ireland 1851-1886 Flashcards
what was the problem with religion in Ireland in this period?
population was 90% catholic but church was protestant
had to pay 10% tithe to Church of England
how effectively did Gladstone deal with the problem of religion?
disestablishment of the Irish church act 1869
got rid of 10% tithe
more religious freedom
£9 million given from church to poor law
north didnt like
to little too late
undermined protestant authority
what was the main problem with land in Ireland in this period?
agricultural depression in 1873
tenants lived in terrible conditions
caused deep resentment against landowning class
landlords did little to improve farming conditions
many tenants felt that the rent was too high
causes land war 1874-1879
wanted 3 Fs : Free sale, fixity of tenure, and fair rent
how effectively did Gladstone deal with the problem of land?
compensation for tenants for improvements made to their land if they had to give their land up
landlords could only evict tenants of they didn’t pay rent
didn’t achieve 3 Fs
land court set up to fix fair rents
peasants assured of fixity of tenure and freedom of sale but it was 10 years too late as they now wanted nationalisation
what was the main problem with politics in Ireland in this period?
fenians after potato famine wanted independence
Parnell established as a public figure wanting Home Rule
more irish wanting Home Rule
how effectively did Gladstone deal with the problem of politics?
kilmainham treaty - released Parnell from jail
Gladstone granted Home Rule after Phoenix Park murders, but too late as they now wanted independence
not very effective and just created problems in England
when was the land league set up?
1879 - after land war
what was the land league?
pressure group formed with the aim to reform land tenure system and gain security for tenant farmers
Parnell background
protestnat - respected by parliament
american mother
became ‘uncrowned prince of Ireland’
who were the fenians?
wanted complete republic through violence
Irish extremists
what were the phoenix park murders?
Lord Cavendish - Gladstone’s relative was murdered by Fenians
provoked change to Home Rule
how did the Secret Ballot Act 1872 cause growing support for Home Rule?
people could confidently vote for Home Rule supporters
what were other reasons for the growing support for Home Rule?
growing militancy in Ireland after potato famine
many started to become constitutionalist
agricultural depression increased evictions
dis-satisfaction with both land acts
co-ersion was unpopular
when was the agricultural depression?
1879-1882
what decision did Parnell make after the Phoenix Park murders in 1882?
wanted to distance himself from Davitt and set up the Irish nationalist league
INL had support of catholic church
third reform act
electorate increased from 224,000 to 738,000
liberals and conservative both want support of INL
why did the INL do so well in the 1885 election and how did this push Home Rule to the top of the political agenda?
increased electorate
secreat ballot act
INL gained support from catholic church
held balancing power in parliament - could blackmail each party to grant HR
results of 1885 election
CONS 249
LIBS 319
INR 86
J Hammond interpretation on why Gladstone converted to HR
to settle anglo-irish relations
E Steele interpretation on why Gladstone converted to HR
part of a general development on nationality
not specific to Ireland
Cooke and Vincent interpretation on why Gladstone converted to HR
never expected HR to actually happen
party politics reasons
Hamer interpretation on why Gladstone converted to HR
granting Home Rome would allow more time to be dedicated to reform in England
successes of first land act 1870
less likely to be evicted
received compensation for improvements made to land
failures of first land act 1870
limit on amount of compensation that they could receive
didn’t get 3Fs
Landlords could raise rent so tenants could be evicted
angered tenant farmers
British government seemed out of touch
led to land war
successes of second land act 1881
granted 3 Fs
set up land courts where fair rent could be fixed
over the next few years, rent reduced by 25%
failures of second land act 1881
now want nationalisation of land - came 10 years too late
land war didn’t stop
Parnell stopped it working told people not to pay rent
led to Parnell’s imprisonment - increased British hate
successes of the coercion acts that occupies land acts
created order in Ireland
fall in support for Fenians
Fall in crime
failures of the coercion acts that occupies land acts
more anger - British hate = support for Home Rule defeated
Protestants happy
successes of Kilmainham treaty
parnell released
arrears abolished
successes of the land purchases act 1885
Salisbury
gave loans to peasants to buy holding from landlord - £5 million given
failures of land purchases act 1885
Salisbury
only done to kill home rule with kindness
