Ireland

During the Republic and Under Charles II, Test and Corporation Acts were passed
which prevented native Irish from voting or holding official posts.
Under James II the monarchy was restored in Ireland.
It was thought he might repeal the Act of Settlement (right to confiscate property from
Irish rebels, etc).
The Battle of the Boyne in 1690, and the Glorious Revolution meant the end of a
Catholic reign as James was exiled to France.
Irish Catholics had to swear an oath of allegiance and there were new penal laws.
There was a settlement by which 750,000 pieces of land were given to new owners.
Conscientious Catholics could not carry arms.
This led to Protestant ascendancy.
The penal code made risings/rebellions illegal
The Irish Catholics could not acquire land except by inheritance.
Leaseholders had very high rents.
Catholics were banned from voting and were barred from some trades and professions.
The North was run mainly by Presbyterians.
When the Hanoverians came to the throne, oppression continued.
Economic improvement led to the Patriot Movement.
Irish Protestants were induced to relax the penal code and by the Catholic Relief Act of
1778 and a later act in 1782, Catholics could purchase lands freely and have their own
schools. In 1791 and 1793, further relief acts allowed Catholic landlords to vote
although they were still not allowed to become MPs.
1790: Wolfe Tone, an Irish protestant started the Society of United Irishmen and took
part in a rebellion against the British.
The Society campaigned for Irish independence as well as for equal rights for Catholics
and Protestants. Because of campaigning, some anti-Catholic laws were repealed in
1793.
1796: He tried to bring a French expedition force (during the revolutionary wars) to
Ireland to help in the national uprising. In 1796 the French sent a fleet, but the bad
weather prevented it from landing. In 1798, French soldiers landed in Ireland but were
defeated and forced to surrender. Wolfe Tone was captured and sentenced to death.
Robert Emmets risings were also unsuccessful. A second rebellion was crushed by the
British at Vinegar Hill.Catholic peasants suffered greatly after the French Wars.
William Pitt, the Younger, who was Prime Minister feared an Independent Ireland
might be used to attack Britain by foreign forces.
He convinced the Irish to abolish their own Parliament and with the Act of Union,
Ireland became part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The Act of
Union united the Parliaments of Ireland and Great Britain. Britain admitted Irelands
claims to be bound by its own laws and courts.
100 Irish MPs were elected to the Commons and 32 Peers entered the House of Lords.
The Anglican Church became the official Irish Church.
Most Irish were against the Union.

William Pitt, was in favour of Catholic emancipation. It was over this that he forced to
resign in 1801. However, there was no electoral reform and franchise was not extended.
1828: Daniel OConnell stood for the election of County Clare and was elected. He was
a Catholic and, as Catholics were prohibited from voting or becoming MPs, he was not
allowed to take his seat in Parliament.
The result was violence in Ireland which might have led to a Civil War. Fear of this
possibility, prompted Parliament to pass the Catholic Emancipation Act to give
Catholics the right to vote in 1829.
In Ireland, most landowners were English while the native population was extremely
poor. Farming methods were primitive and it was a problem how to feed the growing
population.
The Potato Famines between 1846 and 1848 led to the death of over a million people as
potatoes were the staple diet of the Irish poor.
Many Irish people blamed the English for this and groups like the Fenians were formed
in the struggle to obtain Home Rule.
The Liberal Government passed acts to improve the situation of the Irish, repealed the
law which established the Anglican Church as the official church of Ireland and gave
greater rights to tenant farmers. However, between 1874 and 1880, the Tory
Government refused to undertake further reforms.
In 1879, led by Charles Parnell, the Irish Land League pressed for land reform and for
Home Rule.
In 1886 and 1893 the Liberals presented two Home Rule Bills, but neither was passed
by Parliament.