The Blight Breakout in 1845

The Blight breakout in 1845 caused mass starvation in Ireland. This breakout caused a great terror in Ireland, as it rotted plants and potatoes, which were crucial for survival for the lives of the Irish. Many of the Irish had relied heavily on the potato as it was their main food source. In response of the blight breakout it affected and hurt many of those in the U.K which soon led to starvation and eventually death. In response Trevelyan, who was a British colonial administrator, wanted Ireland to run its course to “the operation of natural causes.” In other words leave Ireland hopeless. He considered the blight was just as natural as the system of rules and principles. In fact Trevelyan held these doctrines far more important than the lives of the Irish. Unlike Sir Robert Peel, with great efforts provided exceedingly amounts of help in his time in office. This school of thought influenced the British Government to take action. After years of continuous breakouts with little to no food the British Government was greatly annoyed with the lack of crops Ireland was supplying for the British market. Englishmen and along with the government treated the Irish pugnaciously. Surprisingly, the Irish kept peacefully, mostly due to weakness and inability to resist, in some cases allowing themselves to be murdered. The Irish suffered with loss, diseases, starvation, and were constantly degraded. Some fled off to Liverpool or the New World. This brought light to how mistreated the government reacted to Ireland, which concluded the decision for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert to visit Ireland. Although nothing was done for Ireland until they took matters into their own hands.