Irish tenant families relied largely on potatoes for their diet, specifically one variety called the “Lumper.”
Apparently it did not have a very pleasant taste or texture but it thrived in the poor soil and wet conditions of Ireland and produced a higher yield than any other variety.
Since Catholic families were forced to live on smaller and smaller parcels of land and were forced to export a large portion of their other crops, they relied heavily on this potato to feed fed their families.
In 1845, this variety was destroyed by blight, and all other crops continued to be exported. Over the next 5 years, 1 million Irish people died of starvation and another 2 million emigrated in the hopes of a better life, many dying on the way or soon after arriving in the new countries.
While the Peter Robinson immigrants had left Ireland a full 20 years before this famine, this potato had been their main food in the "old country."
Irish tenant families relied largely on potatoes for their diet, specifically one variety called the “Lumper.”
Apparently it did not have a very pleasant taste or texture but it thrived in the poor soil and wet conditions of Ireland and produced a higher yield than any other variety.
Since Catholic families were forced to live on smaller and smaller parcels of land and were forced to export a large portion of their other crops, they relied heavily on this potato to feed fed their families.
In 1845, this variety was destroyed by blight, and all other crops continued to be exported. Over the next 5 years, 1 million Irish people died of starvation and another 2 million emigrated in the hopes of a better life, many dying on the way or soon after arriving in the new countries.
While the Peter Robinson immigrants had left Ireland a full 20 years before this famine, this potato had been their main food in the "old country."
Irish tenant families relied largely on potatoes for their diet, specifically one variety called the “Lumper.”
Apparently it did not have a very pleasant taste or texture but it thrived in the poor soil and wet conditions of Ireland and produced a higher yield than any other variety.
Since Catholic families were forced to live on smaller and smaller parcels of land and were forced to export a large portion of their other crops, they relied heavily on this potato to feed fed their families.
In 1845, this variety was destroyed by blight, and all other crops continued to be exported. Over the next 5 years, 1 million Irish people died of starvation and another 2 million emigrated in the hopes of a better life, many dying on the way or soon after arriving in the new countries.
While the Peter Robinson immigrants had left Ireland a full 20 years before this famine, this potato had been their main food in the "old country."
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