ADV INFO The Condition of Ireland and Anglo-Irish Relations Flashcards
What united Ireland with the rest of Britain
the act of union
when was the act of union
1800
What did the opposition in Ireland demand after the act of union
Catholic emancipation
what is catholic emancipation
the process by which historic restrictions on Irish Catholics were lifted, giving them equal civil rights to non-Catholics.
When was catholic emancipation granted
1829
what granted catholic emancipation
the roman catholic relief act
what caused dissatisfaction among the largely Catholic Irish population
the fact that the church of Ireland was established as the state church alongside the church of England
What was there a campaign for in the 1840s
the repeal of the act of union
when was the great famine (Irish potato famine)
1845 and 1848
how many people died during the great famine
one million
what was the result of the Irish potato famine and its deaths
a further million Irish people chose to emigrate to the USA
how much did the Irish population decrease by
over 20%
what was the famine caused by
potato blight
why did the potato blight epidemic have the biggest effect in Ireland?
because of their greater reliance on the potato and issues surrounding land ownership and the corn laws
what did the famine cause
resentment against British rule and demand for reform and home rule.
Who owned the majority of land in Ireland
Anglo-Irish landlords who were frequently absent from the country
what did the mass eviction of farmers lead to
the descent into an unbreakable cycle of poverty
how many families were evicted in 1850
19,949
how many families were evicted in 1891
1098
What did Gladstone announce when he found out he had won the 1867 election
‘my mission is to pacify Ireland’
What did Gladstone believe was the key cause of unrest in Ireland
religion
what act was passed in 1869 to help with religion
the disestablishment of the church of Ireland
what was the disestablishment of the church of Ireland designed to do
to quell the unrest and fitted well with the Liberals’ attitude toward the established church
what per cent of the Irish population was catholic
90%
What was the result of the Anglican church existing in such a catholic community
5.3 million out of 5.8 million people were paying a tithe (10% of their income) to the Anglican church, a church they did not attend
Why was the disestablishment act so popular in Ireland
Because only a quarter of the assets of the church was used to improve schools, hospitals and workhouses, meaning that the poor benefitted from the act.
Where did the disestablishment act face fierce opposition?
parliament, most notably from the bishops in the House of Lords.
who else disapproved of the disestablishment act
queen victoria
who realised there was no realistic chance of defeating the disestablishment act
Disraeli
What society was formed in the 1850s
the Fenians
who started the Fenians
James Stephens in the USA
When did the Fenians start operating in Britain
1867
what were the Fenians
a militant nationalist group who wanted to end the Union with Britain.
what were the Fenians willing to use
violent methods to try and achieve their aim of an independent Ireland
where was the Fenian’s violence best seen
their failed uprising in Manchester in 1867
What surprised Gladstone
the violence in Ireland did not subside
what two main issues had Gladstone originally not recognised
the desire for an independent Ireland and land ownership
What was a blow to the fishing industry which was a further blow to the Irish industry
the disappearnace of herring
Which land organisation made demands in the 1850s
the Irish tenant league
what did the Irish tenant league demand
three F’s
what were the three F’s
fixed tenure, fair rents and free sales
What was the ulster custom
tenants were secure in keeping their tenure as long as they paid their rent on time
what act was passed in 1870 to try and answer the land question
the land act
what did the land act 1870 do
- tenants were not to be evicted while up to date with their rent. They were given the right to ‘free sales’ of their holding.
- the principle of rent control was introduced
- evicted tenants had to be paid compensation by the landlords for any improvement they had made]- it allowed tenant willing to buy their holding from their landlord to borrow 2/3rds of the purchase price from the state
What did Gladstone hope the Land act 1870 would do
calm the situation. inIreland and encourage Irish landowners to develop a more positive relationship with their tenants.
did the land act 1870 pass through parliament
it passed with little opposition
What was the actual result of the Irish land act
it did not achieve its aims
what problems did the Irish land act face
it did not fully address some of the major concerns of the Irish people
what was the issue with implementing the Ulster Custom
it was very hard to identify where the Ulster Custom had been in place
what was the issue with tenants having the ability to buy land
they could not afford to buy land: they did not have one-third of the purchase price.
what was the issue with landlords selling
none of them had a real reason to sell.
what were the issues with the eviction clauses
they were largely ineffective, as the rent control was not effectively imposed
what did Gladstone have to bring in after the Land Act 1870
the coercion act of 1871
what did the coercion act of 1871 do
it gave police extra power over arrests and imprisonment.
how can the need for coercion be traced back to
the failures of the 1870 Land Act
What happened to agriculture recovery in Ireland
the recovery that had taken place since the end of the Great Famine ended abruptly in the early 1870s
when were there poor harvests in Ireland
between 1877 and 1879
what happened to Farmers’ incomes
they fell dramatically, leading to them calling for reductions in rents
what was formed in 1879
The Irish National Land League
who formed the Irish National Land League
Michael Davitt
Who was president of the Land League
Charles Stewart Parnell
who joined Davitt in the Land League
Parnell and John Devoy ( a leading Fenian )
what made the land league a powerful organisation
the combination of Davitt’s radical socialism, Parnell’s constitutional nationalism and Devoy’s militant approach
what did the Land League do
provide practical help for evicted tenants, as well as carrying out a campaign of violence against selected landlords.
who supported the land league
wealthy US donors
what did the league encourage tenants to do
refuse to work for landlords who continued to charge excessive rents
What was founded in 1870
the Home Rule Association
who founded the Home Rule Association
Isaac Butt
what happened to the Home Rule Association in 1873
it becomes a political party
which organisations supported the work of the Irish home rule league
the catholic church and the Fenians
what happened in the 1874 general election
60 Irish MPs claimed to be in favour of Home Rule
What was Butt unable to do
convince Disraeli’s government that the issue should be a priority
Who was elected as an MP in 1875
Parnell
where was Parnell elected as MP for
County Meath
what did Parnell become after becoming an MP
Leader of the Irish Home Rule League
What was the Home Rule League renamed to
the Irish Parliamentary Party
how many seats did the IPP win in 1880
61 seats
who became Prime Minister in 1880
Gladstone
What did Gladstone introduce in 1880
the coercion act
what was the coercion act in response to
the violence of the Land League, which had recently assassinated the leading landowner Lord Mounmorres.
what did the coercion act 1880 do
it gave the authorities greater power of arrest in Ireland.
what was the result of the coercion act
Davitt was imprisoned, and 36 IPP MPs were expelled from Parliament.
What did Gladstone pass in 1881
the land act
what did the land act 1881 do
gave legal status to the three Fs and included the creation of land courts to ensure fair rents. This resulted in a 20% reduction in rent over the next few years
Why did the land act put Parnell in a difficult position
he knew that vocal support for it would anger more radical nationalists at home, who believed that the act did not go far enough. On the other hand, he was also aware that the excessive criticism of the new law would reduce his bargaining power with the British government, including Liberal MPs who supported Home Rule.
What did Parnell do
he accepted some of the acts and rejected other bits (the land courts)
What did Parnell’s rejection of the land act lead to
his arrest and imprisonment in Kilmainham Jail
why was Parnell imprisoned
the British believed that he was attempting to incite trouble by wrecking the act
what was the knock-on effect of Parnell’s arrested
his popularity soared, and Gladstone recognised the need to release him
How long was Parnell in prison for
6 months
what did Parnell’s release lead to
the beginning of a more cooperative era between the IPP and the government
what had the land act done to the land league
it had reduced the power of the Land League, and as a result, Gladstone felt able to offer concessions.
what was passed in 1882
the Kilmainham treaty
what did the Kilmainham treaty do
there were amendments to the land ac, such as providing greater support for tenants already in arrears, and the relaxation of the Coercion Act. In return, Parnell began to cooperate with the land courts, as well as reiterating his commitment to peaceful methods.
What strengthened Parnell’s hand
an outbreak of violence in May 1882
who was assassinated in May 1882
Lord Cavendish, the Chief Secretary for Ireland, and his undersecretary T.H Burke
who killed Lord Cavendish and T.H. Burke
a militant group named the Invincibles
What were the murders of Cavendish and Burke called
the phoenix park murders
what did the Pheonix park murders lead to
the prevention of crimes acts 1882, suspending trial by jury.
how did the murders provide Parnell with an opportunity
he was able to distance himself from such a militant approach, breaking with Davitt and setting up a new party, the Irish National League (INL)
what was the INL committed to
the cause of Home Rule
what did Parnell impose on the party
strict discipline, earning the nickname ‘The Dictator’.
What did Parnell introduce
‘the pledge’, which forced INL MPs to vote with the party line on any issue where a majority of members had given their backing
how did Parnell gain the support of the catholic church
promising to protect their control of education at both school and university level
what was passed in 1884
the representation of the people act
what did the representation of the people act do to the Irish electorate
it increased from 224,000 to 738,000
what did the increase in the Irish electorate do
it meant that many landless labourers and tenant farmers, natural supporters of the INL, were able to vote for the first time
what happened in the build-up to the 1885 election
both the Liberal and Conservative parties actively sought Parnell’s supporters of the INL could soon hold the balance of power in the Commons and were reassured by a couple of relatively peaceful years in Ireland.
what did Joseph Chamberlain try to do
make an agreement with Parnell whereby the INL would support the Liberals in return for reform of Irish local government.
Who did Parnell meet with
Conservative peer Lord Carnarvon
what did Parnell do as a result of the agreement with Carnarvon
Parnell encouraged Irish people living in England to vote for the Conservative party
why did Parnell want to gain the support of the Conservatives
the Conservatives dominated the House of Lords, so their support was necessary if there was hope of a future Home Rule Bill
Why did the 1885 general election result offer the best opportunity for Home Rule
not only was a Liberal Government elected, but, with 86 seats, the INL held the balance of power. The remaining years of the decade would see Home Rule at the forefront of British political debate.
