6: Ulster, HR Crisis, New Nationalism Flashcards
What features made Ulster distinct from the rest of Ireland by the mid 19th Century?
- Most prosperous
- Industrial rather than food producing
- Pace and scale of industrialisation surpassed any other province
Why did Ulster grow faster than the rest of Ireland?
It had more in common with England and stronger links to Liverpool and Glasgow
When did the linen industry undergo rapid modernisation?
From the 1820s. Similar to the cloth industry 50 years earlier in Britain
How much linen was produced at various points through the period?
1750s: 11M yards (mostly in Ulster)
1815: 43M yards
1830: 50M yards
What two exports did linen overtake due to industrialisation?
Corn and cattle
What happened to Irish woollen cloth and cotton trade in the 18th century?
It was overtaken by GB exports
When did the Irish cotton industry briefly prosper?
In the late 18th and early 19th Century
What proportion of cotton mills in Belfast closed in 20 years (from 1820)?
Over half
3 railway companies of Ireland? When did they merge?
Dublin and Kingstown: 1834
Dublin and Drogheda: 1836
Ulster Railway: 1836
They merged in 1876
Early shipbuilding in Belfast mechanics (1790s-1850s):
50 ships launched between 1820-50, small and wooden
Charles Connell & Sons shipbuilding Co. example mechanics (1790s-1850s):
Produced ships for a global market out of Belfast
Launched the Aurora in 1838, largest ship out of Belfast.
Later shipbuilding mechanics (1850s-1900s):
- Belfast becomes world leader by 1800s
- Transition to iron with Robert Hickson in 1853
- Robert Hickson company sold for £5000 (worth £12M today)
- Harland and Wolff along with White Star Line build the RMS Titanic and sister ships
Why did Ulster Unionism emerge?
- Re-emergence of nationalism
- Rise of HR Party
- Home Rulers captured the Catholic vote with franchise increases
- Gladstones HR Bills
Loyalist Anti-Repeal Union:
- January 1886
- Made in response to general election and Gladstone’s HR movement
- Made by influential Ulster groups (landowners, businessmen etc.)
- Held public meetings and held speakings in public
Ulster election results:
1880: 3/33 Nationalist seats
1885: Parnell wins 17/33
1886: Unionists win 17/33 majority (BARELY)
Playing the Orange Card:
- Lord Randolph Churchill wrote to a friend that he planned on “playing the Orange Card”
- February 1886 in Belfast Churchill declares that “Ulster will fight and Ulster will be right”
First Home Rule Bill:
- 1886
- Defeated by the Commons
Gaelic League:
- Formed in 1893
- Aimed to deanglicise Irish culture
Second Home Rule Bill:
- 1893
- Defeated by the Lords lifting Ulster’s immediate danger
Conservatives “Kill HR with kindness” policy:
- 1895 and 1900 general elections
- Passed the 1898 Local Gov Act, 1903 Wyndham’s Act and 1904 Devolution Scheme
Local Government Act:
[1898] Gave power to middle class, strengthening MC unionists in Ulster and MC Catholics in Southern Ireland
Wyndham’s Act:
[1903] Virtually solved the land problem.
- Organised landlord buy outs at a reasonable price
- Allowed tenants to purchase the land they farmed through low rate gov interest loans (reasonable loans)
Devolution Scheme:
[1904] Proposed an Irish Council that could partially control important internal affairs (including finance)
- Denounced as HR baby unionists when leaked
- Undermined trust between unionists and conservatives (as they provided a good thing to nationalists)
What were the main concerns of the Liberal party in the period 1900-1910?
- Formation of the Labour Party in 1900, won 29 seats by 1906 General Election
- IPP re-unified (potential difficulty)
- By 1905 Balfour’s Conservatives were declining
