From about 1845 to 1852 a great famine occurred in Ireland. It was really devastating for a lot of people. Countless people died due to food shortages, and others fell ill and died later. The famine was caused by a fungus-like protest, which caused potatoes to rot. The Irish people were heavily dependent on potatoes, so when their main crop failed, the people were left with no food to eat and nothing to sell for money. Many other people who did not die in Ireland emigrated to other countries such as the United States in search of a better life. This famine was one of the reasons why large groups of Irish settlements settled in the Midwest, as they only knew farming to make a living. To make matters worse, their neighboring country, England, was of little help to them. At the time, relations between these two countries were a bit loose. The Irish Potato Famine was a very tragic event and had a great impact on the Irish people. The potato was first cultivated in the Andes of Peru and Bolivia by the Inca Indians between approximately 8,000 and 5,000 BC. The Incas used potatoes for many other uses. things besides eating. They placed raw potato slices on broken bones to heal them and also ate them with other foods to stop indigestion. Sometimes they carried a potato in their pocket to relieve toothache and used it to relieve aches and pains by rubbing the painful area with the water in which the potatoes were boiled. The Spanish conquistadors conquered Peru in 1536 and discovered this wonderful potato. They brought them back to Europe, and before the end of the 16th century, families began growing them in northern Spain. In 1589 Sir Walter Raleigh brought potatoes to Ireland on 40,000 acres near Cork. After about four......middle of paper......Potato Blight. Retrieved January 15, 2014, from The Great Famine: http://www.wesleyjohnston.com/users/ireland/past/famine/blight.htmlBloy, M. (2013, August 13). The Irish Famine: 1845-9. Retrieved January 15, 2014, from The Victorian Web: http://www.victorianweb.org/history/famine.htmlFradin, D. B. (2012). The Irish Potato Famine. Tarrytown, NY: Benchmark Marshall Cavendish. Mintz, S., & McNeil, S. (2013). The Irish Potato Famine. Retrieved January 15, 2014, from Digital History: http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/historyonline/irish_potato_famine.cfmPotatoes Goodness Unearthed, Inc. (2014). Potato History and Fun Facts. Retrieved January 15, 2014, from Potato Goodness Unearthed: http://www.potatogoodness.com/all-about-potatoes/potato-fun-facts-history/Virginia.edu. (n.d.). Retrieved January 15, 2014, from http://xroads.virginia.edu/~hyper/sadlier/irish/Famine.htm