JC History - 1798 Rebellion

Nationalists

-Wanted independence from Britain
-But they disagreed over how they should achieve that
-Parliamentary tradition or physical force
-Mostly Catholic

Unionists

-Wanted Ireland to remain united with Britain
-Mainly Protestants

Parliamentary means

-Peaceful
-Using the British parliament to pass laws to give independence to Ireland
E.g. Daniel O'Connell + John Redmond

Physical force

-Armed rebellions / uprisings
E.g. Wolfe Tone + Robert Emmet

Causes of the 1798 rebellion

-Protestant ascendancy
-Unfair parliament
-Penal laws
-Poverty
-Influence of American + French revolution
-United Irishmen

Protestant Ascendancy

-Ruling class
-Wealthy land owners / landlords
-Members of the Anglican church
-They controlled the Irish parliament

Unfair parliament

-Controlled by Britain
-Members mainly Protestant ascendancy
-Elections infrequent
-Seats could be bought
-Voters were wealthy Protestants

Penal laws

-Controlled Catholics + Presbyterians
-Had to pay tithe (1/10) of their crops to the Protestants

Penal law examples

Catholics were forbidden to:
-Work
-Receive education
-Attend Catholic worship

Poverty

-Majority of people lived in the countryside
-Most were tenants / labourers
-The population rose
-Subdivision helped increase poverty

Subdivision

-When a father dies he divides his land between his sons
-Everyones land progressively gets smaller + smaller

Influence of American revolution

-The Americans won independence
-This inspired Henry Grattan to try + make the Irish parliament have more power

Influence of the French revolution

-Liberty, equality, fraternity
-Inspired the Presbyterians in Belfast

United Irishmen

-Wanted to reduce British power in Ireland
-Wanted to get rid of the penal laws
-Wanted to unite all religions
-Founded in Belfast
-Later they planned a rebellion in Ireland

Pike

Long spear

Musket

British gun

Red coats

British soldiers

Theobald Wolfe Tone

-Dublin lawyer
-Part of the Protestant Ascendancy
-They wanted to get rid of the penal laws

Influence of Britain vs France war

-The British feared a French invasion because France + Ireland were mostly Catholic
-They brought in a policy of repression
-United Irishmen were banned so they became a secret society + they started planning a rebellion

Wolfe Tone sought help

-He went to America than France
-The French provided 43 ships, 15000 soldiers + General Hoche

What happened to the French boats?

They failed to land at Bantry Bay because of bad weather

British attempts to stop rebellions

-Burned houses
-Flogged + tortured suspects
-Confiscated arms
-Pitch capping: tar in cap + set alight

Conflict between Catholics + Protestants in Ulster

-Peep-o-Pays boys (Protestant group) clashed with Defenders (Catholic group)
-The Orange Order was formed to maintain Protestant control

British spies

-United Irishmen had grown + were planning a rebellion
-The British used spies to arrest leaders
E.g. Lord Edward Fitzgerald

What happened to Lord Edward Fitzgerald

-He was arrested + wounded
-Died a couple weeks later

Four main areas where the rebellion broke out

-Dublin / Kildare / Meath
-Wexford
-Ulster
-Mayo

The Rebellion in Dublin / Kildare / Meath

A rising was signalled by attacks on mail coaches but it was easily put down

The Rebellion in Wexford

-Most serious rising
-Actions of the Yeomanry + Militia provided a rising
-Led by father John Murphy + Bagenal Harvey
-There were some victories: Massacre at Scullabogue + they killed 100 people in Wexford town
-They were defeated at Vinegar Hill

Ulster rebellion

-Antrim + Down
-Leaders such as Henry Joy McCraken + Henry Munro were executed

Mayo rising

-French troops led by General Humbert landed in Killala Mayo
-He defeated the British at the Races of Castlebar
-But he was defeated in Ballinamuck, Longford

Tone arrived in Ireland

-Tone got more help from the French
-He was captured off the coast of Donegal
-Found guilty of treason + sentenced to death
-He wanted to be shot like a soldier but they refused so he committed suicide

Massacre at Scullabogue 1798

-126 people were killed in Scullabogue
-Mostly Protestants
-They were rounded up + held as prisoners
-Some were shot + piked but the remaining were set on fire in a barn

Yeomanry

The volunteer part time British army

Militia

The volunteer full time British army for emergencies

Sectarianism

Excessive attachment to a particular religion

Sectarian conflict

Hatred of people because they belong in a certain religious group

Impacts of the Scullabogue Massacre (Protestant perspective)

-Catholics couldn't be trusted
-Reinforced hatred of Catholics

Reasons for the failure of the 1798 Rebelllion

-Success of General Lake
-Spies
-Loss of important leaders
-Defeat of the French
-Superior British forces
-Sectarian violence

Success of General Lake

-He began a campaign of terror in Ulster
-He burnt houses + tortured people
-There was a weakened support for the United Irishmen
-He defeated the rebels at Vinegar Hill
-He defeated the French at the Battle of Ballinamuck

Spies

-2 leaders of United Irishmen were spies
-They told their plots to the British

Loss of leaders

-Anthony Perry was arrested + tortured
-Lord Fitzgerald was arrested + shot
-This disrupted their strategy + limited the rebellion to certain places
-Men in charge of the rebellion were 2nd tier

Superior British forces

-Redcoats were the best trained in the world
-They were supported by the yeomanry + militia
-They hired German soldiers (Hessians)

Defeat of French

-French fleet failed to land at Bantry Bay
-French forces were killed at Killala
-French fleets were destroyed by the British in 1798
-Wolfe Tone captured some French

Sectarian violence

-Scullabogue massacre
-Attack at Wexford
-Cost rebels support

British advantages

-Counties didn't act in unison so the British had more time to prepare
-The British had better weapons

Blunderbuss

A gun used by the rebels

Consequences of the 1798 rebellion

-Death + destruction
-Act of Union
-Presbyterians switched sides
-Catholic + Protestant conflict
-United Irishmen influence
-Parliamentary means
-Dublin decline
-Memory

Consequences: Death + destruction

-Between 10,000 to 30,000 people died
-There was widespread destruction

Consequences: Act of Union

-The Act of Union (1800) was passed which ended the parliament in Dublin
-Ireland was now ruled directly from London

Consequences: Memory

For decades, families who had supported the Rebellion sought safety in suppressing their memories

Consequences: Catholic + Protestant Conflict

Conflict between the Catholics + Protestants continued for decades + eventually led to the troubles

Consequences: Republic + physical force

-The United Irishmen put forward the concept of a republic
-Some people thought that armed risings were the only way to achieve a republic