Potato Famine (Great Irish Famine)

Definition

The Potato Famine, also known as the Great Irish Famine, was a period of mass starvation and disease in Ireland from 1845 to 1852. This occurred due to the failure of potato crops, which were a staple food for the Irish population.

Analogy

Imagine if suddenly all the pizza in your town disappeared overnight and there was no other food available. You'd be hungry, right? Now imagine that happening across an entire country for seven years. That's what happened during the Potato Famine in Ireland.

Related terms

Crop Failure: This is when crops do not grow as expected due to factors such as disease, pests or poor weather conditions. In the case of the Potato Famine, a disease called potato blight caused widespread crop failure.

Mass Starvation: This refers to a large number of people suffering from extreme hunger due to lack of food. During the Potato Famine, about one million people died from starvation and related diseases.

Emigration: This is when people leave their home country to live somewhere else. Due to the severe conditions during the Potato Famine, many Irish people emigrated to countries like America and Canada.