Between 1845 to 1852, Ireland underwent a historical crisis known as the Great Irish Famine, afflicting the Irish population with disease and starvation, and leading to the death of roughly one million people. This paper seeks to discuss the causes and impacts of this detrimental event, whilst analyzing and comparing the various social, economic, and political debates surrounding the resulting death toll of the Irish Famine. The principal debates within this paper regard the failure of the potato crop due to blight, the British Whig governments adherence to laissez faire ideology, and the role of anti-Irish racial hatred. In explaining the influence and significance of these debates, historic subjects such as the public works projects, and terms such as “non-intervention,” “moralism,” and “divine providence” are detailed. By comparing these debates, this paper ultimately seeks to argue that racial hatred was most significant in causing mass death during the Great Irish Famine.

During the Late Middle Ages warfare began to shift with new technology and social structure leading to a change in the way wars were fought. With the forming of the infantry and the gunpowder revolution the growth of professional armies became a necessity in the Late Medieval period. By evaluating the various types of warfare, such as infantry, cavalry, sieges, different armies, and their army composition, we can see how war changed in the time spanning the late medieval period.