HISTORY OF IRELAND 2 - history

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vmbo t, mavo, havo
• Leerjaar 1,2

What do you remember about Ireland from the last lesson?

But what caused this animosity between Ireland and Britain?

First, we need some history to explain it. 

Celts

• First (known) inhabitants of Ireland
• Pre-Christian
• Gaelic language & culture
• Few written sources
• "clans" and "druids"
• polytheisthic (multiple gods)

Vikings

• from Denmark and Norway
• 800 - 1066 AD
• In search for land, they invaded other countries 
• In Ireland, they founded many coastal towns (such as Dublin, Waterford)
• Eventually mixed with Irish people

British occupation

early British rule

Henry VIII

• Lived 1491 - 1547
• Married 6 times (and beheaded a couple of his wives)
• Was not allowed to divorce by the Pope
• Therefore: broke with Rome
• Founded Anglican church so that he could divorce --> England became Protestant
• Declared himself King of Ireland

British occupation

Actual colonisation

plantation of Ulster (1)

• Started in early 1600's
• organised colonisation of Ulster province
• "test case" for later British Empire
• Land was taken from Gaelic chiefs (clan heads)
• Given to Presbyterians (Protestants), mostly Scottish, who spoke English and were loyal to the Crown
• Irish were not allowed to work for or rent from the new Protestant Lords

plantation of Ulster (2)

Goal: 

• to control and 'civilise' Gaelic/ Catholic Ulster (Britain saw them as savages)
  
• to sever the ties (banden verbreken) between Gaelic Ulster and the Gaelic Highlands in Scotland ("divide and conquer")

British occupation

The Dutch interfere - and squash the Irish once and for all...

William of Orange (Willem III)

• Huge figure in Irish history
• especially in Northern Irish conflict 
• 1688: became King of England (with his wife, Queen Mary II), after kicking out James II (Mary's dad) for being too nice to Catholics
• Fought James II in Ireland - where he'd fled - and won

Battle of the Boyne

• James II (pro-Catholic) vs William of Orange (Willem III, protestant)
• Symbolic moment for Protestant victory over the Catholics/ the Irish
• Victory is still celebrated today by Protestants in Northern Ireland. And it's never much fun.....

British occupation

things get worse for the Irish...

The Great Famine: 1840's

In the early 1840's, Ireland had a population of 8,4 million people.

1

Half of the population depended exclusively on potatoes. 

2

Mass starvation and emigration: over 1 million people die of starvation and disease. Around 2 million people leave the country. 

3

1845-1849: the potato crop fails for several years in a row

4

The population numbers in Ireland have never recovered since... 

5

Did Britain help their struggling colony....? Find out on the next slide!

The Great Famine: 1840's

• Relieve efforts were a joke: the British gave out loans (which the Irish soon couldn't pay back)
  
• Irony: there was plenty of other food (grain, cattle, flour, eggs) but it was all to be exported to foreign markets by the landlords.
• Britain thought the crisis was not unwelcome - corrected high birth rates among the 'inferior'  Irish
• RESULT: a spark of nationalism and more anti-British sentiment

Who are the original inhabitants of Ireland?

1. Normans
2. Anglo-Saxons
3. Vikings
4. Celts

Why did Henry VIII get in a fight with the Pope in Rome?

What's the correct order of events?

1. Great Famine, Battle of the Boyne, Plantation of Ulster
2. Battle of the Boyne, Plantation of Ulster, Great Famine
3. Plantation of Ulster, Battle of the Boyne, Great Famine
4. None are correct

What did you learn today?