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The Irish Question. By Jakub Bína RAMZ. What is The Irish Question?. Complex problem Dates back to twelfth century when England imposed a feudal landowing system on Ireland Feudal lords (noblemen) were granted large tracts of land
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The Irish Question By Jakub Bína RAMZ
What is The Irish Question? • Complex problem • Dates back to twelfth century when England imposed a feudal landowing system on Ireland • Feudal lords (noblemen) were granted large tracts of land • The landowners (mostly English) became wealthy, while the farm workers and other laborers (Irish) lived in great powerty
What is The Irish Question? • Great social problems came during the 1600s and 1700s • The English tried to impose Protestantism • Ireland had a mainly Catholic population • Irish Catholics rebelled agains English and Protestant domination • Events like Irish Catholic rebellion (1641) and civil war came • Oliver Cromwell re-conquered Ireland killing 1/3 of Irish Catholics
What is The Irish Question? • Food tended to be produced for export rather than for domestic needs • Two very cold winters led directly to the Great Irish Famine (1740-1741) killing over 400 000 people • In 1801 the Act of Union came, which merged Kingdom of Ireland and the Kingdom of Great britain to create the United Kingdom
What is the Irish Question? • The second of Ireland's "Great Famines"struck the country severely in the period 1845-1849, leading to mass starvation and emigration. It was named Irish Potato Famine. • The impact of emigration in Ireland was great; the population dropped from over 8 million before the Famine to 4.4 million in 1911.
What is the Irish Question? • A series of violent rebellions by Irish republicans took place in 1803 • In 1848 a rebellion by Young Irelanders and in 1867 by the Irish Republican Brotherhood- All failed… • Tension between nationalists and unionists (northeast- Protestants, industry, wealth) • But most of the island was Catholic and nationalist
What is The Irish Question? • As the First World War broke out, a failed attempt was made to gain separate independence for Ireland in 1916, called Easter Rising • In the December 1918 elections most voters voted for Sinn Féin, the party of the rebels. Having won three-quarters of all the seats in Ireland • On 21. 1. 1919 Irish Republic parliament was established, trying to gain indipendence of the country • The Irish Republican army started a fight against the British (1919-1921)
What is the Irish Question? • During this war the island was divided into two parts- "Northern Ireland" and "Southern Ireland„ • In mid-1921, the Irish and British governments signed a truce that stopped the war • In December 1921, representatives of both governments signed an Anglo-Irish Treaty. The Irish delegation was led by Arthur Griffith and Michael Collins. This established the Irish Republic and created the Irish Free State • Northern Ireland could stay within the United Kingdom and it did so
What is the Irish Question? • Many people emigrated the new country in 1920s due to great powerty • Also lots of Protestants left the Catholic country, because they felt unwelcomed • The country stayed neutral during WW2 • In 1949 the state was formally declared the Republic of Ireland and it left the British Commonwealth • In 1990s the Republic of Ireland gained big economical strengh- ‚Celtic tiger‘
What is the Irish Question? • Northern Ireland- a ‚a protestant state‘ • The founding Prime Minister, James Craig, proudly declared that it would be ‚a Protestant State for Protestant People‘ • Tensions came to a head with the events of Bloody Sunday and Bloody Friday, and the worst years (early 1970s) of what became known as The Troubles resulted. • Private armies such as the Provisional IRA, the Official IRA, the INLA, the Ulster Defence Association and the Ulster Volunteer Force • Fights against the British army and Unionists- 3000 dead people
What is the Irish Question? • During the 1970s British policy concentrated on defeating the IRA by military force • 1986- Anglo Irish Agreement signaling a formal partnership in seeking a political solution. • In the 1990s- progress towards peace • 40% population of Northern Ireland are Catholics • the Belfast Agreement (‚Good Friday Agreement‘) of April 10, 1998 brought a degree of power sharing to Northern Ireland, giving both unionists and nationalists control of limited areas of government • The situation is hopefully taking a peaceful way…
……………………………… Thank U for attention