Exploring Why the British Troops Were Sent into Northern Ireland in 1969

During the war, the IRA (Irish Republican Army) also did not help their case when they began acts of terrorism on the Protestant population. The Protestants also lived in fear of a Catholic majority because the... ... middle of paper ... ...essed January 11, 2014). Haward, Katy. "Defusing the Conflict in Northern Ireland." EU Border Conflict studies.

Bloody Sunday happened because of many years of conflict between Nationalist and Unionist communities. In Northern Ireland nationalists are almost all Catholics and want a united Ireland with no connections with Britain. Unionists are almost all Protestant and want to stay part of the United Kingdom, afraid that if they join the Republic of Ireland the Catholic Church would take over and their economy would break down. The street history and segregation between the communities created a further tension between the two sides. When British Troops came into N. Ireland in 1969 to bring peace between Nationalists and Unionists, peace was restored for a few months, but gradually the British troops went from being the peace makers to the peace destroyers.

This fueled problems in Ireland. After 1793 Britain was afraid, after loosing America, that a revolution would happen in Ireland. So the restrictions on the Irish Catholics were done away with. This however angered the protestants who formed the Orange Order, who was against the Catholics. This all came to a head when in 1798 when a small rebellion broke out.

The U.K responded by 'planting' more Protestants over in Northern Ireland. Most of the Protestants wanted to stay apart of the U.K, they were called Unionists. There were also Loyalists who wanted to stay apart of the U.K but used violence to do so. Republicans used violence to stay apart of the Republic of Ireland. The potato famine increased hatred between Catholics and Protestants.

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. This caused conflict as in 1602 Elizabeth I gained control of Ireland. In 1603 King James I planted Protestants in a region of Ireland called Ulster. Various massacres took place, Protestants remember the massacre of Protestant settlers by Irish Catholics in 1641 and Catholics remember the massacre of Catholics troops by Protestant troops in 1649, although these are different events they were both used against the other side, and any fault of their own side was justified, this increases tension between the two and validates hatred. Generally the people in Ulster remained strong to the English crown, these are called Unionists and wanted to stay part of the United Kingdom.

According to Golway, James Connolly, the leader of the Irish labor movement, “demanded an end to mere talk of revolution” (224). This did not help the Irish like they attended it too. This only made the split of the two nations worse. Britain still thinks there are many things in the nation of Ireland that are still theirs, and believe ... ... middle of paper ... ...en wrote and spoke out against Britain and thought it was not worth the time (Liam 242). Even with British troops siding with the Irish saying it is not a big deal, many Irish are wondering when they will take a stand and help them gain their independence.

This act simply gave Ireland political control over their own country. However, this did not last long because a group called the Ulster Unionists did not agree with Ireland’s home rule. The Ulster Unionists were a political party in Northern Ireland that wanted Ireland to stay under Britain’s control. They formed a group called the Ulster Volunteers which used physical force to show their opposition against the Third Home Rule Act. In response, the Irish nationalists set up a group called the Irish Volunteers to “secure the rights and liberties common to all the people of Ireland.” As tensions grew, both groups started collecting weapons... ... middle of paper ... ...pons and money, and also to kill important British leaders.

All of this forces the colonists to meet underground. During this entire period the British were starting to make attempts to intimidate the colonists in hopes to end the rebellions. It seemed that the more and more England tried to scare the people, the angrier they got. The tactics obviously didn't work, but instead pushed the colonists even further into standing up against Britain. The British soldiers in America were told not to entice violence, and especially not to kill anybody.

After Cromwell’s death the troubles in Ireland continued when a new King James II was appointed. James II was a Catholic and wanted to ... ... middle of paper ... ... the violence. However, in my opinion the main factor which lead to the British army being sent to Northern Ireland in 1969 were the government policies such as gerrymandering which caused the Catholic community to be given poor housing and jobs, which in turn caused them to protest about the treatment they were receiving from local councils which would end up in violence which was mostly started by the Protestants and then this violence would be dealt with by a biased police force who could not keep the peace and would just end up contributing to the violence by taking the side of the Protestants. So in conclusion it is my opinion that the government policies in Northern Ireland after 1922 and the partition of Ireland is a long-term problem that resulted in the deployment of troops by the British government in 1969.

The Irish Diaspora and many Irish nationalists had little faith in the British government's willingness to install Home Rule and stand up to the unionists. Preoccupied by the Great War and desperate for able bodies, the British government made its' fatal decision to enforce conscription in Ireland. Outcries by Irish republicans that Britain bore no right to 'Irish fodder' for their war canons, helped pave the way for an uprising. Rebel leaders from the Irish Republican Brotherhood, the Irish Nationalist Volunteer Army, and James Connolly's Citizens Army decided the time was ripe for a rebellion and adopted a familiar concept in Irish history, 'England's trouble is Ireland's opportunity.' Like t... ... middle of paper ... ...ic immortalization of the leaders' blood sacrifice.