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The Irish Famine - source related study.

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The Irish Famine Part 1 1. What does source A tell us about the Great Famine? Source A 'Are you to hesitate in averting famine which may come, because it possibly may not come? Or, Good God are you to sit in cabinet and consider how much diarrhoea and blood flux and dysentery a people can bear before it becomes necessary for you to provide them with food? Source A tells us that the Great Famine was dreadful and according to Sir Robert Peel a past British Prime Minister the cabinet was considering not giving the public any food and allowing their diarrhoea, blood flux and dysentery to carry on until near death. 2. Identify in Source B the following: (a) A statement of fact (b) An example of the authors opinion Source B Deaths, I regret to say, innumerable for starvation are occurring every day; the bonds of society are almost dissolved ...... ...read more.


4. Does Source D confirm or contradict Source B? Source D There is much reason to believe that the object of the Relief Act is greatly perverted and that it is frequently applied solely as a means of adding to the comforts of the lower classes, and of assisting the farmers and employers in carrying on their business instead of being as intended, a provision for the utterly destitute, and for the purpose of warding off absolute starvation... Source D confirms what Source B is saying completely for example B talks about the 'pampered officials.... while every day starvation is occurring..... and the bonds of society are almost dissolved' and Source D is talking about how the money was going to the lower classes rather than to the completely impoverished and for the purpose of fighting off absolute starvation. 5. In what ways is Source E useful to a historian? Source E is useful because it shows the attire that was worn in the 19th century and also gives evidence to the fact that Irish people were trying to escape misery and death by emigrating. ...read more.


Within forty years the population exploded and slowly it became worse simply because the smaller tenants could not grow enough crops or raise sufficient animals for sale to please their landlords greed. As a result these tenants with their crops and animals gone turned out to be completely reliant on the potato crop for nourishment and every meal consisted of potato as it was not hard to grow the climate was ideal and it could be grown on small bits of land. The beginning of the famine that would devastate Ireland for the next few years and would make a catastrophic effect. There had been famines before and everyone suffered immensely but those were nothing in contrast with the pain they went through from 1845 - 1848. A recent disease named Phytophtora Infestans infected the potato in autumn of that year and within a few weeks most of the potatoes were wasted. Phytophtora Infestans was a microscopic fungus never seen in Ireland before and at that time there was no cure. It wrecked the potato by turning the stalks black and the tubers rotted in the ground. ...read more.

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