WORLD HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -All in all, the British government spent about £8 million on relief, and some private relief funds were raised as well. The impoverished Irish peasantry, lacking the money to purchase the foods their farms produced, continued throughout the famine to export grain, meat, and other high-quality foods to Britain.

Detailed explanation-2: -The Irish potato famine was not simply a natural disaster. It was a product of social causes. Under British rule, Irish Catholics were prohibited from entering the professions or even purchasing land. Instead, many rented small plots of land from absentee British Protestant landlords.

Detailed explanation-3: -The policy of closing ports during periods of shortages in order to keep home-grown food for domestic consumption had on earlier occasions proved to be effective in staving off famine within Ireland. During the subsistence crisis of 1782–84, an embargo was placed on the export of foodstuffs from the country.

Detailed explanation-4: -Given that a high proportion of Irish MPs were landowners, or their sons, Parliament was fully aware of the situation. Sir Robert Peel, the Prime Minister, purchased £100, 000 of Indian corn (sweetcorn) in the United States and arranged for its transport to Cork.

Detailed explanation-5: -The memory of the Famine, and the continued flow of arrivals from Ireland, also helped keep Irish immigrants connected with their homeland. Indeed, they became a notable factor in Irish politics, supporting Irish nationalist movements, supplying them with financial and moral sustenance.