The Great Irish Famine

The Irish Famine of 1846-50 was one of the great disasters of the nineteenth century. Cormac Grda''s concise survey puts the Famine in the context of the Irish economy assesses the Famine itself and discusses its many consequences. Despite a devastating food shortage the huge death toll of one million was hardly inevitable; a less doctrinaire attitude to famine relief could perhaps have saved many lives. This book provides an up-to-date introduction to an event of major importance in the history of nineteenth-century Ireland and Britain.