation.
'The Mountains Sing' A Song Of Many Voices
The Mountains Sing is a historical fiction novel from a Vietnamese author that covers the Vietnamese Famine and the effects of the American War in Vietnam.
The Bengal Famine of 1943
World History (Massachusetts).png)
Grades 1 - 8 (Massachusetts).png)
.png){kind=small}
.png){kind=small}
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png){kind=small}
.png){kind=small}
Comments (0)
You don't have permission to comment on this page.