The Great Irish Potato Famine

1. Folie :During the years from 1845 until 1851 the Irish
people who mainly lived from agriculture and particularly
from the potato was badly hit by crop failures which were
caused by the blight ( = Kartoffelfäule ) . As a consequence
over 1 million people died from starvation and diseases and
many emigrated .
2. Folie : This illnes ( blight ) made the potatoes rot in the
fields and caused the famine. Not all sorts of potaoes
became ill but the two sorts cultivated in Ireland
were especially liable to the blight.
3. Folie : As a result of the famine many Irish people
emigrated to America, Australia and Europe (above all to
England).
The unsafe boats and ships on which they tried to emigrate
were called „coffin ships“ because a lot of people died
during the journey either from starvation or from diseases.
4. Folie : Although the government tried to take measures
against the famine by opening soup kitchens for the
starving population, this help came too late. Such measures
should have been started at least 6 months earlier; then it
would have been possible to save the lives of more people.
The system wasn't organised very well as many people were
not able to come to such an soup kitchen.

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