The British Government refused to accept the large donation so he only donated a measly sum of 1,000 pounds, but he clandestinely sent five ships loaded with food!
The Irish Potato Famine (1845-1849) was a huge catastrophe that occasioned in one million dying from starvation and one million leaving their homeland, mostly for North America. It’s really hard to put into words how mutilating this famine was for so many Irish people and the suffering was tremendous. The psychological scars still impact Ireland’s psyche today. It almost sounds like a fairy tale to hear how a Sultan from a far away land heard of this tragedy and went out of his way to send ships crammed with food and medicine to the Irish people dying from hunger and disease. When Ottoman Sultan Abdulmejid heard of the suffering from his Irish dentist, he felt great compassion and sorrow for the plight of the Irish. The Sultan originally wanted to donate 10,000 pounds to the starving populace but British diplomats were aghast to hear this because Queen Victoria had contributed a small sum of 2,000 pounds. The British Gove...