Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: ____________________ Global 10R Why was there a famine in Ireland in the 1840s?

Ireland before the Famine: Economic Overview Directions: Read over the facts below and answer the questions that follow: According to the 1841 Irish census: Out of a population of over 8 million people, 5.5 million (approximately two-thirds) depended on agriculture for their livelihoods Most people lived on very small rented plots of land Many areas of Ireland were densely populated. There were 200 people per square mile of arable land (land that can be used for farming) in Ireland as a whole. In comparison to other nations, England had half as many people involved in agriculture and produced twice as much per family. France, which had a similar level of agricultural production, supported 40 percent fewer people.

Additional facts: Potatoes can produce substantial crops even on small plots of poor land. Potatoes are easy to grow and only required a spade. By the nineteenth century, the potato was the staple food for many Irish farmers. The average working man ate 14 pounds of potato a day. Combined with milk, potatoes supply almost all nutrition required for a healthy diet.
Source: Salaman, Redcliffe N. The History and Social Influence of the Potato. rev. ed. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1985

1. How many people lived in Ireland in 1841?

2. Approximately what percentage of the Irish population depended on agriculture for their livelihoods in 1841?

3. Before the famine, the potato was Irelands primary crop and approximately three million Irishmen lived on an almost exclusively potato diet. Why do you think this was the case?