The History

The beautiful, glorious specimen that is the potato seemed like it was made specifically for the Irish, thriving in the cold, damp environment and being surprisingly easy to grow, creating a high yield in such a small plot of land. Between 1780 and 1845 it doubled the population in Ireland from four million to eight, but this resulted in a sudden increase in demand in both land and food and thus the potato became a reliant resource because of the previous reasons mentioned. A third of the population ended up totally dependent of the potato for food by 1840 which meant if anything were to happen to it there would be dire consequences. In September 1845 that's just what happened when the potato blight arrived, brought from the cargo hold of ships. Within three years 3/4 of the potato crop had been diminished causing starvation along with susceptibility to diseases like cholera and typhus. The reaction of the blight lingered for many years until 1852 and by that time up to 1.5 million people had died as a result, with over a million more emigrating to places like America and by 1911 Ireland's population had return to about 4 million. 

Research

1800s style 

I'm aiming for a typical look more like the last picture as it will be easier to re-create and appropriate for a more farming look.