The Great Famine, or Irish Potato Famine, occurred from 1845 to 1852, caused by a potato blight that destroyed crops relied upon for sustenance. While the blight was the immediate trigger, the catastrophe was exacerbated by British colonial policies, which favored the export of other Irish food crops to Britain, imposed a laissez-faire economic approach, and inadequately managed relief efforts. The famine resulted in approximately one million deaths from starvation and disease and forced at least one million more to emigrate, fundamentally changing Ireland's demographic, political, and cultural landscape.