I remember learning about the many reasons people from all over the world emigrated to the USA . The Irish Potato Famine for whatever reason always stuck with me the most and I was always curious as to how one type of crop could completely change the lives of so many Irish people. Doing some research, a disease called “late blight” caused this famine as the leaves and roots of the potato plants were destroyed. Interestingly enough, the Irish people relied so heavily on this crop that the population fell by almost 1 million people between the years 1844 and 1851. From an economical stand point, this famine had a direct impact on the wealthy who as a result couldn’t pay farmers and laborers leaving them unemployed. The vast majority of the unemployed were also suffering malnutrition as there was almost no food accessible during this famine time period. The British government’s effort to relieve the famine proved to be ineffective and the government even resorted to importing corn from the United States. When looking at Ireland now and specifically Dublin, it’s amazing to see how far the country has come. Dublin has been ranked one of the most live-able cities and is home to some really interesting startups that I look forward to seeing first hand in the near future.