Chapter 6- The condition of Ireland and Anglo-irish relations 1850-86

Home rule

a desire by many Irish to repeal the terms of the Act of Union (1800), to establish a parliament in Dublin, from which they could control domestic affairs

How could Irish poverty be witnessed?

As there was an ongoing poverty of a large percentage of the mainly agrarian peasant population

How did the majority of the Irish population make a living?

They made a poor living by renting small parcels of land from the landlord class

What had famine and disease led to by the mid 19th century?

Widespread poverty

What political repercussions did the famine have?

- An increased resentment against British dominance
- A divided sectarian Irish society
- By the 1860s the emergence of a new nationalist movement

In the 1870s and 1880s what was Ireland particularly affected by?

Agricultural depression, as this was the country's main industry

In the 1870s and 1880s what did the glut of cheap American corn coming on to the market do?

Drove down price and profits for Irish farmers

When tenant farmers could no longer pay their rent, what did it lead to?

Faced eviction leading to violence erupting

What did the failure of the staple crop of the potato do to Irish peasants?

It led to widespread suffering, starvation and death among an already impoverished population

During the potato crop famine why did the British government repeal the corn laws?

As it would in theory bring down the price of bread and which in the short-term could replace the blighted potato and provide food for the starving population

How many Irish peasants is it estimated that either starved to death or succumbed to disease?

1 million

By 1851 how many Irish is it estimated emigrated, mostly to the USA or Canada?

1.5 million

What was Ireland's population in the census in 1841?

8,175,124

What was Ireland's population in 1891?

4,750,329

What areas experienced a depopulation of 40-60% due to the famine?

Westmeath and Cork

What areas gained population due to the famine?

Dublin and the Cork coastline

In Ireland who owned most of the land?

Anglo-Irish Protestant landlords, who rented out their land to tenant farmers

Tenant

A person who pays rent to occupy property owned by someone else

Who did the landlords leave the management of their estates in the hands of?

Agents, who could be unscrupulous and turn tenants off the land without just cause of reasonable notice

How was the situation with Irish tenants complicated?

As there was casual sub-letting agreements between tenants that carried little security of tenure

Tenure

Holding property of land for an agreed period of time

What was the end result of the complications of Irish tenants and tenures?

Small uneconomic land units

Why were few improvements made on these small holdings?

As there was fear that rents would be raised, and so land yield remained poor

What was the unbreakable cycle for Irish peasants?

Impoverished land failed to provide adequate crops and the Irish peasant farmers were unable to keep up with rent demands

What did the conditions of the tenancy cause?

Much unrest

What did the inescapable poverty experienced by many tenants result in?

A deep resentment against the landowning class

What was the perception of the Irish peasants towards the landlords?

That they were only interested in receiving their rent and not reinvesting in their land to make it more productive

What were landlords accused of?

Rent racking and leaving threats of eviction over the heads of tenants

What did the Irish Tenant League (formed in the 1850s) want?

- Fixity of tenure
- Fair rents
- Freedom to sell their 'interest' in their holding to another tenant

What were the demands of the Irish Tenant league nicknamed?

The 3 Fs

What did most of the Irish tenants never see?

Their foreign landlords

What was the Ulster Custom?

The tenants had security of tenure as long as they kept to date with rent payments. They could sell the right to their holdings to another tenant.

What did the Ulster Custom result in for Ulster farmers?

They were more confident about carrying out improvements and were more prosperous than the tenants in the rest of Ireland.

Solvency

In a position to settle one's debts

What did Gladstone seek to achieve in his first ministry?

A more equitable relationship between landlord and tenant

Why did Gladstone know he had to tread carefully?

As he did want to attack the basic principles of property and ownership and alienate the Whig landowners in the Liberal party

What was Gladstone's two fold plan?

1) Give legal weight to the Ulster Custom
2) Increase the security of holding for all other tenants

When was the Irish Land Bill introduced?

1870

What did the Irish Land Bill 1870 propose?

- Principle of fair rent
- Made provision for compensation to be paid to tenants at the end of their lease if improvements had been made
- Security fixity of tenure as long as tenants paid their rent
- Made provision for tenants to sell their leases
- Arranged for loans to made available for tenants to purchase land

What did Gladstone propose to landlords who carried out evictions without just cause?

Heavy financial penalties

What was the only legal ground for eviction?

Non-payment of rent

What did Liberal MP John Bright remain convinced by?

That the land problems could only be solved by offering Irish peasants proprietorial rights

Proprietorial rights

The right of ownership

What did Brights suggestion lead to Gladstone including?

Bright's Clause

What was Brights Clause?

That tenants should be allowed to borrow two thirds of the value of their small holding from the Government to buy their interest and repay the loan at 5% over 35 years

What did the Irish Land Act of 1870 appear on the service?

A sensible and comprehensive reform

What did the Land Act of 1870 fail to do?

Give either the basic protection to tenants or satisfy the landlords

For tenants why was the fair rent clause of the Irish land act of limited value?

As it failed to define what was meant by fair rent

For tenants what did the compensation for improvements mean?

That tenants were paid for improvements when giving up their holdings

For tenants what did landlords still have the power to do after the land act?

To raise rent as they pleased and then evict tenants for non-payment

After the land act what was there no compensation for tenants?

Tenants who were in arrears with rent

What was the cost of buying land even to high with?

A beneficial loan scheme

What was the Ulster Custom too vague to implement with?

Any regularity

Why was Bright's clause not introduced?

For fear of upsetting the Whig landed interest

Who had Gladstone's land act seriously challenged?

The Anglo-Irish or Protestant Ascendancy

What did the landlords feel after the land act?

Threatened and resisted attempts by tenants to purchase their land

What did the land-owning Whigs see the Land act as?

An attack on their property rights

What did the Whig landowners begin to do?

Become anxious about the survival of the Union and began to express the more Conservative opinion of the importance of maintaining the Union intact

Protestant Ascendancy

The position of the Protestant land-owning class in Ireland that dominated cultural, economic, political and social life.

What is the Land Act generally regarded as?

A failure as if caused outbreaks of further unrest among tenants in rural areas

What was Gladstone's response to the failure of the Land act?

To pass the coercion act in 1870

When was the Coercion Acts passed?

1870

What did the Coercion act allow for?

Police constables to have extensive powers to carry out arrests and destroyed any positive aspect of reform

What classical mistake had Gladstone made?

The classic error of following up an act of reform with an act of repression, storing up future problems

When were the effects of the agricultural depression being felt in Ireland?

Late 1870s

What were Irish tenants enjoying up until the late 1870s?

A period of prosperity and a rise in living standards

What changed Irish prosperity in this period?

- Between 1877 and 1879 there were unusually wet summers
- Disastrous harvests and the arrival of cheap American corn

What did the arrival of cheap American corn do?

A fall in the price of wheat meaning less profit for farmers

What did the disastrous harvests do for Irish farming?

Produced a low-crop yield

How did landowners react to the depression in Irish agriculture?

They organised their land into larger unit to make them more viable and this resulted in the eviction of smaller tenants

What did the provision of Gladstone's 1870 Land act not offer?

Sufficient protection to when landlords organised their lands

What was the response of the Irish peasants to the economic crisis?

To conduct a land war demanding reductions in rent and, in more radical areas, a redistribution of land

When was the Land League founded?

October 1879

Who founded the Land League?

Michael Davitt

Who was Michael Davitt?

A member of the Fenian Brotherhood and recently released from prison for his part in the earlier Fenian outrages

How was the Land league funded?

By Irish-American donations

What did money from the USA allow for the land league to do?

Quickly set up branches all around Ireland

Who flocked to the land league?

The tenants

What was the aim of the Land League?

To reform the land tenure system and gain security for tenant farmers and smallholders

Who did Davitt invite to preside over the League?

Parnell

Who was Charles Parnell?

An Irish nationalist and rising star in the parliamentary Home Rule Party

What did the appointment of Parnell as leader of the land league do for the Irish national movement?

Linked the new reform movement with parliamentary activity constituted a 'new departure' of cooperation

Who had Irish revolutionaries previously refused to work with?

Irish parliamentarians, but the league won support of the Fenian brothers

How did Davitt go about achieving justice for the tenant farmers?

By organising demonstrations using perfectly legal methods e.g. mass meetings

What did the land league centre their demands on?

- Fair rent
- Fixity of tenure
- Free sale of the right to occupancy

How did the land league encourage tenant farmers to back up their demonstrations?

By tenant farmers withholding their rents

What did the agitation caused spill over into?

Intimidation and violence

Who were evicted tenants supported by?

Gangs carrying out acts of reprisal against landlords

What did neither Davitt or Parnell do regarding the violence?

Wholly condemn it, though both advised members not to get involved with criminal activity

What did the land league movement appear to stipulate?

The wave of agrarian crime to follow

What was a tactic encouraged by the land league towards landlords who were accused of rent-racking and unfair evictions?

Boycotting

Boycotting

To shun or exclude from society anyone taking over land from an evicted tenant originating from Charles Captain Boycott

What happened once the finger of the land league was pointed at these landlords?

The entire community was organised to refuse them all goods and services, including labour to work the farm

What was any opposition to the boycott met with?

Further threats and intimidation

What did Parnell call for when increased evictions occurred?

Decisive actions against the Irish landlords and a campaign of obstruction and filibustering, to delay the normal process of legislation in parliament

Filibustering

a tactic adopted by Irish Nationalists MPs to 'talk out' a bill i.e producing long speeches until the time set aside for discussion ran out

What did Gladstone regard the league as?

Criminal conspiracy

What was Gladstone willing to accept?

That non-payment of rent was due to genuine distress but believe the rest was conspiracy

What did the escalating unrest and acts of lawlessness persuade Gladstone of?

The necessity of coercion, although he was reluctant to pursue this course of action again

When was the Coercion Act passed through parliament in tandem with a new land act?

1881