Indian+Corn

Indian meal Towards the end of 1845 Robert Peel the government at that time tried to introduce a solution to the shortage of food. He bought £100,000 worth of Indian corn (Maize) In America to try and prevent starvation in Ireland. The Indian corn was very unsatisfactory. It was difficult to mill into meal and, anyway, there were very few mills in Ireland. It was not easy to digest and people still felt hungry after it, because of its yellow (sulphur) colour and hardness, it was called “Peel’s brimstone”. As the Famine worsened, it became more popular and was later imported as cornmeal rather than grain.