Read the passage describing the famine that struck Ireland in 1740 to 1741.In 1740–1741 extremely cold temperatures struck vast areas of pre-industrial Europe, causing harvest failures that led to increased prices for staple food, famine, disease, excess mortality and migration. . . . Ireland was probably more vulnerable than most other European countries. Already in the first half of the eighteenth century, Irish food production was based heavily on potatoes and oats – a pattern of cultivation providing little resilience against the risk of harvest failure after an extremely cold winter. . . . Ireland was ill-prepared to deal with the consequences of harvest failure . . .–The Irish Famine of 1740–1741,S. Engler, et al.