The Fall of the Potato: Causes of the Great Famine Essay -- Essays Pap

The Fall of the Potato: Causes of the Great Famine Phythophthora infestans was the lethal fungus that infested Ireland's potato crop and eventually ruined all of the land it grew on. This time is called the Great Famine and has impacted Ireland due to its destructive extinction of the potato farms which caused disease, extreme poverty, and death. There are several circumstances to take into consideration when looking at the causes of the Great Potato Famine in Ireland. Due to the great dependence the Irish people had on the potato, it is clear how blight could devastate a country and its people. To understand the Irish people's dependence on the potato for diet, income, and a way out of poverty, it is necessary to look at several key factors that were evident before the famine. Factors such farming as the only way of life, rise in population, and limited crops explain why the people of Ireland relied on the potato. But not only do these reasons clarify why the famine hit the Irish people so hard, other important factors play into effect as well. By looking at the weak relationship between England and Ireland through parliamentary acts and trade laws, it is more evident what the causes of the Great Famine are and why it was so detrimental. The relationship between Ireland and England played a major role in the causes of the Great Famine. Ireland became part of the United Kingdom in 1801 due to the Act of Union (Edwards & Williams 19). Under this act, Ireland was placed under "the jurisdiction of the richest and most industrially advanced empire in the world" (Kinealy 33). From this act, Ireland's parliament was abolished and became controlled by England through political leadership established throughout the Irish state. A... ...remier. EBSCO. Roesch Library, Dayton, Ohio. 19 January 2004. http://library.udayton.edu/research/article/ - Edwards, R. Dudley and T. Desmond William. The Great Irish Famine: Studies in Irish History 1845-52. Dublin, Ireland: Browne & Dolan, Ltd., 1957. - Kinealy, Christine. â€Å"How Politics Fed the Famine†. Natural History 105 (1996): 33-3. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Roesch Library, Dayton, Ohio. 19 January 2004. http://library.udayton.edu/research/article/ - O Grada, Cormac. The Great Irish Famine. England: MacMillan, 1989. - O Tuathaigh, Gearoid, ed. Ireland before the Famine, 1798-1848. Dublin, Ireland: Gill & MacMillan, Ltd., 1972. - Poirteir, Cathal. The Great Irish Famine. Dublin, Ireland: Mercier Press, 1995. - Whelan, Kevin. â€Å"Pre and Post-Famine Landscape Change.† O Tuathaigh 19-34.