Human consequences
The population falls from 8.2 million (1841) to 6.6 million (1851); more than a million Irish people emigrate, mainly to North America.
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FamineGreat Irish Famine
1MDeaths
1MDisplaced / homeless
Not quantifiedEstimated cost
- About 1 million deaths from starvation and disease.
Potato blight (Phytophthora infestans) destroys several successive potato harvests, the near-sole food of a third of the population, while the island keeps exporting grain and livestock to England.
Consequences
Environmental consequences
Reliance on a single potato variety, the “Lumper”, leaves the entire crop vulnerable to the pathogen.
Economic consequences
Smallholders disappear and land becomes concentrated.
Political consequences
Lasting resentment towards London fuels Irish nationalism until independence.
Further reading
Similar disasters
- Ethiopian famineFamine · Ethiopia1983 – 1985
- Bengal famineFamine · British India (today’s India and Bangladesh)1943 – 1944
- Great Chinese FamineFamine · China1959 – 1961
- Messina earthquakeEarthquake · Italy1908
In the rankings : The deadliest disasters in history No. 9
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