The condition of Ireland and Anglo-Irish relations 1886-1914 Flashcards
why did Gladstone adopt the policy of home rule?
bc he suspected that unless he offered it the increasingly confident nationalists would set up their own Irish parliament
the irish party had won 86 seats out 103 and the conservatives lost to liberals by just 86 so the overalls needed the support of the Irish MPs to guarantee that legislation was passed by the House of Commons
what were the key proposals of the home rule bill?
- Ireland would have an assembly with two orders. one would contain 204 directly elected MPs + the other order 28 peers + 75 members elected by leading irish property owners
- it would raise its own taxes + would control services eg education + transport. Ireland would also provide the British treasury with £3,242,000 towards the empire + national debt
- British parliament would maintain supreme power
- no longer be irish MPs at Westminster
why did the bill fail?
many liberals thought it may lead to collapse of the union eg chamberlain (resigned from cabinet)
the Conservative party was also united in opposition -> knew that the failure of the bill would lead to liberal divisions
irish protestant minority feared that a parliament dominated by catholic politicians
-> gladstone resigned
why was parnells reputation ruined?
high profile divorce case between Captain O’Shea + his wife Kitty
many of his non conformist supporters in the liberal party were outraged, as was the irish Catholic Church
when was the second home rule bill?
1892
what was a major difference between the first home rule bill and the second?
80 Irish MPs would be elected to British parliament
it was passed by House of Commons by a majority of 34 but it was rejected by the house of lords 419 to 41
what reforms to constructive unionism lead to?
- Land Purchase Act 1887, 1891, 1896
1891 act gave £33mill to tenants to buy their land, 55,000 people did so - The Recess committee was established in 1895 aimed to improve irish agriculture through the encouragement of new farming methods
- The Wyndham Land purchase act 1903 -> gave landlords £12 mill to encourage them to sell their land, tenants would be given all the money they needed to buy land + would repay over 68 yrs w 3.25% interest
what did constructive unionism aim to do?
improve the standard of living for the Irish in order to eliminate their desire to leave the union
1903 land act
large subsidies provided, encourage landowners to sell -> by 1919 72% of tenants had bought their land
but sale of land remained voluntary + landless labourers continued to be vulnerable
what did unionists want?
to stay with Britain and fight against home rule
what did nationalists want?
not just home rule, full independence
the ulster party
due to increased northern unionist movement ran by Colonel Edward Sanderson
why did ulster unionism grow?
dominated by middle + working class who wanted to keep growing prosperity due to growing economic climate the land acts also reduced the influence of Southern unionists landowners
what was Sinn Fein
a political party run by Arthur Griffith who wanted independence
how did Campbell Bannerman helped with the irish 1906?
improvements made to higher education eg a national university was created in order to educate catholics
another land act 1909 introduced compulsory purchase by tenants in certain over populated areas
