2009
Did you know? The Great Irish Potato Famine
This story was in the room with an Irish teacher after class ... I called for details ...
Did you know that Ireland has had almost double the current population in its territory, somewhere around 9 million? What of those millions of Irish, about 2 million died of famine between 1840 and 1849 and another 2 million emigrated to countries like USA, UK, Canada and Australia?
Imagine people banging on doors crying for food establishments were looted, and undernourished people staggering along the sidewalks of Dublin, Galway and Irish counties. Outbreak? No, really. This was the picture of Ireland in the second half of the nineteenth century. The Irish crisis became known worldwide as the Great Potato Famine.
The entire population was affected by Potato blight, a plague that struck the potato crops in consecutive years, culminating in the soil impoverishment and lack of food in the region. People left the countryside and headed for the cities in search of food. The historical accounts mentioning stunted raiding homes and families perched on the ground in search of any trace of food. Sad is not it? People died mainly from starvation and diseases like typhus.
Moreover, the British Crown who ran Ireland, merely distributing soup to the population, which is not appeased the hunger in the region. Actually here is another interesting chapter in the history of Ireland. You know where it comes from the habit of eating potato of the Irish? Far from being by choice, in fact, this habit was characterized by practicality, or rather necessity. Since the lands were dominated by the British Irish, farmers had to rent space for planting, the detail was that 80% of what was grown, was aimed at the British Crown, with what was left, only 20% remaining sites plant something that is easy and guaranteed a nutritious food, ie potatoes. Pork also entered the Irish diet for the same reasons, the ease of keeping the animal and the little space they had to do it.
That's it! The next time you are commenting on the worship of the Irish for "potato", remember the fact that link to this sad story of British domination and scarcity of food.
For those who want to learn more about The Great Irish Potato Famine, worth taking a look at the book of the same name, writer James S. Donnelly, Jr, or visit The Famine Museum in Strokestown Park - Strokestown - Co. Roscommon. http://www.strokestownpark.ie/museum.html
Ávany France
