Western Civilization: Western Civilization: A Brief History, Volume II: From 1400's, 6th Edition: 2 by Perry Marvin

Author:Perry, Marvin [Perry, Marvin]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Wadsworth Publishing
Published: 2009-08-23T16:00:00+00:00

The Irish Question

Feminist agitation was one explosive issue confronting prewar Britain. Another was the Irish question. While moderate Irish nationalists called for home rule (self-government within the British Empire), something favored by many members of Parliament, Irish Catholic extremists, such as the Irish Republican Brotherhood and the Gaelic League, pressed for full independence. Fearing Catholic domination, the Protestant Irish (Ulstermen) in the northern counties of Ulster strongly opposed independence for Ireland. The Ulster Volunteers recruited a large private army and openly trained it for revolution in the event that home rule was enacted. Gangs smuggled guns, soldiers fired on demonstrators, violence bred violence, and civil war seemed close.

In 1916, the Easter Rebellion, an Irish insurrection, was suppressed and its leaders executed. But the English cabinet was moved to proceed with home rule at once. The Irish revolt of 1919–20 brought matters to a head: Ireland was divided, the overwhelmingly Catholic south gaining independence and the six predominantly Protestant counties of Ulster remaining part of the United Kingdom.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, labor, Irish, and female militancy marred Britain’s image of a stable, liberal, constitutional regime. Nevertheless, British parliamentary government survived every crisis and proved itself able to carry the nation successfully through a grueling world war.

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