2Y: Revolution in Ireland 1798 Flashcards
1
Q
What were the causes of the 1798 Rebellion? (2)
A
- Religious discrimination and Rural Poverty
- Events in other parts of the World
2
Q
Why was Religious discrimination and Rural Poverty a cause?
A
- Ireland was controlled by a small powerful group of Anglicans called the Protestant Ascendancy.
- Up to 1770, Penal Laws oppressed the Catholic Majority. Catholics could not sit in Parliament and had to pay tithes to the Anglican Clergy. Most Irish people hated religious discrimination.
- The Ascendancy owned most of the land. The Ascendency lived with great wealth. Most Irish people lived in severe poverty.
- These injustices made some irish people so angry they wanted a rebellion against British and Ascendency rule.
3
Q
Why were Events in other parts of the World a cause?
A
The Enlightenment:
- The ideas of Rousseau and Voltaire had reached Ireland.
- The Irish people had heard of the ideas that were spreading that all men should be treated equally, and that the power should rest with the common people.
- The French and American Revolutions impressed the irish who saw that the ordinary people could rise and overthrow unjust governments.
- Irish revolutionaries such as Wolfe Tone were inspired by the French idea of Liberty, Equality and fraternity.
4
Q
Why did Wolfe Tone get involved?
A
Theobald Wolfe Tone was an Anglican, but hated the way Irish Catholics were being treated.
5
Q
What was the name of the pamphlet that Wolfe Tone wrote?
A
He wrote a pamphlet called ‘An Argument on Behalf of the Catholics of Ireland’ and called on Irish Catholics and Protestants to unite for a more equal and just society.
6
Q
What was setup in 1791?
A
In 1791 ‘The Society of United Irish’ was set up. This was set up in Belfast with Presbyterians who liked what Wolfe Tone had written and wanted to join with the Catholics for a better society.
7
Q
Who were the first members of ‘The Society of United Irish’?
A
Its first members were
- Wolfe Tone,
- Samuel Neilson,
- Henry Joy McCracken,
- Thomas Russell,
- William Drennan.
8
Q
What did the ‘The Society of United Irish’ want?
A
- They came together to secure a reform of the Irish parliament.
- They wanted to unite Catholics and Protestants for liberty and equality.
- They campaigned peacefully to reduce English power in Ireland.
9
Q
Who supported ‘The Society of United Irish’?
A
- The Society spread to Dublin and other centres very quickly.
- Many of its supporters were middle class and educated and supported the aim of the French Revolution.
10
Q
What happened in 1793?
A
- From the beginning, Dublin Castle, the seat of government in Ireland, viewed the new organisation with the gravest of suspicion.
- In 1793, France declared war on all the monarchies of Europe including Britain.
- The British Government then banned the United Irishmen because of its support for the French Revolution.
11
Q
How did the United Irishmen respond?
A
- United Irishmen responded by becoming a secret, revolutionary society.
- This is where they began to plan an armed rebellion against Britain. This was to be achieved primarily by direct French military support.
12
Q
How did the French try to help the rebellion in 1796?
A
- Tone went to France and persuaded the French to send military help for a rebellion in Ireland.
- 16 Dec 1796 – 43 French Ships with 14,000 soldiers under General Hoche set sail for Bantry Bay.
- Tone was on board one of the ships. He believed that once the Irish seen the French support, they would come out and fight.
- But the French never landed. Bad storms blew most of their ships off course, with only 14 ships arriving in Bantry Bay.
- Terrible gails even stopped those 14 from landing.
- After 6 days, the French turned around and set sail for home.
13
Q
What was the British reaction to the failed French invasion?
A
- The British were alarmed at how near the French came to an invasion and used terror tactics to crush the United Irishmen.
- An army under General Lake swept through Ulster and Leinster searching for arms. The soldiers burned houses and killed and tortured people until they gave up arms.
- Many spies kept the government informed of United Irishmen activites.
- Thomas Reynolds was a well-paid British spy who was Wolfe Tone’s brother-in-law.
- Many leaders were arrested. This included Lord Edward Fitzgerald, who was shot, and died as a result of his wounds.
14
Q
Name 2 of General Lake’s terror tactics?
A
- Half-Hanging: Soldiers would hang people until they were unconscious. Then they would cut down the victims, revive them and repeat the process again and again.
- Pitch-Capping: A bowl filled with boiling tar would be pushed down on a person’s head. When the tar cooled and hardened, the bowl would be ripped off, taking the victim’s hair and scalp with them.
15
Q
Was the Rebellion of 1798 a success in the Capital?
A
In Central and North Leinster:
- The initial plan was to take Dublin. Last-minute intelligence from informants provided Dublin Castle with details of rebel assembly points in Dublin and a huge force of military occupied them barely one hour before rebels were to assemble. The Army then arrested most of the rebel leaders in the city. Deterred by the military, the gathering groups of rebels quickly dispersed, abandoning the rallying points, and dumping their weapons in the surrounding lanes.
- The uprisings outside the capital had been intended by the United Irishmen as supporting acts - sideshows - to the main event in Dublin, but as Dublin did not perform as planned, rebels in outlying areas now found themselves promoted to centre-stage.
- The rebels were easily defeated at The Curragh, Carlow and Tara. Their pikes were no match for the guns and cannons of the English.
16
Q
Why did the people of Wexford rebel in great numbers?
A
- The United Irishmen were not strong in Wexford, but the brutality of the English helped to cause a serious rebellion there.
- When the church at Boolavogue was burned, the local priest called for people there to rebel.
- Father John Murphy was the priest’s name and hundreds of peasants joined him.
17
Q
What early successes did the Wexford Rebellion have?
A
- The peasants defeated the English at Oulart Hill. only 5 English escaped.
- The growing rebels then took Enniscorthy and set up camp at Vinegar Hill near the town.
- Wexford Town next fell to the rebels.
- A Protestant Landlord named Bagnel Harvey had been imprisoned in Wexford and on his release he became the rebel’s leader.
- Harvey’s Wexfordmen then captured New Ross.
18
Q
What mistake did the Wexford Rebels make?
A
- After capturing New Ross, they foolishly drank and celebrated their victory.
- The British then recaptured the town and killed many of the rebels.
- Following this victory, the British captured and killed many rebels without trial.
19
Q
How did the Wexford rebels react to the British executions of the rebels?
A
- The rebels reacted to this by burning 100 unarmed Protestants in a barn at Scullabogue.
- They murdered another 100 Protestants on Wexford Bridge.
20
Q
How did the Wexford Rebellion end?
A
- As the tide turned against the rebels, the government poured more and more soldiers into Wexford.
- The final battle took place at Vinegar Hill on 21st June 1798.
- An army under General Lake completely defeated the Wexfordmen.
- After the battle, thousands of rebels were executed, including Father Murphy and Bagnal Harvey.
22
Q
What and when was ‘The Races of Castlebar’?
A
- Wolfe Tone continued to seek help from France.
- The French with 1,000 men, under the leadership of General Humbert, arrived in Killala, Co. Mayo in August 1798.
- The force was too small to be effective and arrived only after the rising was over.
- Nevertheless, local people flocked to join the French and easily defeated government forces at a battle called ‘The Races of Castlebar’
- This name was given because Government forces ran away.
23
Q
How was Wolfe Tone captured?
A
- Tone tried one last time to bring more French soldiers to Ireland.
- With a number of ships, Tone landed on board ‘The Hoche’ into Lough Swilly in Donegal.
- With the help of spies, the French ships were captured by the English.
- Tone was recognised and arrested and sent to Dublin.
24
Q
How did Wolfe Tone die?
A
- Tone was sentenced to death in Dublin.
- Tone requested to be shot like a soldier but the Judge refused this request.
- The judge sentenced Tone to be hanged.
- Tone decided he did not want to be hung like a common criminal so he committed suicide in his prison cell. He cut his own throat with a pen-knife.
