Jonathan Swift - Political Activist

Living in an age of ill-treatment of the Irish citizenry by the British monarchy of led authors to protest circumstances in the only way they knew how, with their words. Jonathan Swift was one such author who attacked the wrongs England committed upon Ireland using his wit and satire. Swift once said, “We have just religion enough to make us hate, but not enough to make us love one another” (Baker). Therefore, the crux of the problem with Ireland and England was the desire for one to keep their religious freedoms while the other wished to replace a religion with their own. It is that fervor for religious control that led England to use every method at its disposal to force the Irish to convert from Catholicism to Anglicanism. To accomplish this goal the English monarchy and parliament passed laws preventing Irish citizens from earning a living and attempted to destroy Ireland’s economy with worthless coins. Had the Irish citizenry passively stood by and allowed this to happen the English plan may have succeeded. However, writers such as Jonathan Swift fought with written words to rally a nation against tyranny.

To completely understand the reasons as to why Ireland was treated so atrociously by England it is necessary to delve back into the history of the two nations. In 1532 Henry VIII wished to divorce his wife, who was incapable of producing a male heir, and marry another. Unable to receive papal approval for a divorce from Rome, Henry VIII broke from the Roman Catholic Church and formed the Anglican Church of England and Protestantism was established (Baker). Henry VIII was granted a divorce given that he controlled the church, he was allowed to marry another and heirs were born. Henry VIII, having formed his own church and ...

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