1. English B SL - International Baccalaureate
Famine to Freedom: The Great Irish Journey
Name: _________________________________________________ Class: IIM____
Date: 22 April
Task
I. As part of Module 1 of the English B programme (Global Issues), you have been
studying about World Poverty. Today, you will start watching a documentary called
"Famine to Freedom: The Great Irish Journey", which deals with the mass
starvation period known as "Potato Famine" , which devastated Ireland in 1845 and
caused millions of Irish citizens to emigrate to America.
The following is some background information about this period:
Famine: Mass Starvation (no access to food which causes death)
It began in 1845 and lasted for six years.
It killed over a million men, women and children in Ireland.
It caused another million Irish people leave the country.
By that time, most of the Irish countryside was owned by the English. Owners and
Landlords were usually absent.
Potatoes are not native to Ireland. They were brought from South America.
Irish farmers discovered that potatoes could easily be grown in Irish soil due to
favourable weather conditions.
The Irish became dependent on the production of potatoes to feed their families.
A disease called "Potato Blight" destroyed most potato crops, devastating Ireland.
Adapted from <http://www.historyplace.com/worldhistory/famine/introduction.htm>
II. Answer the following questions in your English copybook based on the documentary
you will watch. The information is in the same order as shown in the video.
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jIVOgvZ6Ig>
A. What was the relationship between the Irish and the English in the 1840's?
B. How did the Irish feel about their land?
C. Why is it said that 1845 is a "time of change"?
D. Which was the "staple food of Ireland" by 1845?
E. What factor contributed to "disaster"?
2. F. How did the English see the Irish in relation to their potato consumption?
G. What solution did the Irish think of when threaten by their landlords?
