The Famine BY MARJER

INTRODUCTION Hi everyone this is our project on the Famine we hope you learn some new and interesting facts on the Famine.

WHAT IS THE FAMINE? The famine started in 1845 and ended in 1851.The famine was caused by a disease called blight.The reason why the famine was such a big deal is because all Ireland relied on was potatoes and the potatoes got a disease,potatoes were the only main food because back then we didn’t have anything fancy like burgers ,chips or pizza we just had potatoes.

Causes of the famine The Irish people depended widely on the potatoes, although it was not all they ate as it is commonly believed. Potato blight is a disease that that came from the fungus Phytophthora infestans. Farmers nowadays prevent this disease by spraying the crop with a chemical.

Sickness People got some diseases as well - it wasn’t just the potatoes. The main disease people got was called Typhus. Typhus is a disease that people get from bacteria from animals such as rats. The symptoms are a high fever ,pains and a red rash somewhere on your body. Typhus can kill humans.

Workhouses Work houses were places where poor people would go and work and in exchange the people in charge of the work houses would give them some food. By 1845 there was over 130 work houses in Ireland .The people that were in the work houses had to do very hard work for a bed and a bowl of soup. The year 1847 was known as BLACK 47 because it was the worst year of the Famine .Work houses got over crowded and disease spread very quickly.

Poverty Potatoes were so popular in Ireland because they did not cost much and the conditions needed to grow them were exactly what Ireland’s weather had to offer. Loss of the potato crop would mean disaster for the majority of the Irish people Unfortunately in 1845 just this happened and chaos

Emigration Coffin ships were what many Irish people used to escape Ireland There were two types of passenger, a cabin passenger and a steerage passenger A cabin passenger ticket cost £5-£8.Cabin passengers had a wider selection of food which still wasn’t much. The steerage passenger however, was much worse .They had to bring their own food, find a place to sleep themselves and were only allowed on deck for 1 hour a day and in small groups .Their tickets cost £3-£4. A famous coffin ship was the Dunbrody, which was built in Quebec, and was commissioned by William Graves and son in 1845 .It was originally intended to be a cargo vessel but ended up adding bunk beds to accomadate the unexpected passengers

English Contribution In 1845 the English government decided to set up a scientific commission to investigate potato blight,(which at the time was also known as Potato Murrain) The commission published advice which proved to be useless Sir Robert Peel was the British Prime Minister at the time the famine began .He intended to help the Irish people and planned to import cheap corn into the country ,however ,the British had a strong policy against it and despite protest he secretly imported £100,000 worth of Indian corn into the country and planned to sell it cheaply. Lord John Russel was elected Prime Minister in June 1846 ,as many did not agree with Peel’s opinion and Russel was one of them .He believed the Irish were become to dependent on British aid .Eventually after much Irish protest Russel was forced to send over Indian corn although it did not arrive until December.

Effects of the famine The famine caused different things for different people here are some of them. The famine mainly effected poor people because they couldn’t afford to buy food ,the rich people weren’t effected as much because they could buy other food like vegetables or soup. The majority of people were poor so the population fell by a lot.

FAMINE TODAY There is still Famines effecting people in the world today. There are some places where Famines are still going on today. Most Famines happen in poorer countries such as Somalia , Ethiopia and Kenya. A Famine is when you don’t have either water , food , shelter, oxygen or all three.

BIBLIOGRAPHY LIBRARY RELAND.COM BRITANNICA.COM BBC.COM MR.CODY

Thank You Thank you for listening to our project on the Famine we really hope you enjoyed it as much as we enjoyed typing it.