Irish Potato Famine
by:John Persing, Jr.
The date was September 9, 1845. A mist comes over Ireland. This was just the beginning of one of the worst disasters to strike Ireland. This was just the beginning of the Irish Potato Famine.
The mist they saw was an air born fungus called Phytophthora ifestans. This fungus was the was the whole cause of the famine. First the fungus plants its self in the plant. Then the plant turns a funny color and starts to mildew. Those are some of the warning signs. The fungus could also destroy potatoes that were already harvested. Finally a slimy stinky rot appears and destroys the plant.
The famine was so bad for the Irish people because almost all of their diet was potatoes. So when the fungus came and destroyed all of the potatoes almost all of their food was destroyed. The farmers had a financial burden on them. Since their crops died they didn't have any money. So they either got kicked out of their homes or they starved.
Sir Robert Peel, the Prime Minister of England took immediate action. He bought 100,000 pounds (British money)of cornmeal from India. But he didn't know that the cornmeal would cause dysentery and kill even more people.
The famine caused a great lose of population in Ireland. Over 1.5 million people immigrated to America, and a million people died in the first couple of years.
The people were so hungry some mothers ate their dead children. Some of the mothers carried their deceased children as dogs and rats gnawed at the dead carcass.
Most churches were ordered by Sir Robert Peel to become relief centers. churches were relief centers. The centers were much like the homeless shelters of today.People would stand in lines half a mile long just for some of the soup that the churches served.
The famine wasn't entirely bad though. Before the famine the scientist thought the fungus was a result of the rot. Later they found out that the fungus was the cause of the fungus. Then they started work on what eventually became the vaccine for small pox and other age old plaques.
By the end of the famine the Irish population dropped to a bit over 2 million. Today over 75 million people claim to have Irish ancestors.
Now they have pesticides for the fungus that hit Ireland 150 years ago.
The famine was a horrible thing and I hope it never happens again.
Bibilography
www.pilot.infi.net/~cksmith/famine/History.html
Klaatu.oit.umass.edu/pubaffs/science_news/press/pot2.html
http://www.gene.com/ae/WN/great_famine.html
good job you read a whole page
