Essay About Own Language And Own Religion

Irish Patato Famine
Join now to read essay Irish Patato Famine
Ireland in the 1500s was a very unstable country. The countrys English rulers fought
with the local Irish civilians and the Irish nobles. The Irish nobles also fought among themselves.
The English landlords owned the land that the peasants lived and farmed on. As a result of this
continual fighting, it was hard for the peasants to grow enough food to feed themselves. The
British passed laws to deny the Irish peasants freedom. They were forbidden to speak their
own language, to practice their own religion, to own a horse worth more than ten dollars, to go to
school, or to hold a public office.
Potatoes were first introduced to Ireland around the 1600s. Some say that Sir
Walter Raleigh, an English explorer brought the potato to Ireland to see if it would survive.
Another belief is that the potato came to Ireland when some potatoes
washed ashore from a
Spanish Armada ship that had sunk off the coast of Ireland.
The white potato is thought to have originated in the Andean Mountains. The Spanish
discovered it in northern Peru and brought it back to Europe. It was first considered poisonous
by the Europeans because it was classified in the same family as the poisonous nightshade.
Potatos became popular and somewhat of a fashion statement after Marie Antoinette wore
potato blossoms in her hair. Once the royalty learned of the potatos nutritional value they
ordered the peasants to start to grow it.
1
A potato, also called a tuber, is an underground stem that is short, thick, and fleshy. The
potato was such a good crop because it has nutrients, such as protein, carbohydrate, and
vitamin C. It only lacked vitamin A and calcium. If it was combined with milk than it would
contain all of the elements required for a healthy diet. For nutrition in the mid 1800s a person
would have to eat around six and a half pounds of potatoes.
The potato was also good because when there were wars going on in Ireland, the soldiers
would go and burn all of the farmers crops. Since the potatoes were underground, they
would not be affected by this and could still be dug up afterwards. Irelands mild, cloudy, and
damp climate allows root crops, such as the potato, to thrive and to be grown successfully in
their peaty soil. Many of the people who lived in Ireland at that time were farmers and did not
own their own land. Most of them were poor and used subsistence farming.
Potatos were also used as cash crops. They paid the rent for the house and the land.
The farmers had to give a share of the crops that they grew to their landlords. The little that
was left over was what they used to feed their families. One and a half acres of land planted
with potatoes could feed a whole family of six for a year, including pigs, cattle, and fowl.
Planting, tending, and harvesting the potatos was very hard work.
The potato soon became the single major crop of Ireland. Almost ninety percent of the
population was dependent on it. It was very dangerous, as we know now, to be dependent on