Ireland

@ireland @bartlett @history

notes on Ireland

Fundamental question: how do we see ourselves throughout time?

https://hwpi.harvard.edu/files/hwp/files/bg_writing_history.pdf

Barring the invention of time travel, no scholar can experience the past firsthand or recreate its conditions in a laboratory setting. Historians must rely on the fragmentary records that survive from the time period under study, which necessarily reveal just part of the story. For these reasons, the guiding principles behind all historical writing must be selection and interpretation: the thoughtful selection of topics and questions that seem most interesting, and the responsible interpretation of sources in order to construct meaningful arguments.

Open Questions

• What are the gradient’s of oppression to different Irish groups through time?
• How does this oppression affect the way Ireland view itself (as a ‘nation’) at these points? Or, what are the trends of patriotism in response to the oppression.
• Why was there a rebellion in 1642?
• Confederate, an attempt to establish your own republic?
• What are the anti-catholic laws at different points in time, e.g. at the start of the 1600’s
• What happened to the young irelander movement?

plot trajectory of the repealing of Penal Laws

The consensus view is that enforcement depended on the attitudes of local magistrates bringing or hearing particular cases; some of whom were rigorous, others more liberal

The repealments start to take hold in the late 18th century as the British need catholics recruits for war against France.

It should be noted, however, hat the invention of the strategy of mass participatory democracy in peaceful pursuit of a political objective was made possible by the liberalism of the Britisiah state…It was O’Connell’s genius to have spotted this. We may note in passing that a peaceful campaign similar to that waged by O’Connell in, say, Catholic Poland held by the Orthodox Russians would ahve been given short (and bloody) shrift. Russia was not a liberal state.

18th century

At the beginning of the 18th century Ireland had just come out of a pretty tumultuous century ending with the defeat of Catholic forces in the Jacobite wars. Catholic rights were heavily quashed with the penal laws. A large amount of large landholders were protestants and the land they owned worked on by catholic or Presbyterian tenants. The catholic question starts to become prominent in the middle of this century as a political consciousness develops dues to wealth that catholics got from trade (as opposed to land).

Then, the American revolution affects trade for Ireland and causes a public opinion to develop about why they must be subservient to Britain. Restrictions are placed on already existing restrictions to colonial trade. The linen industry enters a recession which is seen as caused by trade restrictions. As Britain becomes more threatened by the French and Americans it tries to get Catholics on board with relief acts. Volunteer forces spring out of this too as a form of self-defence for Ireland.

Political

The Irish parliament was modelled after the English one, on the surface. In 1728 Catholics lost the right to vote. The sacramental test, imposed on anyone who wanted to seek public office (1704) caused further discrimination.

Bartlett starts his ‘long 18th century chapter’ with the similarity/differences between the British (after 1704) and Irish parliament.

The Irish had no role in creation of its government or executive, this was controlled by Westminster. How the Irish parliament could be ‘brought in line’ with its ‘parent’ parliament had a few solutions:

• An undertaker, an implicit voice for Westminster. Irish politicians with influence who would get the king’s business through parliament.
• An appointed lord lieutenant who would conduct the kings affairs through a ‘castle party’.
• A legislative union, transfer Irish politicians to Westminster.

The Irish parliament had an executive branch which consisted of the lord lieutenant, various legal officals and oddly the archbishop of Armagh (implicitly). None of these depended for survival on irish parliement, they were appointed from London. This promotes the rise of party politics in the same framework as that of England. A court and country party, the latter vocal in redress of constitutional grievances and wanted more commitment on anti popery laws. The court party generally hostile to these claims.

In 1728, the Declaratory Act which if fully exercised meant there would be no need for an Irish parliament. Bartlett says that it was more of the implicit forms of control like that of the lord lieutenant that was exercised, outright use of Poynings law and the Declaratory Act would have just promoted anger, probably a more stable strategy to nudge things.

Ireland couldn’t really dictate its foreign policy, it wasn’t sovereign in that sense, this is an issue throughout the century as autonomy in this realm becomes more important. English policy was blamed later in the century for trying to hold Irish exporting back.

Demographics/Land ownership

• At the beginning of the 18th century, most of the population is Catholic (70-80%) and most of the land is owned by Protestants (~90%).
• Down Survey might be a good source here?

Economic

• Foster puts an emphasis on the economic growth of this century. Ireland and England having a complementary relationship and ties with the US through imports being made.

• Around p.203 that this development creates a more urban culture in Ireland, towns like Balinsloe essentially created out of this growth. The rapid growth of Ulster (Belfast, Newry and Derry specifically).

• Foster states that those who were making money in this century was actually the catholic middle class.

• Ireland’s economy moves away from exporting livestock to England because of the Cattle act’s and starts to shift towards butter and salted fish. Ireland could never really set up a notion of manufacturing (due to it’s ‘political’ instability) but the arrival of skilled linen makers in the French Hugenots in the 1690’s changed the quality of the linen made in Ireland.

Bartlett end’s this chapter before the 18th century with an interesting note and ‘Irishness’

Perhaps the central question is whether the brutal reality of conquest and colonisation broke through the pervasive localism or provincialism of Gaelic political culture to forge an encompassing Irishness… It was, however, among the Irish exiles training in the seminaries of Catholic Europe, or serving in the armies of the Hapsburg’s in the Netherlands, that the experience of exile and dispossession produced a new all-embracing Irishness.

All this raises ‘public opinion’ leading to legislative independence in 1782

It would be an exaggeration to claim that the union was embedded in the legislative independence of 1782, but realistically, the only options available should the Irish Parliament remain unreformed were union or separation.

Land War

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_War

• In 1841, 4/5 of the population of Ireland lived in communities of 20 houses or so. This ratio declined due to emigration, not due to growth of towns and cities.
• Irish population was 2.5 million in 1750 which ultimately jumped to 8.5 million in 1845. This was not accompanied as in France, Germany and England by increased urbanisation and industrialisation. The increase led to growing immirseration.
• More high yielding potato (the lumper) had to become more used as land holdings became smaller and smaller. Some 50% of the population was dependent totally on milk and potatoes.
• Housing was graded, for official purposes in the early nineteenth century roughly 60 percent of the Irish population lived in little more than sod huts.
• In 1870, 50% of the island was owned by 750 families.
• The British insisted that Irish ‘property was liable for costs of relief during the famine. Irish landlords had to take the cost of public works, soup kitchens, workhouses etc.

Log

27/12/22 19:48:08

• So, in theory, I spent the month of November reading Irish history to answer the above questions. The problem for me is retention. I can’t create this tree in my mind of the kind of status of people or groups at a particular time. Maybe I’m just not cut out for history, also, I need to put in more time or maybe look at Anki.
• Despite this, do I have anything revealing or novel to say about what I read. Nope, not really off the top of my head. I will say, it’s been interesting to interact with history in a more serious sense. To really have to question what I’m getting out of it, why i want to know. For me, the questions with Ireland revolve around what level of oppression existed and essentially who can we correctly blame, who is or was right. The truth is (obviously) more complicated.
• What did I enjoy about engaging with the history? It’s interesting because it’s complicated. There is a sense of it not being to easy to digest which has this element of reality to it. In fact, its surprising how complicated it is.
• I don’t know what Ireland is today. It’s mattered so much in recent times to maintain that aspect of being Irish. Particularly with emigration. There’s a shadow of nationalism over it I feel, a shadow of culture. There’s what happened on this island we call Ireland and then there’s how we would like to think things happened.
• These are really basic ideas I know, really just spelling out what history is.
• Fundamentally it comes down to trying to answer the questions above as best I can. Once again, I’m not sure I’ve been ruthless enough in this aspect. Really trying to hunt the answer down.

14/04/23 17:21:48

• I think the previous note is kind of on the money in terms of how I view Irish history. I’m always susceptible to finding Irish history boring but for some reason feel an obligation to study it. I’m hoping Anki makes the facts aspects a bit easier to retain.
• There’s a certain interesting difficulty as I mentioned that feels genuine in that, no matter what history I study I will eventually have to come up against so why not let it be Ireland.
• I will start with the end of the 19th and 20th century this time just to mix it up and also look back further if I need to.
• I’m also trying to channel my inner Tooze and map a complex thing in my mind as well as ‘forcing’ myself to like studying this.
• Let start: “The land league kicks off what we know as ‘being irish’ today. A narrative that could bottle up post-famine anger and also be said to create a culture of tenants in a mystical land.
  • First, demographics.

20/05/23 06:15:45

• Trying to look at the land war, as a land reform movement, drawing parallels with How Asia Works.
• I also want to explore that Worf episode of Star Trek
• Why do yields of lands stagnate in free market?
• There is a nauseating amount of detail at times in Bartlett. It’s humbling really to see how complex the story of Ireland really is. Just because my brain is thinking that way these days it seems like there’s abstraction placed on top of things to kind of make it easier to consume. The repealment of the Penal Laws and the first emancipation movement has lots of moving parts but a general peaceful public revolt with O’Connell at the head is it’s interface to use, it’s not totally wrong but its a different interaction.
• I thought I could jump straight into the Land War, but its dependent on the Famine, which is dependent on land holding demographics. In general, at the moment I’m trying to build up a model in my head which means just learning a superficial notion of key dates. This way new information can actually cause surprise.

27/05/23 06:51:03

• To start with land holder demographics and then go through repeal movements of 18th century.

04/06/23 09:43:50

• Looking at the economic back drop of the 18th century.
• Started by reading the p1145-151 of Bartlett. Its interesting how irish politics starts in the political framework of the British. You voice your concerns within the laid out template presumably because you can ‘project’ your voice farther, or be heard.
• The ‘interests of Ireland’ around this time are that of the ‘protestant nation’. The Anglo-Irish turmoil in the middle of this century begins with protestant resentment of the status of the irish politician, the way its looked down upon.
• Reading a bit then about land reform because its important for land changes in Ireland.