Ch16: Great Famine + Diaspora

• Agricultural advances:

  • Norfolk system: four crop rotation cycle of wheat, turnip, oat and clover. No fields were left fallow.
  • Seed Drill: a machine pulled by an ox which sowed seeds at a fixed depth in straight rows
  • Selective breeding: choosing the largest and most suitable cattle for breeding rather than for meat (eating)
• Causes of the Famine:

  • Increase in population led to an increase in food production and consumption
  • Over-reliance on the potato by Ireland
  • Subdivision of land leading to smaller farms
  • Nationwide poverty caused the poor to rely on the potato
• Course of the Famine, 1845-1850:

  1845: Farmers noticed their potatoes were turning black with a smell. They brushed it off because they had many potatoes in storage.

  1846: Two thirds of potatoes were lost to the blight, the potatoes in storage was used up. Disease such as measles and tuberculosis spread rapidly.

  1847: The potato fungus was mostly gone, however there were very few potato seeds to grow, leading to a shortage.

  1848-50: Starvation and disease worsened, even though there were very few potatoes. Roughly 50k people more died than in 1846.
• Consequences of the Famine:

  • Decrease in population: pre-famine Ireland peaked in population at 8 million. Ireland hasn't reached 8m since then.
  • Change in farming practices: subdivision of land was stopped, with all land going to the eldest son. Cattle farming was also preferred.
  • Mass emigration: many Irish boarded coffin ships to the USA, leading to the Irish Diaspora.