Impact of Empire - The Three Kingdoms Flashcards
When did King Henry II of England invade Ireland?
In 1169.
What was the area of Ireland controlled by English kings known as?
The Pale.
How were Irish people living ‘beyond the Pale’ stereotyped?
As wild, uneducated, and savage.
What religious change occurred in England in the mid-sixteenth century?
England became a Protestant country.
What was encouraged by English monarchs in Ireland in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries?
The settlement of Scottish and English Protestant settlers in Ireland.
Who governed Ireland on behalf of the English monarch during the seventeenth century?
The Lord Deputy.
What was the composition of the Irish parliament during the seventeenth century?
Protestant-dominated parliament with limited powers
What event occurred in the 1640s involving Irish Catholics?
The Irish Catholic majority supported Charles I against the English parliament in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms.
How did Oliver Cromwell respond to an Irish uprising against English rule?
He violently put it down and confiscated more land from Catholic landowners.
Who did most Irish Catholics support in 1687?
King James II.
What promise did King James II make regarding religious freedom?
He issued a Declaration for the Liberty of Conscience in 1687, granting religious freedom to all Christians including Catholics.
Why were the Protestant settlements in Ireland called plantations?
Because people were ‘planted’ there to colonize it.
What happened to vast areas of land during the Protestant settlements?
They were confiscated from Catholic owners and handed to Protestant settlers.
Why were the plantations concentrated in the northern province of Ulster?
Because it had been the heart of rebellion against the English.
How did one MP, Sir John Davies, describe the settlers and the native Irish?
He described the settlers as ‘good corn’ and the native Irish as ‘weeds’ to be removed.
What was the intention behind the Protestant settlements in Ireland?
The intention was for the settlers loyal to the English Crown to control Ireland.
What measures were taken to protect Protestants in the city of Derry?
The city was rebuilt with high walls, and Catholics were forced to live outside the walls in the Bogside.
What did English policy create in Ireland?
It created a deep and dangerous religious and class divide that would last centuries and often erupt into war.
Who pressed James to return to England and win back the three kingdoms by military force in 1688?
The French king, Louis XIV.
Who did most Irish Catholics support in 1688?
Jacobites, supporters of James II.
What did Tyrconnell, the lord deputy of Ireland, do in response to James’ situation?
He formed a Jacobite army.
When did James II land in Ireland with French troops?
In March 1689.
What did the parliament in Dublin, convened by James, do?
It passed a law giving confiscated land back to former Catholic owners and declared that the English parliament had no right to make laws governing Ireland.
What wider European conflict was the battle against the Jacobites part of?
The War of the Grand Alliance, or the Nine Years’ War.
Why did William feel forced to face James in Ireland?
Although his priority was fighting France, William felt forced to face James in Ireland because of the wider European conflict.
What happened in the first half of 1689 in the war?
The Jacobites’ army under Tyrconnell seized back land from Protestant plantation owners and besieged the city of Derry.
How did William’s army respond to the siege of Derry?
William’s ships broke the siege from the River Foyle and freed the Protestant inhabitants on 28 July.
What happened when some of William’s army landed near Belfast?
They marched towards Dundalk and camped for the winter on wet ground, where disease struck and killed over 5,500 men.
What was the outcome of the Battle of the Boyne on 1 July 1690?
Although there was no clear winner, James lost heart and left Ireland, leading to William entering Dublin in triumph.
What was the final decisive battle of the war?
The Battle of Aughrim on 12 July 1691.
What was the outcome of the Battle of Aughrim?
It was a clear victory for William, despite both sides suffering heavy casualties.
What term do Irish historians use to refer to the war of 1689-1691?
They refer to it as ‘the shipwreck’.
What complex factors contributed to the conflict of 1689-1691?
The conflict was not simply between Catholics and Protestants; there were Protestants who supported the Jacobites and European Catholics fighting on William’s side.
Why did some Irish people join the Jacobite cause?
Some saw it as a way to fight against English domination, despite not being great lovers of James II.
Who were the top commanders in the war of 1689-1691?
Four of the top commanders were foreigners, and the armies under Dutch and French command fought in significant battles like Aughrim.
What marked the end of the war of 1689-1691?
The Treaty of Limerick, signed on 3 October 1691.
What choices were given to Irishmen who had fought for James after the war?
They could join William’s army, return home, or continue following James in the French army, which would mean leaving Ireland forever.
What was ‘the flight of the Wild Geese’?
It refers to the departure of 14,000 soldiers to France who chose to continue following James.
Why did the king send the most committed fighters to France?
To remove the risk of the fighting continuing, as Catholic guerrilla fighters had inflicted real damage in Williamite areas.
What promise did Jacobite landowners receive regarding their land?
They were told they could keep their land if they swore allegiance to William and Mary.
How did William treat Catholic landowners despite the promises in the Treaty of Limerick?
Many Catholic landowners who did not swear allegiance quickly enough had their land taken away.
What consequences did Irish Catholics face after the war?
They lost their army, land, and political power, and were excluded from government for nearly 200 years.
How does historian R.F. Foster describe this period?
He calls it ‘the last stand of Catholic Ireland’ which ultimately failed.
How did Ireland’s status change after the war?
It became quite clearly a British colony, with English attitudes toward the Irish reflecting this change.
How did R.F. Foster liken the impact of the Williamite war on Irish Catholics?
He likened it to a devastating earthquake.
What did the years immediately following the Williamite war bring for Irish Catholics?
They brought a series of harsh aftershocks.
What was the composition of the Irish parliament after the Williamite war?
It was entirely Protestant.
What were some consequences for Catholics in the aftermath of the Williamite war?
They lost land, religious freedoms, and political power.
What were the Penal Laws, and when were they in effect?
The Penal Laws were harsh measures imposed on Irish Catholics from 1691 to 1728.
How did the Catholic population in Ireland compare to the Protestant population?
Catholics formed three-quarters of the population of 4 million.
What was the impact of the arrival of Scottish families in Ireland between 1690 and 1715?
It led to Catholics owning only 14 percent of the land, despite forming the majority of the population.
When was the next time a Catholic was represented in parliament after this period?
There would be no Catholic in parliament until 1828.
Who held real power in Ireland during this 1691 to 1728?
Real power rested with the English based at Dublin Castle.
How were the officials at Dublin Castle appointed?
They were all appointed by the government in London and were accountable to it.
Who were the main winners in Ireland after 1691?
The wealthy Protestants, Ireland-born but of English origin, were the main winners.
What elite group emerged among the wealthy Protestants in Ireland?
An elite group known as the Protestant Ascendancy emerged.
What institutions and aspects of society did the Protestant Ascendancy centre around?
They centred around the Anglican Church, Dublin Castle, and English fashions.
How did the Protestant Ascendancy view themselves?
They saw themselves as the only true Irish ‘nation’, with a God-given right to rule, proven by the Williamite victories in battle.
What were some examples of individuals rising from poverty to prominence within the Protestant Ascendancy?
William Conolly, the son of a blacksmith in Donegal, became Speaker of the House of Commons in the Irish parliament.
What were the main divisions among Protestants in Ireland?
There were deep class divides, with the Ascendancy belonging to the Church of Ireland, while most Scottish settlers were Presbyterians.
How did the division of faith and the division of class contribute to tensions in Ireland?
There was tension between the division of faith (between Protestant and Catholic) and the division of class (between the Protestant Ascendancy and the Catholic and Protestant poor).
How did the Protestant Ascendancy view their relationship with England?
They saw it as one of ‘sisters’ or “brothers’ - two parallel kingdoms.
What was the view of Ireland’s relationship with England from London’s perspective?
Ireland was seen as a colony, with England as the parent and Ireland as the child, existing to benefit England.
What event in 1699 impacted Irish exports?
The English Woollen Act made it illegal for the Irish to export woollen cloth beyond the British Isles.
What was the significance of the Declaratory Act of 1720?
It ruled that the British parliament had the right to make laws for Ireland ‘in all cases whatsoever’, diminishing the authority of the Irish House of Lords.
Who was given the right to manufacture Irish halfpennies against the will of Irish Protestants?
An English entrepreneur, William Wood, was given this right by the British government from 1722 to 1725.
How did both political parties in England view the Irish?
They saw all the Irish, both Catholic and Protestant, as a conquered people.
How did negative stereotypes against Catholics evolve?
The negative stereotypes used against Catholics were increasingly applied to the Irish population.
What changes occurred in the Irish countryside in the years following the war?
Woods were cleared to make way for cattle, and the potato became a staple crop.
Why was the potato well-suited to Irish conditions?
It was nutritious, easy to grow, and capable of producing large crops.
What was the impact of the potato becoming a staple diet in Ireland?
The healthier diet centered on the potato reduced mortality and increased fertility, with more children surviving infancy.
What was the state of manufacturing in Ireland during this time?
There was very little manufacturing, although there were improvements in linen cloth quality brought by Huguenot refugees in the 1690s.
How did the dependency on agriculture affect the population during times of crop failure?
Most people were entirely dependent on the food they could grow, so when crops failed, as they did dramatically in 1729, there was serious famine.
When did the Glencoe Massacre take place, and where?
The Glencoe Massacre took place in 1692, in a bitterly cold mountain valley in the Scottish Highlands.
Who were the victims of the Glencoe Massacre?
Thirty-eight women, men, and children belonging to the clan McDonald were murdered by government troops, with forty more dying of exposure after their homes were burned down.
Who were the perpetrators of the Glencoe Massacre, and what was the context?
Scottish soldiers, acting on behalf of King William, committed the massacre. It occurred in the context of deep divisions in Scotland.
