What really caused the Irish Potato Famine - Stephanie Honchell Smith

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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