Stuff You Missed in History Class Flashcards
What contributed to the propagation of the blight?
The fact that the Irish were planting primarily one strain of potato, called lumpers.
When did the Irish Potato Famine take place?
Middle of the 19th century
Why were the Irish so dependent on potatoes?
Because they were easy to cultivate on little land.
What were the farmers who rented land from owners called?
Tenant farmers
What was ironic about the tenant farmers’ situation?
Many of them were renting land which had previously belonged to their ancestors but they’d lost under Cromwell.
Why did the Irish get a reputation for being shiftless and lazy?
They cultivated food which only required work for a certain period of the year, leaving them time for leisure.
What happened to potatoes stricken with the blight?
They went black and slimy within a few days.
What type of attitude did the British government adopt?
Laissez-faire
Where did many Irish people emigrate?
Canada, England and the USA
How were the Catholics persecuted in Ireland?
Not allowed to find work
Restrictions on owning property
Disenfranchisement (Irish had representation in Parliament, but Catholics couldn’t become reps)
How much of the population was literate?
1/4
Describe the tenant farming situation.
Big families lived in tiny mud houses, rented from Protestant middle-men, who gave the money to British owners, subdividing the lots all the time.
Why were potatoes better than grain?
More nutritious and bigger yield
What did they do with the other land they rented?
They grew other foods and cared for animals to sell to pay the rent.
Which two months were the leanest?
July and August
What are two other appellations the Irish gave the Potato Famine?
The Great Hunger
The Bad Life
When did the blight hit first?
1845
What parts of the plant did the blight hit first?
Leaves and stems turned black and rotted
Where did the blight come from?
Mexico and South America
How did the British government perceive the first year of the blight?
As a temporary problem which would straighten itself out the following year
For what two reasons did the blight spread worse than in the first?
The rainy conditions
The use of infected potatoes as seed
Which diseases began to spread?
Cholera
Typhoid
Scurvy
What effect did the repeal of the Corn Law have on hunger?
Very little because the Irish people and gov’t were too poor to buy the grain
Why was maize not an effective food substitute?
Took longer time to mill
Gave diarrhea
Didn’t prevent scurvy
The new Whig government adopted a laissez-faire attitude for a couple of reasons.
They didn’t want Ireland to become solely dependent on gov’t handouts
The man in charge put his faith in divine providence
