irish immigration

In the 1840s(and earlier,) potato were very important to the econmomy of ireland, because they were a very promimnent food source. also, most of the irish population before 1839 were poor, and almost all the poor were farmers. this is why the 'Potato famine (sounds so silly compared to how much of a hige impact it was)' was such a big deal.

In 1841 the population of Ireland was 8.5 million people. By 1850, at least one million died in terrible conditions. Near another million immigrated as refugees. Ireland’s 1845 Potato Blight is often given credit for ‘sending’ a wave of Irish immigrants to America. The fungus that destroyed potato crops created a devastating famine. Starvation spread through Ireland, and over five years, a million Irish were dead while half a million had arrived in America to start a new life.


-peter
deborahs class