The Irish potato famined occurred because of potato blight ., expert answered|mr G|Points 48219| Log in for more information.
The Irish Potato Famine, also known as the Great Hunger, began in 1845 when a fungus-like organism called Phytophthora infestans (or P. infestans) spread rapidly throughout Ireland. The infestation ruined up to one-half of the potato crop that year, and about three-quarters of the crop over the next seven years.
While we were researching we ran into the question “What is the legacy of the potato famine in Ireland?”.
You see, legacy of the Potato Famine. The Irish Potato Famine, also known as the Great Hunger , began in 1845 when a fungus-like organism called Phytophthora infestans (or P. infestans) spread rapidly throughout Ireland. The infestation ruined up to one-half of the potato crop that year, and about three-quarters.
You could be thinking “When did the Potato Famine start and end?”
Within a year, potato crops across France, Belgium and Holland had been affected and by late 1845 between one-third and one-half of Ireland’s fields had been wiped out.
What was the significance of the Great Famine in Ireland?
Significance of the Great Famine. The Irish Famine, which in Ireland became known as ” The Great Hunger ,” was the great turning point in Irish history. It changed the society forever, most strikingly by greatly reducing the population.
How much of the Irish potato crop was ruined?
The infestation ruined up to one-half of the potato crop that year, and about three-quarters of the crop over the next seven years. Because the tenant farmers of Ireland—then ruled as a colony of Great Britain—relied heavily on the potato as a source of food, the infestation had a catastrophic impact on Ireland and its population.
Why were potatoes so important to the Irish?
The potato, which had become a staple crop in Ireland by the 18th century, was appealing in that it was a hardy, nutritious, and calorie-dense crop and relatively easy to grow in the Irish soil. By the early 1840s almost half the Irish population—but primarily the rural poor—had come to depend almost exclusively on the potato for their diet.