The Potato Famine

Dublin Famine Memorial (http://en.wikipedia.org)

Ireland and potatoes -- seemingly, the two go hand in hand. But, their shared history is complicated, to say the least.

Prior to the introduction of farmed vegetables in the 8th century, Irish diets centered around grains, meat (both wild and livestock), seafood, wild fruits and nuts and foraged plants, like mushrooms and roots.

When the Normans and English began colonizing Ireland in the 12th century, the new "landowners" often failed to maintain consistent food supplies for their "tenants." By the mid-16th century, the heirarchical divide between the lords and laborers had widened, and the impoverished farmers were struggling.

Around that time, potatoes were introduced to Europe as a whole and Ireland took to them enthusiastically. The soil there was ideal for growing them, and they could be stored easily during the winter months. Thanks to this new-found dietary staple, Ireland's poulation exploded, growing from about 1 million to roughly 8 million people in less than 300 years. And, most of these people were poor farmers. That made the potato famine that much more brutal.

Ireland overall wasn't affected, and all other crops and livestock were unharmed by the blight, but the heirarchy of haves and have nots had widened with catastrophic consequences. Only the poorest citizens suffered, and badly, since they depended heavily upon the potato.

When the fungus phytophthora infestans -- or potato blight -- struck Ireland in 1845, entire crops of potatoes rotted in the ground and primary food source for millions of people was destroyed. Blight plagued Irish farmlands for the next several years and the repercussions would be felt for decades after that.

Because potatoes were considered a "cash crop" owned by the landlords and not the folks who farmed them, millions of families became destitute when their primary source of income disappeared. They couldn't pay their rent and were evicted or abandoned their homes.

The displaced poor settled together in tenement conditions, leading to the emergence of communicable diseases like cholera, dysentery and typhus. In just one decade, more than a million people died of disease and starvation. (That equates to about 40 million modern-day Americans, by ratio.) Another two million emigrated out of Ireland, if they were fortunate enough to find and afford passage. This continued for decades to come, and Ireland's population was cut nearly in half, to about 4.5 million, by the start of the 20th century.

Although potatoes remain a popular component of Irish cuisine, the invention of food processing and refrigeration led to dietary diversification there, as in other industrialized countries.