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(A) The Roots of Trouble in History
1. Survey of Anglo-Irish relations from the Middle Ages to 1923
Ireland (all or part of it, at various times) was a colony of the
English from the 12th century. From the late Middle Ages it was a kingdom,
under the same monarch as England, but a separate country. In law and in
practice, the Irish government was usually subordinate to the English
government.
Henry the VIII rejected Rome and put the church in England under his
personal control. His church was to become more protestant, particularly
under Elisabeth I. Ireland's population remained mainly Roman Catholic.
Following the conflicts in the 17th century, the winners forcibly
transferred ownership of large amounts of land to new landlords, and
sometimes new tenants: those who had supported the winning side or those
who they felt would support them in the future.
English Protestants were not the only ones to settle in Ireland.
Presbyterians (historical known as Dissenters) from Scotland colonized
north-eastern Ireland in large numbers. Other nonconformist Christians
(Quakers) started arriving in the 16th century and their number grew in the
17th.
In 1801, Ireland was technically made on with England, Scotland and
Wales by the Act of Union, which created the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland.
In 1912, a third Irish Home Rule Bill was introduced to the British
House of Commons. The House of Lords till 1911 blocked this. Unionists in
Ulster reacted with alarm; in 1913 the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) was
formed aimed against the Home rule being imposed.
2. The siege of Londonderry and the battle of the Boyne, 1960
The conflict between Catholicism and Protestantism played a large part
in the 17th century's several wars in England and Ireland: civil wars,
colonial wars... . In 1960 William of Orange deposed the Catholic king
James II, after the battle of Boyne. After the victory, laws were enacted
by the all-Protestant Parliament of Ireland barring Catholics from all
offices, land ownership, schooling, and other avenues leading toward wealth
and education. These laws effectively entrenched the existing hatreds
between the two communities and glorified violent actions by one community
to 'defend' itself from the other.
3.The Easter Rising of 1916
Two nationalist militias, the Irish Citizen's Army and the Irish
Volunteers were formed, dedicated to Home Rule. They were far less
efficiently then the UFV and they quickly spilt in 1914. However a small
part of the force, led by Republicans staged an armed rebellion (the Easter
Rising) in April 1916, briefly tacking over a small part of central Dublin.
Their attempt at gun running had failed with the capture and scuttling of
the Aud, carrying thousand of German weapons. The general upris |