The Famine

Question 0

How did the potato blight happen?

Answer 0

Fungus attacked the potato by rotting it and leaving it in a pulpy mess with a foul smell

Question 1

What were the causes of the famine?

Answer 1

Potato blight
Subdivision
Population growth

Question 2

Why was the potato blight so disastrous?

Answer 2

The Irish were very dependant on the potato as it could grow in any weather and could grow a large yield on a small amount of land

Question 3

What was subdivision?

Answer 3

Where the father left land to his family that was divided equally between the sons, this meant for every generation the land got smaller

Question 4

How did population growth have an affect in the famine?

Answer 4

With the land getting smaller for every generation there were more mouths to feed, there was an increase in landless labourers and people were having younger marriages and having more children

Question 5

What were the relief measures?

Answer 5

Private charity
Soup kitchen
Workhouses
Public works

Question 6

What did sources give to the private charities?

Answer 6

People have money, food, clothes and seeds to the Irish, Queen Victoria gave £2,000, friends (Quakers) and Americans also gave to the Irish

Question 7

What were workhouses?

Answer 7

They were built to help the poor and the homeless, they provided work and shelter.
They were often cramped, which lead to diseases being spread quickly, people usually tried to avoid workhouses

Question 8

What was ‘laissez-faire’?

Answer 8

A government who didn’t want to get too involved with people’s problems

Question 9

Who was Charles Edward Trevelyon?

Answer 9

He was the most important civil servant in the treasury he beloved in laissez-faire and thought saving money was better than saving lives

Question 10

What were soup kitchens?

Answer 10

They were to help feed starving people, if you had more than one acre of land you didn’t qualify. There weren’t enough and landlords had to pay

Question 11

What was public works?

Answer 11

It was funded by taxes and provided basic work for the needy so that they could buy food instead of charity. Their wages didn’t increase but the prices of food did, leading to a population of malnourished people. Trevelyon said it cost too much so they were stopped

Question 12

What were the results of the famine?

Answer 12

Consolidation of land
Political effects
Marriage patterns 
Population decline
Emigration
Language

Question 13

What was consolidation of land?

Answer 13

Landlords were in debt and anxious to sell land, the encumbered estate act made this easier. Tenants noticed the uncertain nature of subdivision(no land, no marriage) and stopped

Question 14

What were the political effects?

Answer 14

The Irish were bitter with England over their political actions, this bitterness took root in the emigrant communities in England and America. People wanted a parliament back in Ireland

Question 15

What was the Act of Union?

Answer 15

In 1800 the Dublin parliament voted itself out of existence by passing the act of Union: Ireland became part of the uk

Question 16

What were the change in marriage patterns?

Answer 16

Before a son could get his inheritance he had I wait for this father to die, this meant later marriages and a decline in birth rate, most sons and daughters thought that moving to America would be a better futuristic option

Question 17

Why did people emigrate?

Answer 17

People wanted to try for a new life in the ‘better land’(America) but a lot of people died on the voyage due to overcrowded ships leading to widespread disease, this started the nickname ‘coffin ships’

Question 18

Why did the population decline?

Answer 18

Less and less people were living in Ireland because most people died due to the famine(starvation and diseases)and some immigrated to America

Question 19

How was language a result of the famine?

Answer 19

Most of those who died spoke Irish. The Irish language then became associated with poverty and children were encouraged to speak English