By the way, did you know that the Irish famine in the 1770s was responded to by the government shutting down the ports to make sure Irish grown food actually went to the Irish?
In the 1840s the British refused to do that. Incredibly Ireland was a net EXPORTER of food during the famine!!! There was plenty of food but it was carted away under guard to feed England while the Irish starved. Read Christine Kinealy’s This Great Calamity.
As a history graduate, I read and studied the Famine widely, and still do.
Good posts Vlad. Belated Merry Christmas to you.