The Causes of the Famine Jennifer Brankin 10-7
In 1845 there were eight million people living in Ireland and the fast majority of them lived on the land. There was scarcely enough land to support the rapidly expanding population. Family farms had been subdivided so many times that they were often too small to be profitable. One hundred and thirty five thousand families had patches of less than one acre.
The typical Irish peasant existed almost entirely on potatoes which he grew himself on his on patch. To him the potatoes were as life itself. One acre of land could provide enough potatoes to feed a family of five for the best part of a year. He enjoyed no luxuries, nor did his family. In his day-to-day life he rarely, if ever, handled money. He had no means of buying food if his store of potatoes ran out. He was well accustomed to hunger and poverty. In his lifetime he had hardly known anything else.