The Great Irish Famine

by Cormac Ó Gráda

Studies in Economic and Social History (1989)

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The Irish Famine of 1846-50 was one of the great disasters of the nineteenth century, whose notoriety spreads as far as the mass emigration which followed it. Cormac O'Gráda's concise survey suggests that a proper understanding of the disaster requires an analysis of the Irish economy before the invasion of the potato-killing fungus, Phytophthora infestans, highlighting Irish poverty and the importance of the potato, but also finding signs of economic progress before the Famine. Despite the show more massive decline in availability of food, the huge death toll of one million (from a population of 8.5 million) was hardly inevitable; there are grounds for supporting the view that a less doctrinaire attitude to famine relief would have saved many lives. This book provides an up-to-date introduction by a leading expert to an event of major importance in the history of nineteenth-century Ireland and Britain. show less

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21+ Works 288 Members
Cormac O Grada is Professor of Economics at University College Dublin.

Series

Common Knowledge

Canonical title
The Great Irish Famine
Important events
Irish Potato Famine

Classifications

Genres
History, Nonfiction, Economics, General Nonfiction, Food & Cooking
DDC/MDS
941.508History & geographyHistory of EuropeBritish IslesIreland
LCC
HC260.5 .Z9 .F3Social sciencesEconomic history and conditionsEconomic history and conditionsBy region or country
BISAC

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32
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877,964
Rating
(4.00)
Languages
English
Media
Paper, Ebook
ISBNs
5