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Great Famine (Ireland)

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During the 1840's, a potato blight fungus struck across Europe. It turned this important food staple into a black, soggy, and inedible mess. In Ireland, the lower classes were particularly dependent on the potato as their primary and sometimes only foodsource. It is estimated that the initial population of Ireland, about 4 million was halved, with 1 million dying and 1 million emigrating, primarily to America. During this time, Great Britain still received exports of food from Ireland, while making only insubstantial efforts to save their starving fellow citizens.