Monday, July 9, 2012

Bad Potatoes

The Great Potato Famine of 1845-1850

The Great Potato Famine was terrible times for Ireland. Millions of people died because they starved and they caught diseases. The farmers raised many different types of crops for the rich landowners but they only raised potatoes for themselves. The only problem is the blight. The blight only infected the potatoes, no other crop. The potatoes rotted in the ground and then people were starving. 


Timeline for the Famine:

  • 1845: Most of the irish potato crop destroyed due to blight.
  • 1846: Crop fails again.soup kitchens set up.
  • 1847: "Black '47" people die on the roads, in the streets, in ditches. Many emigrated.
  • 1848: Blight returned again and many more people died. 
  • 1849: Mass deaths from cholera epidemic. People were weak from being hungry.
  • 1850: The worst is over.

 
The Worst is Over

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