Dig into what caused the Irish potato famine, and explore how the UK government’s response turned the crisis into a catastrophe.

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For over 200 years, potatoes thrived in Ireland; roughly half the country’s residents lived almost entirely on potatoes. But when harvesting began in 1845, farmers found their potatoes blackened and shriveled. While this failed harvest created a crisis, the government’s response turned it into a national catastrophe. Stephanie Honchell Smith digs into Ireland's Great Famine.

Lesson by Stephanie Honchell Smith, directed by Denys Spolitak.

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View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/what-really-caused-the-irish-potato-famine-stephanie-honchell-smith
Dig deeper with additional resources: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/what-really-caused-the-irish-potato-famine-stephanie-honchell-smith#digdeeper

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