British Irish Relations over the past 300 years

This caused the British Government to become more involved with Ireland, as they began to fear that Revolution could occur. It revealed to them the weaknesses of the existing, divided system in Ireland and the need for the Question to be addressed. The Act of Union represented the first phase of the Irish Question. It was a response to the 1798 Rebellion and fears of Ireland possibly being used as a base for France to bring about revolution. It aimed to unite Ireland and England and to dissolve the Irish Parliament into the English Parliament.

Why the British Troops Were Sent into Northern Ireland in 1969 In 1969 British Troops were sent into Ireland because Irish police could no longer cope with the violence between the Unionist Protestant population and the Catholic Nationist population. The events that meant it was necessary for British troops to be sent in stretch back a long way. This essay presents the main long term and short term explanations as to why troops were needed. The tensions between Catholic and Protestant citizens had been mounting for many years. During the sixteenth century there was a lot of rivalry between the Catholic Church and Protestants and when King Henry VIII broke away from the Pope and became Protestant, Ireland remained strongly Catholic.

It seems that all, throughout history, Protestants and Catholics are always butting heads. Tensions were particularly high between Ireland and Britain with Ireland being Catholic and Britain Protestant. This religious discrepancy had a real effect on the Irish people, interfering with their Catholic tradition. The Irish people had longed for independence from the British for a long time; but, Britain really managed to agitate the Irish when they sent settlers from Britain and Scotland to settle in Northern Ireland. This agitation eventually grew into the Northern Ireland War, as the Protestants began to take control.

Ireland as a Continuing Problem for British Government During the Period 1909-1916 In the sixteenth century, British governments deliberately settled Protestants in a predominantly Catholic Ireland. Protestants were given land and positions above the Catholics, who were discriminated against, politically legally and economically, creating resentment often surfacing in the form of violence. Many Irish people resented the British attitude towards Ireland; that they regarded them as a colonial possession, when in 1801 an Act of Union was supposed to have made Ireland part of the UK. Many in Ireland also saw the Potato Famine, which lasted from 1847 to 1849, as an example that the British were unfit to rule Ireland. Discontent and violence inevitably led to the question of Home Rule.

By giving Ireland home rule they were allowed control over their religion, education, health, employment policies etc … In 1914 the British agreed to home rule. The Ulster Unionists (protestants) didn’t want home rule as they viewed themselves as separate to the Irish nation and thought th... ... middle of paper ... ...lice had gone on the rampage, and in April when the Bogsiders had barricaded themselves to stop another police invasion. Even though it may not seem to be, the Catholics feared violence from the police. The police also feared violence as they thought the Catholics would attack the Protestants ghettos of the city. For the first time to try and control the situation, the police fired CS gas into the Bogside, the gas had been used on several other occasions, but this was the first time it had been used in the UK.

These factors are: the religious reasons, the political reasons, the conflict over land, the hatred of the English by Catholics, the growth of violence in Irelandand the problems with the British Government. The religious reasons for the partition in Ireland started with the 16th century reformation where Queen Elizabeth I sent protestants to Ireland because of three reasons. The first reason was that the English were worried that the Catholics might use Ireland as a base to invade England. The second reason for the reformation was because Queen Elizabeth I with other English monarchs wanted to get rid of the Protestants in England because they were becoming too powerful. The third and final reason for the reformation of Protestants in Ireland was because the English Monarchs wanted to control the Catholics living in Ireland.

These rebellions had little support for the ordinary Irish people and it had a bad effect on the Irish parliament whom had to sit later in the Bri... ... middle of paper ... ...of the biggest factors which separate the two communities. Religion is one of several reasons why the two groups see themselves as being different from each other and are suspicious of each other. King Henry broke with Rome in 1530s when the Pope had refused to grant him a divorce from his first wife, hence he declared him self to be ‘Supreme Head’ on Earth of the whole Church of Ireland. He also took charge of the Church in England and Ireland. Since then, more Protestant ideas were introduced and the Catholic service of the Mass was banned in Ireland.

Catholics could feel like they were alienated from the start - and the fact that King Henry just declared himself king of Ireland could strengthen some Nationalist argu... ... middle of paper ... ...appened, I think that if there wasn't a little bit of hatred between them in the first place these stories would not have come about. I think the more important causes of the troubles in Northern Ireland were early, like when Henry VIII created Protestantism. When he tried to force this on the Irish. When King James I took land away from Irish Catholics and gave it away to British Protestants. Factors such as these triggered a separation that has lasted centuries.

The Beliefs of the Republicans/Nationalists and the Loyalists/Unionists There are a number of differences between Nationalists and Unionists and their beliefs. The Nationalists are predominantly Catholic and they do not want Ireland to be part of Britain. They see the British as an occupying army and most believe that the British have no right to be in Ireland, they think it's unfair that the British came into Ireland in the 1600s and have stayed there. They feel angry about how the British have persecuted the Catholics in the past, and they believe that they still don't get treated as well as the Unionists. They campaign for equal rights in different areas, especially housing and jobs.

However, all of the aims of these 'Agreements' were not accomplished, all due to many factors. One of the causes which sparked off the need for peace intiatives, marches and protests, came back to haunt the initiatives later on. Unionists refused some of the terms of the Sunningdale Power Sharing Executive as it gave Catholics an equal say in the running of Northern Ireland. They felt threatened, as they didn't want to risk the north re-joining with the south because of Nationalist supremacy. Therefore they held massive strikes across Ulster and practically brought the country to a standstill; with economic paralysis the country couldn't function.