BRIEF HISTORY |
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For centuries Ireland had been under English rule. The brutal treatment
of the Irish by the English created a lasting hostility towards the powerful
country and led to numerous attempts by the Irish for their independence.
The invasion by King Henry II of England in the Twelfth century, the massacres
orchestrated by Cromwell in 1652, and the way the English had treated the
Irish during the Famine between 1845 and 1852 have all led to a continual
resentment by the Irish towards England. By 1782 Ireland won legislative Independence, but the Irish Parliament was composed entirely of the Protestants, who were unable and unwilling to peacefully agree with the Roman Catholics. In 1798 the Society of United Irishmen organized a rebellion. This led to the British Prime Minister William Pitt to create a legislative union of Great Britain and Ireland together, with the Roman Catholic emancipation, because he believed this was the only solution for the Roman Catholic rebellion against Protestant tyranny. On January 1, 1801 a union between Great Britain and Ireland was formally proclaimed. Since this union, Irish nationalists have been struggling to win their independence from Britain. |