The Irish Potato Famine — A Case Study in Food System Collapse
Te Hononga o te Awhiowhio Riwai Airani · Understanding food crisis, politics, and colonisation · Years 7–10
Ngā Whāinga Akoranga · Learning Intentions
- Understand the causes of the Irish Potato Famine (1845–1852) including ecological, political, and colonial factors.
- Analyse why the famine was not inevitable — and why people starved while food was exported.
- Connect the Irish case to broader patterns of food insecurity under colonial economic systems.
- Compare the Irish experience to other colonised food system crises.
Paearu Angitu · Success Criteria
- Explanation of causes goes beyond the potato blight to include colonial land tenure and political decisions.
- Students can explain the paradox of starvation during food export with evidence.
- Comparison connects Irish and at least one other colonised food system experience.
- Personal response engages with the justice dimensions of the case study.
Rarangi Wā · Timeline 1800–1860
Study the timeline below, then answer the questions in the next section.
1800: Act of Union — Ireland formally incorporated into the United Kingdom under British rule. Irish Parliament abolished.
1840–1845: About one third of Ireland's 8 million people depend almost entirely on the potato for survival. Land largely controlled by British landlords.
1845: Phytophthora infestans (potato blight) arrives in Ireland and devastates the potato harvest. First reports of mass starvation.
1846–1847: Blight strikes again. British government policy maintains free market — food exports from Ireland continue even as people starve.
1847: Peak famine year — estimated one million deaths. Soup kitchens established but overwhelmed. Mass emigration begins.
1848–1851: Further crop failures. Evictions of tenant farmers increase. One million more die; another million emigrate.
1852–1860: Famine officially ends, but emigration continues. Ireland's population falls from 8 million to under 5 million within 20 years.
Tātari Take · Cause Analysis
The famine had multiple causes. Sort the following causes into the correct column, then add one more of your own to each.
Things to do with nature, disease, climate
- Potato blight fungus
- Over-reliance on a single crop (monoculture)
Add your own: _______________
Things to do with decisions made by governments
- Continued food exports during famine
- Inadequate government relief
Add your own: _______________
Things to do with colonial control and power
- British landlord control of Irish land
- Irish poverty created by colonial system
Add your own: _______________
He Tauwhanga · The Paradox: Starvation During Food Export
One of the most striking facts about the Irish Famine: food continued to be exported from Ireland even as people starved.
Why did this happen? Explain using what you know about colonial land ownership and free market economics.
Does this mean the famine was preventable? What could have been done differently?
He Whakatairite · Comparing Colonial Food System Crises
- British colonial control of land and economy
- Potato monoculture created by poverty
- Food exported while people starved
- 1–2 million deaths; 2 million emigrated
- Long-term population collapse and diaspora
Choose another colonised food system crisis to compare. Use your own research or class notes.
Hononga Marautanga · Curriculum Alignment
Historical Understanding: analyse historical events using multiple perspectives and causes. Economic Understanding: understand how political and economic systems shape food access and create crises.
Reading for understanding: extract information from historical primary sources, evaluate perspective and reliability, and synthesise across multiple texts.
Tuhia ōu whakaaro · Write Your Thoughts
The Irish Famine has been called a genocide by some historians — a deliberate policy that allowed a population to die. Others say it was a natural disaster mismanaged. Based on what you have learned, what do you think — and why does it matter how we categorise it?
Aronga Mātauranga Māori
The Irish Potato Famine is a useful case study for Māori students not only because it shows how colonisation weaponises food systems, but because the cultural dimension of the crisis is so clear. The potato (riwai) had become central to Irish identity, community, and survival — just as kūmara, kaimoana, and other traditional foods were central to Māori identity and wellbeing. The loss of a staple food is not just a nutritional crisis: it is a cultural one. Studying the Irish famine through this lens builds solidarity across colonised communities and deepens understanding of why food sovereignty — the right of communities to define their own food systems — is a justice issue, not just an agricultural one.
Ngā Rauemi Tautoko · Resources already provided
- unit-10-week4-colonisation-comparison.html — broader comparison framework for food system colonisation across multiple contexts
- unit-10-week4-staple-foods.html — explores how staple foods carry cultural meaning and how their loss affects identity
- unit-10-week2-kumara-grower-diary.html — connects to Māori agricultural heritage and kūmara as a parallel cultural staple
- unit-10-cash-crop-research-guide.html — extends inquiry into colonial extraction and cash crop systems