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| GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother & Ernest_at_the_Beach | |
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Note: this topic is from March 17, 2008. |
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Posted on 03/19/2008 11:33:47 PM PDT by neverdem
THE feast of Ireland’s patron saint has always been an occasion for saluting the beautiful land “where the praties grow,” but it’s also a time to look again at the disaster that established around the world the Irish communities that today celebrate St. Patrick’s Day: the Great Potato Famine of 1845-6. In its wake, the Irish left the old country, with more than half a million settling in United States. The famine and the migrations changed Irish and American history, of course, but they drastically changed Britain too.
Americans may think of the disease that destroyed Ireland’s potato crops, late blight, as a European phenomenon, but its devastations actually started with them. The origin of the fungal organism responsible, Phytophthora infestans, has been traced to a valley in the highlands of central Mexico, and the first recorded instances of the disease are in the United States, with the sudden and mysterious destruction of potato crops around Philadelphia and New York in early 1843. Within months, winds spread the rapidly reproducing airborne spores of the disease, and by 1845 it had destroyed potato crops from Illinois east to Nova Scotia, and from Virginia north to Ontario.
It then crossed the Atlantic with a shipment of seed potatoes ordered by Belgian farmers. They had been hoping that fresh stock would improve their yields. Unhappily, it brought the seeds of devastation.
The warm damp spring of 1845 enabled late blight to become an epidemic. By mid-July, the disease had spread throughout Belgium and into the Netherlands. It went on to infect an area from northern Spain to the southern tips of Norway and Sweden, and east to Northern Italy. It moved inexorably through the British Isles and reached Connemara, on Ireland’s west coast, in mid-October. The ruin of Europe’s potato crops was complete...
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
The potato famine killed many Irish and sent so many others into exile in other countries.
The British government could have dealt with the famine by not insisting on the export of grain to other countries.
Comparing famine relief to universal health care schemes is a false choice.
Not true.
Britain could have done more and better, but this idea of leaving the Irish to starve is simplistic myth.And remember Catholics and Protestants both died, not just Catholics.
I thought this was going to be about Islam.
“They placed all the blame where some was undoubtedly due.”
That is my sentiments exactly.
Hehe....tempting theory!
Actually, like a lot of British slang, this has a military origin, from soldiers deployed in India. “Blighty” is an anglicisation of a Hindustani word meaning “home”.
The Famine was the best thing that happened to the Irish. In much the same way the Farm Crisis of the 80’s was the best thing to happen to the farmers or that Slavery was the best thing to happen to the Blacks.
Those tragic events led to changes that brought the Irish and Blacks to America and that fewer people was trying to make a living at something that few farmers can make a profit.
Substance farming and overpopulation was a greater evil for Ireland than a short term famine. One reason that America leads the world in Food Production is that our acreage isn’t divided into a bunch of 1 acre or less farms that can only grow enough to support the farmer. Ireland needed to reduce it’s population and increase the size of its farms and the famine did so. Irish immigrants and their descendants did much better than if they remained in dirt floor peat smoked cottages on a half acre eating nothing but potatoes.
Considering the general food shortage and revolutions of 1848 in Europe if England would of prohibited food exports from Ireland like it had done previously then very likely the English would of had higher price food, some shortages and possible unrest and revolution. Who knows how history would of turned out but Ireland had been a basketcase for at least the previous 100 years because of overpopulation. It made much more sense for the Irish to take the heat than the English who was productive.
The famine helped the USA. The British repealed the Corn Laws to allow imports of grain which the Americans provided.
It is one thing to help when there is special situation where the Irish had no problem feeding themselves normally but even in good years they had problems.
Because of the radicals it took centuries before the Irish became successful. Even during the Troubles Northern Ireland had a higher standard of living. If the stupid Irish in this country hadn’t funded the IRA because they have been fed a bunch of anti British crap by their fathers and grandfathers then Northern Ireland wouldn’t of been a problem for as long of a time.
No instead of reading I suggest you think about what if’s. If you see any stray dogs in your area pretend that you are the British and put out food. If the number of dogs increase then put out more food. Tell me when you have solved the famine by doing that.
islam.
That was what I thought too when I saw the headline.
A helpful safety tip: Do not under any ircumstances propound your argument in Ireland. Saying that the Famine helped the Irish is a sure fired way of starting a very ugly argument with a wholelot of people.
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| GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother & Ernest_at_the_Beach | |
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Note: this topic is from March 17, 2008. |
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