Potatoes are one of the most nutritious crops in the world. Growing in small mounds, the plants send their root systems into the ground. The potatoes then grow in clusters under the earth. Harvesting potatoes is simple. It involves digging into the mounds with a spade, turning over the dirt, and picking up the potatoes. The crops are usually abundant and can be cooked into many tasty dishes.
In Ireland, potatoes became the staple food product for most people by the early 1800s. By 1845, Ireland had a population of about 8 million people. Of these, about 6 million lived in the rural areas of the land. These people lived almost entirely on potatoes. When the potato harvests were bountiful, there was no real hunger in Ireland. But what would happen if the crop was struck with a nationwide potato blight? Could famine ever rage across the country?
In the fall of 1845, the Irish peasants began digging up their potato mounds. But instead of healthy, firm potatoes, the Irish found a blackened and diseased crop. Throughout the entire country, widespread blight was soon reported. Though Ireland produced beef and dairy cattle, and also cultivated grain crops, these were not available to the destitute Irish peasants. Most land was owned by absentee landlords. These rich barons exported the grain crops and livestock to England and other countries.
As the potato blight worsened in 1845, the starving peasants watched cattle and grain being exported from their stricken land.
This social disaster was worsened by the poisonous relationship between Ireland and England. Having been overrun by the British centuries earlier, the Irish had a justifiable hostility toward the British. The English Parliament, for the most part, had a certain contempt for the Irish. When reports of the potato famine arrived in London, the Parliament reacted slowly. When decisions were first made, the government insured that the British overlords of Irish land would not suffer financial harm from the catastrophe. This brutally selfish action led to the continued starvation of Irish peasants.
Some enlightened British leaders, like Prime Minister Robert Peel, tried to import corn to alleviate the famine. But Parliament would not allow a tax reduction on the importation of grains to Ireland, because of lost revenue. Knowing how desperate the situation was in Ireland, Peel began secretly importing maize from the United States.
While well intended, the importation had serious problems. Even after milling the maize, the grain was too coarse not to harm the health of some in the starving population. With weakened digestive systems, many older and younger people couldn’t digest the rough food and died after eating the maize. Soon, everyone began hoping that the cruel blight would pass, and the 1846 potato crop would be unaffected.
But what would happen if the potato blight continued? How long can people withstand famine without resources? What choices do starving people have? Why did people die with green mouths?
While some peasants shared everything they had with their starving neighbors, others turned to survival at all costs. Some Irish lied to survive, and others cursed the British hoping that God would damn all the English. But many just silently died. What would you have done in this dreadful time? What did the British government do and what should it have done?
To find out, go to the library and check out this heartbreaking book, “Black Potatoes: The Story of the Great Irish Famine, 1845-1850” by Susan Bartoletti.
This book won the Sibert Honor Medal for Outstanding Nonfiction in 2002. The author treats the famine with compassion and thoroughness. This book would be very useful to junior high students studying social issues. By understanding the many aspects of the catastrophe, students can learn that governmental and personal choices can change a situation for better or worse. Hopefully this will lead to better choices being made the next time.
