Why were Irish tenant farmers evicted during the Great Famine?

During the Great Famine (1845–1849), Irish tenant farmers were evicted primarily because they were unable to pay their rents after the potato crop—the staple of their diet and livelihood—was destroyed by late blight.123

The crisis was exacerbated by the British government's policy of placing the financial burden of famine relief largely upon Irish landowners and absentee landowners. As the peasantry lost their ability to pay rent, these landlords quickly exhausted their own funds and were unable to support their tenants. Consequently, hundreds of thousands of tenant farmers and laborers were evicted from their land. Many of those evicted were forced into workhouses under the terms of the 1838 Poor Law, while others faced starvation or were compelled to emigrate.132