ABSTRACT
The middle of the nineteenth century brought an unparalleled human disaster to the Irish: the Great Famine. Simply put, the single crucial staple food of 8.5 million Irish people, the potato, was struck by a blight that destroyed the crops of 1845, 1846, and 1848. By 1851 approximately 1 million Irish had died of starvation or famine-related disease. The response of Britain ran the gamut from generous humanitarian concern to governmental ideological rigidity and even cruel abuse of the suffering human beings. The effects of the Famine were far-reaching. In the social sphere the Famine prompted a tide of emigration from Ireland that did not stop until more than a century later. The Famine also dealt a deadly blow to the Irish language and cultural tradition. The effect of the Famine on the Irish economy was likewise profound. The political movements that had culminated during the Famine period were all moribund.
