Towards emancipation, 1774-1830

Question 1

What is catholic emancipation?

Answer 1

It sought to give members of that faith the same rights as their protestant neighbours.

Question 2

Why was Catholic emancipation important to Ireland?

Answer 2

This was an especially significant movement because it was able to mobilise great numbers of Irish men and women and this offered a cohesive opposition that could not be ignored by Britain.

Question 3

Why were the Catholics subject to discrimination pre 1774

Answer 3

Protestant William of Orange defeated the Catholic king, James II. Following this, anti-catholic laws established protestant dominance in the country despite their faith being an overwhelming minority.

Question 4

What was the protestant ascendancy?

Answer 4

A broad, two-tiered, social system wherein the Catholics were at the bottom and the Protestants were at the top. They were given greater legal rights and were able to dominate Irish affairs.

Question 5

How were there small improvements for the Catholics in the right to lease property for extended years?

Answer 5

In part, this was the result of Britain’s growing awareness of Irish protestant nationalism, which had begun to seek greater powers for the Irish parliament and for Britain to reduce there interference in Irish affairs.

Question 6

How was protestant nationalism growing?

Answer 6

The nationalist sentiment was stirred up by Henry Flood and the Earl of Charlemont towards the end of the 1760s. The British authorities developed a more sympathetic attitude towards Catholics as a counterbalance to the developing Protestant nationalist demands

Question 7

What was the Oath of Allegiance 1774?

Answer 7

It allowed Catholics and Protestants sects outside the Established Church, to declare their loyalty to the king, George III.

Question 8

How did the Oath of Allegiance help Catholics?

Answer 8

Although this did not entail any specific benefits for them, it did offer the chance to start breaking down anti-catholic sentiments that resolved around perceptions about their trustworthiness and loyalty. In the longer term this oath would become a requirement for further Catholic reform, and after 1774 it helped to facilitate such reform because of the more positive light it positioned Catholics under.

Question 9

How did the American war and France help Catholics in Ireland?

Answer 9

They were afraid that Ireland might support America as a fellow colony with similar problems. France had declared war on Britain in 1778, France being a Catholic nation, the British authorities anticipated that the Irish Catholics might rally to the side of the French.

Question 10

What did the British do to stop the threat of the French?

Answer 10

In the spirit of self-interest and and especially the preservation of order in Ireland, the British Government recognised the importance of promoting a good relationship with the Irish Catholic majority. Therefore, it pledged its support for Irish MP Luke Gardiner’s Catholic relief bill.

Question 11

What was the Catholic relief bill from Luke Gardiner?

Answer 11

It proposed allowing Catholics who had taken the oath to bequeath landholdings to their heirs and buy land. Gardiner’s Bill, with British support, was forced through an unreceptive Irish Parliament after compromising on allowing long leases rather than outright land purchase.

Question 12

How did Gardiner’s Bill lead to Catholic Relief Act in June 1778?

Answer 12

The resulting legislation of Gardiner’s Bill became the first Catholic relief act. In addition to be able to acquire long leases, up to 999 years, this act allowed Catholics to pass land onto their heirs, which meant Catholic holdings did not reduce in size.

Question 13

How was the Relief Act 1778 a significantly progressive step for Catholics?

Answer 13

As it began the process of slowly dismantling the Penal laws in Ireland.

Question 14

What was the British intention of passing the Relief Act 1778?

Answer 14

It was to encourage a more positive feeling towards the British Government during a time they felt threatened. It also hoped that by granting more rights to Irish Catholics they would support Britain in the war against France and America- and even enlist in the army.

Question 15

What was the British motivation for the passing the Relief Act 1778?

Answer 15

It was a less principled determination to improve the conditions of Irish Catholics, and more about securing for the empire and expanding the size of the British army during a time of war. Following this 10,000 Irish Catholics would be enlisted for defence of their country.

Question 16

Catholic relief, 1782

Answer 16

The passage of the first Catholic relief act paved the way for further relief of the penal laws. Passed again by Gardiner in 1782, it granted the right to buy land so long as it was not in parliamentary boroughs. It also removed restrictions on Catholic education and the Catholic clergy.

Question 17

Why was the Catholic Relief 1782 especially progressive?

Answer 17

It created the opportunity for Catholics to become more independent through landownership and the chance to improve their education.

Question 18

What motivated the British government to pass further Catholic relief?

Answer 18

Just like the first act it was motivated by British security and sought to retain support of Irish Catholics. This time to gain support in Ireland to therefore isolate the newly created Irish volunteers, who were calling for enhanced legislative powers for the Dublin parliament.

Question 19

What were the Irish Volunteers?

Answer 19

This military organisation had been established in 1778 to defend Ireland possible invasion by French forces in support of the American War. It was organised by Protestants from the urban and rural middle class and gentry and was intended as a safeguard for the Irish nation.

Question 20

How did the Irish Volunteers threaten the British government?

Answer 20

Originally able to raise 12000 men, the volunteers became a useful tool for Protestant nationalists to seek further powers for their Irish Parliament, and effective means to threaten the British authorities. By May 1782, the volunteers had 60,000 men and the British government was aware of the potential danger the opposition posed, especially with the American war going badly.

Question 21

What did the threat to the British government from Irish volunteers lead to?

Answer 21

Faced with the possibility of protestant Irish nationalist aggression therefore, a second Catholic relief act was thought to be an effective way to strengthen Britain’s position in Ireland by once again appealing to the majority of its population.

Question 22

How is the timing of Britain’s attempts to restore Catholic rights very stark and how did people feel about Catholics?

Answer 22

Relief is offered only when there is a perception of a wider threat. Even though you could suggest that further reforms were still were still acceptable, in actual fact the strength of anti-Catholicism remained very high. For example, 2 years after the 1778 Catholic relief act was passed, riots in London led to 700 people killed.

Question 23

What do the riots in London 2 years after the 1778 Catholic Relief Act suggest about the British Population?

Answer 23

Given this level of antipathy among the general British population, it is perhaps more reasonable to suggest that their elected representatives were more compelled to introduce relief legislation for other motives

Question 24

Why were two further acts passed during the 1790s?

Answer 24

When European nations were reeling from the French Revolution which began in 1789 and saw the execution of the French king in 1793?

Question 25

Why was this event fundamental to the repeal of additional anti-catholic legislation?

Answer 25

This event, in the wake of Britain’s loss in America 1783, was fundamental because it openly threatened the very concept of British governance and its treatment of Irish Catholics in particular

Question 26

What threat by the events in France did it pose?

Answer 26

It echoed the vulnerability of Ireland. In 1792, however, this threat seemed more direct since Catholics themselves were now seeking additional reforms through their Catholic Committee which in 1791 had begun to petition the Irish parliament for additional Catholic rights. The result of these petitions was a limited Act that granted Catholics the right to practise law in 1792.

Question 27

How did the Catholics seek to abolish the remaining penal laws?

Answer 27

Arranged an all-Ireland Catholic convention in Dublin in December 1792. This convention selected people to travel to London and speak to the Prime Minister, William Pitt.

Question 28

What was the decision to approach the British Government based on?

Answer 28

The dominant position that the British government retained over its Irish counterpart. The Irish parliament had only been able to take legislative decisions with the approval of Britain. Even after 1782 when more legislative powers were granted to the Irish, its executive power (government) was still appointed by the British and served under a lord lieutenant who was chosen by the Prime Minister. The Catholics had recognised the dominant position of the British Government

Question 30

What was the Catholic Committee doing in taking this step?

Answer 30

In taking this step, The Catholic Committee was arguably taking advantage of the changing situation in Ireland. The growth of the society of United Irishmen had raised the prospect of Catholic unity with the Irish Protestant nationalists which, in the view of the revolution, was especially troubling to Britain.

Question 32

How did the British Government feel about the Irish coming to the British?

Answer 32

With the concern in France, it was this that meant Pitt was very receptive to the delegation and felt that further reforms were necessary. The outcome of these talks saw his government apply pressure to the Irish Parliament to pass another relief act.