Hundreds of thousands were lost, another million fled to make better lives for themselves as the result of the great potato famine.
             Leading up to the great potato famine of Ireland, in 1800 the British Act of Union made Ireland a part of the United Kingdom. This Act removed the independent Irish Parliament in Dublin which was 500 years old, Ireland was under the jurisdiction of Britain's Imperial Parliament at Westminster, England. Even though Ireland was supposed to be represented by 100 members, the Catholics were banned from being representatives. (1)
             The British imposed a series of Penal Laws, which were established to punish the Irish for supporting the Catholic leader Stuart King, James II. Being that Ireland was 80 percent Catholic, the Penal Laws were meant to degrade the Irish so harshly that they would never again allow the Irish to be in a position to seriously threaten Protestant rule. Protestants owned just 10 percent of Ireland's land in 1600. In 1778, the Protestants now owned 95 percent of the land. When a Catholic landowner died, their estate would be divided equally among all of his sons, reducing the value. If any son abandoned the Catholic faith to become a Protestant, he would inherit all of his father's property. (2)
             It is not known for sure who exactly introduced Ireland with the potato. Some say was famous English explorer, sea captain and poet, Walter Raleigh, other believe that the potato washed up on the beaches, a shipwreck which sank off the Irish coast during a powerful storm. On thing for certain is that the potato caught on very quickly, its popularity was probably because it produced more food per acre than any that the Irish farmers had grown before. The potato was very hearty and could feed many. During times of war it was also as widely used, when the soldiers would destroy the crops, the potato would still be buried underground allowing the people
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