TOWARDS EMANCIPATION, 1774-1830 Flashcards
What percentage of the population of Ireland were Catholic?
80%
What were some of the Penal Laws? (7)
- No intermarriage
- No religious education in Catholic theology
- No Catholic could hold public office or military rank
- No Catholic was allowed to vote
- Any Catholic who converted to Protestant to their religion would be executed
- No Catholic allowed to buy or inherit land from a Protestant
- System of gavelkind applied to Catholic inheritance
How much land did the Protestants retain in Ireland?
95%
What bill did Sir Hercules and John Mason introduce in 1761, and again in 1773?
To allow Catholics to rent land for more than 31 years
Who stirred up nationalist sentiment in the 1760s?
Henry Flood
The 1774 Oath of Allegiance
Allowed Catholics, and Protestant sects outside the Established Church to declare their loyalty to the King, George II
What did the 1774 Oath of Allegiance allow the Catholics to do?
Start breaking down anti-Catholic sentiments that revolved around perceptions of their trustworthiness and loyalty
The First Catholic Relief Act 1778 (6)
- Threat posed by Americans WOI encouraged a more conciliatory attitude towards Catholics by British Politicians.
- France declared war on Britain in 1778.
- Pledged support for Irish MP Luke Gardiner’s Catholic Relief bill which proposed allowing Catholics who had taken the oath to bequeath landholdings to their heir and buy land.
- Allowed long leases rather than outright buying.
- Less about improving the conditions of Irish Catholics.
- More about securing Ireland in the empire and expanding British army.
The Second Catholic Relief Act 1782 (5)
- Threat posed by Irish Volunteers.
- Granted the right to buy land so long as it was not in parliamentary boroughs.
- Removed restrictions against Catholic education and the Catholic clergy
- Catholics more independent through landownership and chance to improve education.
- Motivated by British security and retain Irish Catholic support.
The Third Catholic Relief Act 1792-93 (4)
- Threat by Catholic Committee which in 1791 seeked additional reform.
- Granted right to practice law in 1792.
- Fear because of French Revolution.
- Catholics able to hold most military and civil posts and could vote in local and general elections.
Gordon Riots 1780 (3)
- Anti-Catholic riots which took place after the passage of the First Catholic Relief Act.
- Lord George Gordon wanted a repeal of the Papist Act.
- 700 people killed.
What were Irish Catholics political activists like?
Not well organised, aristocratic and very conservative
What did Henry Grattan’s emancipation bill propose?
Emancipation but with a government veto on Church appointments
When was Henry Grattan’s bill on emancipation proposed?
1808
Who accepted HG’s Emancipation bill terms?
Aristocratic Catholic’s
Who rejected HG’s Emancipation bill terms?
Catholic middle classes and Catholic bishops
When was the Catholic Board created?
1811
What was the creation of Catholic Board intended to do?
Co-ordinate the growing Catholic demand for themselves
Who was the leader of the Catholic Board?
Daniel O’Connell
Why did the Catholic Board maintain its opposition to any qualification of emancipation?
It was an affront to their rights and no Protestant qualification existed.
When was the demise for O’Connells Catholic board?
1814
What was the split between the Catholic Board caused by?
Aristocrats who supported the veto and thought O’Connells rejection was too aggressive
What was the new organisation called and opened after the failure of the Catholic Board?
The Catholic Association, 1823
What was ‘Catholic rent’?
A subscription of one penny a month which members of the Catholic Association paid sponsor activities and promote cause of emancipation.
When did the government ban the Catholic Association?
June 1825
When was the new Catholic Association established?
1826
By-election
An election to fill vacancies that arise between general elections
What was evidence of the of the popularity of the emancipation issue on Catholic Association?
A by-election in County Clare in 1828
What did the by-election offer an opportunity to the Catholic Association in 1828?
- An opportunity to promote another emancipation candidate.
- Cause government public embarrassment if Fitzgerald was defeated.
Who was William Vesey Fitzgerald?
- President of the Board of Trade
- Sitting MP for Clare
- MP for 10 years
- Sympathetic to Catholic Emancipation but joining a government that opposed further Catholic reform.
Why did O’Connell end up standing for election in June 1828?
- Failure to find a Protestant to stand
- Laws forbidding Catholics to sit in parliament because of oath of supremacy.
- If he won, it would show embarrassment to government and unfairness of Penal Laws
Did O’Connell win his seat?
Yes, 2,057 to 982 votes
What percentage of the population sought to pass the bill allowing Catholics to sit in parliament?
85%
When was the bill that allowed Catholics to sit in parliament passed?
1829
Who replaced Lord Liverpool in parliament?
Duke of Wellington and Robert Peel
How did the Duke of Wellington and Robert Peel win over the King and Conservative critics in the HoL in passing the new legislation for Catholics?
- Help from Whig party
- Support from Liberal tories
- Wellington threatened to resign so King consented
Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829
- Catholics could sit as MPs in Westminster
- Were able to stand for all public offices except those of lord chancellor, monarch, regent, lord lieutenant and judicial appointments.
The Parliamentary Elections Act 1829
Increased the qualification for voting from the traditional 40-shilling freehold to a £10 householder.
How much did the numbers of Irish voters fall by?
215,901 to 39,872
Why did O’Connell become a figure of resentment?
O’Connell accepted the Parliamentary Elections Act which was not accepted within poorer Irish Catholics
Navigation Act 1651
Forbade the use of foreign ships by colonies for trade with another
Wool Act 1699
Limited the amount of wool Ireland could produce, thereby giving British wool merchants better trade opportunities
How did the Irish economy traditionally rely upon in order to support itself?
Exportation of textiles and beef to the US and Britain
What war disrupted trade routes and had a damaging effect on the Irish economy?
American War of Independence
Embargo
An official ban on trade with another country
Who and when did the British place embargoes on?
America and France in 1778
Who were prominent figures for lifting trade restrictions?
Grattan, Burgh and Flood
Patriot
Protestant individuals who became more aware of their Irishness and sought to promote the country’s interests rather than British ones
What resolution did the Patriots come to on trade restrictions?
Passed a resolution in Dublin parliament in October 1779 to formally demand unlimited trade rights from the British Government
How did the wider city help with the improvement of trade restrictions?
- General boycott of British goods
- Irish Volunteers used newspapers
- Intimidation to achieve the ends they sought
How did the Irish Volunteers exploit the current position of weakness that British was in to fight against trade restrictions?
- Protested outside the parliament demanding ‘short money bill’
- ‘free trade or this’ with cannons
- Irish vulnerable to attack, limited defences
When was Ireland permitted to trade with directly with other parts of the empire?
Jan 1780
East India Company
Imported goods from India in return for Britain exports to that country
Monopoly
The exclusive right to trade
Constitution of 1782
Adjusted Poynings Law and repealed Declatory Act
Why did Ireland’s economy change very little after repeal?
Due to the continuation of the American war which had depressed markets and interrupted trade and bad harvests in 1782-83
What was one of the most depressed markets?
Woolen industry
Lobby
An action taken by groups who want to influence the government, involved trying to win support by persuasion
What did the Irish parliament lobby after the removal of trade restrictions?
Pass protectionist legislation that raised tariffs on British imports so they became more expensive
What was the REAL economic problem in Ireland?
Land distribution and absentee landlordism
What did the Chancellor of the Exchequer do?
Reduce interest rate on borrowing from 6 to 5%
