Famine In Ireland

Question 1

Name three types of people or farmers in countryside during the famine

Answer 1

Landlords
Tenant farmers
Cottiers

Question 2

Who were the landlords at the time of the Irish famine

Answer 2

Descended from settlers from the plantations.
Lived in the ‘big’ house
Rented land to tenants and if tenant didn’t pay they were evicted
Many were absentee landlords

Question 3

Explain a land agent

Answer 3

Some one who collected rent for the landlord from his tenants

Question 4

What were the two types of tenant farmers

Answer 4

Large farmers

Small farmers

Question 5

Who were large famers

Answer 5

Rented more than 30acres of land and reared livestock.

They grew crops like wheat and barley and employed labourers

Question 6

Who were small farmers

Answer 6

Rented between 3/30 acres and grew wheat and barley

They subdivided their farm between their sons

Question 7

Who were Cottiers

Answer 7

These were labourers on the farm

They rented an acre and had a cottage and potatoes on this land

Question 8

Give four reasons the famine came about

Answer 8

Rise in population
Subdivision
Dependence on the potato
Potato blight

Question 9

Explain how the rise in population caused the famine

Answer 9

More people to feed. The population grew from 5-8 million in 30 years

Question 10

Explain how subdivision caused the famine

Answer 10

A farmer spilt his land among his sons which meant there was less land as you went through the generations

Question 11

Explain how dependence on the potato and Potato blight caused the famine

Answer 11

The potato was the only source of food for almost half the population. There was not enough nutrients eating only potato. When the potato blight came nobody had any other food. Potato blight is a fungus that caused the potato to fail

Question 12

How did the potato blight effect people, the earth and how did it spread

Answer 12

The potato blight took a third of the potatoes in 1845
Blight struck again the next two years but three quarters of the crops were lost.
Thousands died

Question 13

Give five things the British did to help the famine

Answer 13

They sent maize over to Ireland and fed a million people
Public work scheme was set up
Workhouses established
Soup kitchens opened, tax paid for them to feed over three million people
Private charities such as the Quakers set up kitchens and served a lot of people

Question 14

What were workhouses

Answer 14

A place where families went to have shelter and be fed. They was overcrowding and disease spread easily.
Families were spilt up from each other to work

Question 15

Explain public work scheme

Answer 15

Allowed the poor to work and earn money

Question 16

Give the results of the famine

Answer 16

Fall of population
End of subdivision
Decline in Irish language
Emigration
Anti British feeling
Agriculture

Question 17

Explain fall of population in relation to the results of the famine

Answer 17

One million people died and one million emigrated. People also continued to emigrate after the famine

Question 18

Explain ending of sub division in relation to the results of the famine

Answer 18

This means that only the eldest son got the land

Question 19

Explain emigration in relation to the results of the famine

Answer 19

One million people emigrated during the famine mostly to America
Many sailed in coffin ships were overcrowded so diseases spread easily

Question 20

Explain anti British feeling in relation to the results of the famine

Answer 20

Irish blamed English for the famine because they exported Irish food while people were starving

Question 21

Explain agriculture in relation to the results of the famine

Answer 21

Many landlords went bankrupt

Farms were seen as investments and wealthy investors bought them while they were going cheap