Читать книгу The Worst World Disasters of All Time - Kevin Baker - Страница 13

Famine memorial in Dublin - Image author: AlanMc

Date: 1845-1852.

Location: Ireland.

Disaster Type: Famine.

Fatalities: 1,000,000

Resulting Damage: 25% of the population died or fled Ireland.

What the history books refer to as the Irish Potato Famine is known inside the country simply as the Great Famine, because it was an event so dire and important that there was no point in adding any other qualifier. Between 1845 and 1852, close to a million people died in Ireland because of this famine, and more were forced to emigrate to other countries in order to survive, which caused the total population of the country to fall by around 25%. It was a watershed event in the history of the country, and while it is related to famines elsewhere in Europe, it hit Ireland particularly badly because of various key factors.

Ireland had been under UK control since 1801, under the executive order which gave England complete command over the country. However, even though they had representation in the British parliament, the English government struggled to control Ireland. It was once referred to as a starving country with a missing aristocracy and an alien Church. Most in England saw Ireland as a foreign nation, even though they had fought to bring the country into the United Kingdom. Many laws were passed to restrict the rights of the population, including the Catholics and the local landlords.

Because of the harsh conditions in Ireland, the potato became the bread and butter of their food supply, especially among poor people who could not afford anything of higher value. This dependency deepened during the 17th century. So when the disease Phytophthora Infestans, commonly referred to as the Blight, spread around the world in the early 1840s, it became a major issue. This was a disease that affected only potatoes, and killed over half the crops that got infected.

In 1844, newspapers carried reports in Ireland that this disease had appeared in America and Europe, and the pathogen was traced to Mexico. By 1845 it was described as a relentless issue which destroyed entire crops in many countries, and it then started destroying crops in Ireland as well. The disease was unlike anything previously seen, and lasted much longer than previous diseases. Because of the deep economic divide and the high reliance on potatoes, Ireland suffered dearly from this Blight.

The UK government was slow to respond, and by 1847 it created soup kitchen programs to help Irish people cope. However, Britain suffered a banking crisis and those programs all but came to a halt not long after. As a result, many Irish people were left with bitterness towards Britain for not helping them through the crisis. Many were convinced that the Blight was a direct result of the colonial policies of Great Britain, and it fuelled a lot of resentment for years.