Question 1

What caused the Irish Potato Famine?

Accepted Answer

The immediate cause was Phytophthora infestans, a water mold that destroyed Ireland's potato crop from 1845. But the deeper causes were a landholding system that left the poor dependent on a single crop and a British relief policy that let food keep leaving Ireland while people starved.

Question 2

How many people died in the Irish Potato Famine?

Accepted Answer

Roughly one million people died from starvation and related diseases such as typhus and dysentery between 1845 and 1852. Another million or more emigrated, and Ireland's population fell from over eight million to around six within a decade.

Question 3

Was there really no food in Ireland during the famine?

Accepted Answer

No. Ireland produced enough grain, butter, and livestock to feed its population, and continued exporting food throughout the famine. Those harvests belonged to landlords and were sold to pay rents, so a family could starve while the crops they grew were shipped abroad.

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The Vegetable That Held Up a Nation