Qwiz5 Quizbowl Essentials – The Irish Potato Famine

The Irish Potato Famine was one of the great tragedies of the nineteenth century. Beginning in 1845, a mold spread through Ireland’s potato crop. Half of the potato crop for that year was lost, and more than half of the potatoes would be ruined over the next several years. Ireland was at that time a colony of England, and its mostly rural population was heavily dependent on the potato as a food source. England’s colonial mismanagement of Ireland exacerbated the shortages caused by the potato blight. Over a million Irish citizens died, and roughly twice that number fled their homeland forever. 

By analyzing questions, you can see patterns emerge, patterns that will help you answer questions. Qwiz5 is all about those patterns. In each installment of Qwiz5, we take an answer line and look at its five most common clues. Here we explore five clues that will help you answer a tossup on The Irish Potato Famine. 

PHYTOPHTHORA

The mold phytophthora infestans devastated Ireland’s potato crop. Also known as water mold, phytophthora is a fungus-like microorganism that impacts tomatoes as well as potatoes. Originating in North America, phytophthora was likely brought to Europe in an infected potato seed shipment. Ireland’s dependence on a single variety of potato that was susceptible to phytophthora devastated the country’s crop. 

SOUPERS

Some relief came to Ireland in the form of British Soup Missions. However, these missions did not come close to helping all the people who needed it. Additionally, rumors circulated that to receive soup from these missions you had to convert to Protestantism. Although this was not common at government-run soup kitchens it was a legitimate concern for privately-run ones. Irish Catholics who took advantage of these soup kitchens were derisively referred to as “soupers” by their peers and reviled for having seemingly rejected their faith. 

IMPACT OF THE CORN LAWS

England had implemented protectionist policies known collectively as the Corn Laws prior to the Irish Potato Famine. These policies were designed to limit the importation of cheap grain to protect British merchants. British Prime Minister Robert Peel attempted to repeal the Corn Laws to ease conditions in Ireland by buying cheap corn from the Americas. Unfortunately, however, Ireland lacked the infrastructure to refine the corn into cornmeal. Additionally, this policy made him very unpopular in his native England. 

CHARLES TREVELYAN

Lord John Russell was named as Peel’s successor, and once installed as Prime Minister he appointed Charles Trevelyan as his Assistant Secretary to the Treasury. Trevelyan was charged with administering famine relief, a task at which he failed miserably. Trevelyan had no interest in helping the Irish, who he viewed as his inferiors, and encouraged a hands-off policy on the part of England. 

THE COFFIN SHIPS

The situation became so dire in Ireland that the Irish left the country by the thousands, but escape did not always bring relief. The ships that carried the Irish away often became floating death traps. Refugees were crammed on board the ships in squalid conditions without adequate food or medicine. These notorious ships were often labeled “Coffin Ships.”

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Quizbowl is about learning, not rote memorization, so we encourage you to use this as a springboard for further reading rather than as an endpoint. Here are a few things to check out: 

•  Remnants of the Coffin Ships were still being found as recently as twelve years ago. 
  

• Forensic molecular biology finally identified the specific culprit strain of phytophthora responsible for the Potato Famine in 2013. 
  

• Relief efforts for the Irish sometimes came from unexpected places--read about how Native Americans helped the starving Irish. 
  

• Watch this video to understand the scope of the Famine’s lasting impact on Ireland. 

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