 Over the past 1,200 years, [[Vikings]], [[Normans]], [[Welsh people|Welsh]], [[Flemings]], [[Scottish people|Scots]], [[English people|English]], [[Africans]], [[Eastern Europeans]] and [[South Americans]] have all added to the population and have had significant influences on Irish culture.The population of Ireland rose rapidly from the 16th century until the mid-19th century, interrupted briefly by the [[Irish Famine (1740–41)|Famine of 1740–41]], which killed roughly two fifths of the island's population.The population rebounded and multiplied over the next century, but the [[Great Famine (Ireland)|Great Famine]] of the 1840s caused one million deaths and forced over one million more to emigrate in its immediate wake.