The French Revolution had an overwhelming affect on Ireland. The similar situations in the two countries meant that the French Revolution had real relevance for Irish society, as it provided an example of how to overthrow a tyrannical regime and helped break the sectarian deadlock which had disabled the reform movement of the 1780?s, as Presbyterians were encouraged by the actions of the French Catholics to embrace the Catholics of Ireland. The Irish Catholics, due to the restrictions imposed by the Penal Code, accepted the principles expressed in France, as did the Presbyterian community for both pragmatic and ideological reasons. The politicization and radicalization of the Irish Catholics, under the Catholic Committee caused the Irish government to further adopt suppressive methods to deal with this ?revolutionary force?. The French Revolution helped spark the rebirth of the Irish reformist movement, expressed through the radical United Irishmen, who helped develop a Catholic-Presbyterian alliance and the beginnings of an Irish separatist movement, again serving to increase the intransigence of the Ascendancy, as war with revolutionary France broke out in 1793.
Ireland was a fertile ground for revolutionary principles to gain acceptance due to previous developments and the tradition of dissent, which existed throughout the country. The tradition of Colonial Nationalism, and wide belief in the Social Contract Theory combined with the experiences of the American War and Volunteering meant that the country was already rich in the principles expressed in France, and had experience in opposing a corrupt system of government. The subsequent failure of ?Grattan?s Parliament? to represent the views of the Irish Presbyterian and Catholic communities, and the failure of the reform movement, caused by the Catholic question, had already induced feelings of frustration within the country, making the message from France attractive to the majority of the population. The polarization of society and political thought was one of the first major influences the French Revolution had on Ireland, as Smyth points out: ?In a little time the French revolution became the test of every man?s political creed and the nation was fairly divided into two great parties, the aristocrats and the democrats?. Smyth Public debate was stimulated as the French experience created an example for radical minds in Ireland, of how to establish a political system based on the ?Rights of Man?, as the mightiest ancien regime in Europe had fallen to the power of reformist political action.
The Term Paper on History Assessment Task The Easter 1916 Irish Revolution
History assessment task The Easter 1916 Irish revolution An important and bloody piece in the history of Irish and their struggle for a republic was the Easter revolution of 1916, which was led by a group of Irish revolutionaries which were determined to release Northern Ireland from British colonial rule and end the conflict between these two enemies. Background to the revolution Before the story ...
The Burke- Paine debate caught the imagination of the Irish public, and forever changed the politics of the country. The mass circulation of Paine?s Rights of Man by the ?Whigs of the Capital?, printing twenty thousand cheap copies, allowed the revolutionary mood to spread throughout the country, as the people were receptive of his description of the time, as ?an age of revolutions?. The ideas of Paine were influential in the establishment of the United Irish Society, as Paine was elected an honorary member of the Dublin Society, and many of his ideas about the aristocracy were adopted by the Society. The Catholic and Presbyterian communities were obviously the most accepting of such principles, as they swept away a range of archaic, unjust privileges, the disestablishment of the church and the abolition of tithes also heightening such support. The Presbyterians, a group mostly concentrated in Ulster welcomed the French Revolution, as concepts of ?liberty, equality and fraternity? were in keeping with their habitual democratic instincts and their belief in the principles of the Enlightenment. Such factors made Presbyterians receptive to the French principles, and their participation in Volunteering and the gaining of legislative independence had prepared them for the further challenge of gaining a truly democratic system of government.
The Essay on Turning Points Neolithic Revolution French Revolution And The Industrial Revolution
Political, social, and economic conditions have often led to revolutions that have changed the course of history for nations and peoples. These revolutions had such a significant impact that they can fittingly be labeled turning points. Two of these turning points, the Neolithic and French Revolutions, have drastically altered the world today. During the Paleolithic Period, which lasted from the ...
The failure of Presbyterianism to gain full political representation throughout the 1780?s, and their treatment as second-class citizens, laid in stone by the Penal Code, led them to seek redress. This being especially true in the largely Presbyterian town of Belfast, where Lord Donegall controlled the town?s corporation, effectively excluding the Presbyterian community from political activity, and the lack of a substantial Catholic community meant that sectarian tensions did not really exist. Therefore the principles of the French Revolution were attractive to them as it brought to them hope of a revival of the reform movement which had fizzled out after the constitution of 1782 and the Volunteer split. Thus there existed, within the Presbyterian community: ?A genuine, if somewhat na?ve, enthusiasm for revolutionary principles? Beckett The news of revolution in France was bound to capture the support of the Irish Catholics, despite their natural conservatism, since it severed the link between religion and political representation, a link that was made quite apparent in Ireland through the continued existence of the Penal Laws. The Catholic community was therefore responsive to the ?Rights of Man? as they opened up the opportunity to gain the political rights, which had been denied for so long in the confessional ?Irish Nation?.
For the lower class and peasant Catholics of Ireland the French principles of justice and equality gave them the opportunity to gain a greater measure of economic representation in wealth, and social rights, views expressed by Defenderism in their mistaken view of the Revolution, as a means to regaining land and ridding Ireland of Protestantism. As Smyth points out: ?The French Revolution, never far from the mind of contemporaries, formed the background against which the Catholic and reform questions of 1791-1793 were fought out? Smyth The French Revolution served to radicalize the Irish Catholic community as they began to question the idea of the Protestant Ascendancy in Irish politics and society. The source of the majority of this new radicalism came from the urban middle class Catholics who believed the French Revolution to be the opportunity to gain the political rights, which were denied by the Penal Code. This radical middle class body soon came to replace the old cautious elite, who had led the somewhat circumspect campaign for Catholic Emancipation. The Catholic Committee began a period of revival under this new leadership and its radicalization was soon apparent as it began to demand rights rather than exhaust the roads of supplication, a fact made evident in the pamphlet produced on 21st October by the Catholic Society in Dublin, which called for the repeal of the Penal Code as a ?matter of right?.
The Essay on The French Revolution Causes And Effects
The French Revolution began in 1789, with the meeting of the Estates General, when the delegates swore not to disband until France had a constitution. In Paris, the Bastille, which was a symbol of royal power, was stormed. From 1789-1790 the National Assembly voted for a constitution, and adopted the Declaration of the Rights of Man. Also, during that time the royal family of King Louis XVI was ...
?The French Revolution changed the rhetoric of Irish politics. A language of ?rights? replaced the language of supplication in Catholic declarations? Smyth The radical character of this middle class led Committee became further evident as it soon came to oppose the conservative opinion of the Catholic Church, an establishment who viewed the Revolution with trepidation. Thomas Hussey claimed that the Irish Catholics had caught ?the French disease?, as the Church was forced, in order to maintain support, to back the radical Committee in the 1792 campaign for Catholic Emancipation. The new Catholic linkage with the Protestant radical community, in the form of the United Irishmen, provoked anxiety within the Catholic conservative community as the feared the political, social, and economic consequences of their radical nature. According to Hussey, as a result of the French Revolution, the Irish Catholics would not: ?Bear the lash of tyranny and oppression?inflicted upon them, without their resisting or even complaining? Hussey Not only did the French Revolution radicalize the Catholic community, but it also acted as a catalyst in their politicization, shown most clearly in the elections to and implications of the Catholic Convention.
The elections involved mass participation by Catholics throughout Ireland, giving them a taste in the polity of Ireland. The Convention, which met on the 3rd December 1792 provided a forum for Catholic radicals and helped allay Catholic political claims with the causes of general liberty, the rights of man and parliamentary reform. The Convention heightened the administration?s worry over the revolutionary potential of the Catholics of Ireland and induced Pitt to exert irresistible pressure on the Irish executive to grant Catholic Emancipation and reassess the governmental system. In 1793 the franchise was extended to the Catholic community, but the significance of the Convention did not stop there, as a Convention Act was also passed to prevent the meeting of ?Back Lane Parliaments?. The French Revolution helped break the sectarian deadlock in Ireland as it had, according to Curtin, a major ?impact on Protestant perceptions of Catholics?. The participation of Roman Catholics in overthrowing a corrupt monarchy in France and establishing a constitution arguably more representative than that in Protestant Britain seemed to show how far Catholics had matured politically. Presbyterians in Ireland felt that the Catholics of Ireland might too adopt the Republican principles of their French counterparts, and help establish a representative government based on the principles of ?liberty, equality and fraternity?.
The Term Paper on American Revolution Notes: Radical or Moderate
Some historians argue that the Revolution was solely aimed at achieving the limited goal of independence from Britain. There was a consensus among the Americans about keeping things as they were once the break from Britain had been accomplished The Revolution was inevitably viewed as a struggle of liberty versus tyranny between America and Britain. The Revolution was “radical in its character,” ...
The writing by Tone, inspired by events in France, of ?An Argument on Behalf of the Catholics of Ireland? helped inspire many Protestants, especially Presbyterians, to believe that the Catholic religion was now dying out, shown by the treatment of the Catholic Church in France after the establishment of the French Republic, and that their inclusion in the parliamentary reform movement was necessary if they were to achieve their goal of a representative government. The most visible example of this new Catholic-Protestant alliance was the co-operation between the United Irishmen and the Catholic Committee throughout the Catholic Agitation as the Catholic community helped allay Protestant fears, appointing Tone as the Secretary of the Catholic Committee. The revolutionary enthusiasm and subsequent moderate Whig response caused by the events in France led many Irish radicals, who wished to establish a representative system of government, to establish a body to represent such views. The United Irishmen, formed in the mainly Presbyterian town of Belfast in October 1791, was the idea of William Drennan, and included all shades of Irish society. Their wide, inclusive representation, based on the French tenets explained their belief that, ?no reform can ever be obtained which shall not comprehensively embrace Irishmen of all denominations?.
The Essay on French Revolution France Food Money
French Revolution there was alot that was going on. The King was running France because he did not know what to do, and the Queen, all she did was spend France's borrowed money when they needed that to pay for things to be in France. So lots more happened to France, the king was killed, how he was killed he was beheaded my soldiers that worked for Frances military. The Queen was also killed adn ...
The United Irish Society, which soon spread to the capital of Dublin, gave Protestant radicals and Presbyterians a stark choice, to either embrace the Catholic cause or abandon their aims of parliamentary representation. ?A window of opportunity was opened in Ireland by the impact of the French Revolution; that moment was brilliantly seized by the United Irishmen, who imaginatively created a vision of non-sectarian, democratic and inclusive politics? Whelan The United Irishmen themselves allied theirs with the cause of the Catholic community, establishing an alliance with the radicalized Catholic Committee and accepting Catholics such as Keogh, McCormick and McNeven into their ranks. The society, especially Tone, embraced ideas of separatism from England, stating that, ?We have no national government; we are ruled by Englishmen, and the servants of Englishmen?. The United Irishmen, a society whose establishment had much to do with the emergence of the French Republic, set about politicizing the people of Ireland circulating pro-revolutionary propaganda and the works of writers such as Paine and John Locke. The Northern Star, founded in January 1792, acted as the organization?s main medium of communication and reported intensely on events from France, with much success as each edition reached at least ten people.
The establishment of this effective body was proof of the effects of the French Revolution: ?The French Revolution had a most invigorating effect on?Irish radicalism?events in France inspired the advocates of change in all parts of the British Isles with verve? McDowell The Irish establishment and the Anglican Ascendancy were naturally quick to draw comparisons between their situation and that of the ousted French elite, their views championed through the work of the conservative Edmund Burke. The French Revolution gave rise to fears that the Catholic and Presbyterian communities would come together to overthrow their rule, due to their ambitions for parliamentary reform which were given a major boost by the events in France, thus explaining the attitudes of the Ascendancy towards any possible alliance. The Ascendancy feared that they would lose their political and economic control in Ireland, and possibly their connections with England and privileges guaranteed by membership of the established church. The emergence of an Irish Republic based on the ?Rights of Man? would almost undoubtedly obliterate their religious supremacy, and they viewed the revolution with scorn: ?To Irish conservatives?the revolution seemed a challenge to civilization, an awful and alarming example of what could happen to a country when it began to remodel its institutions recklessly and ruthlessly on erroneous first principles? McDowell The revolution, rather than soften the stance of the Ascendancy against parliamentary reform, served to increase their determination not to share their political power with the Irish masses. The elite became stubborn as their natural conservatism became preponderating, and attempts at relaxing the Penal Code were opposed without prior thought. The London administration, finding Catholic Relief less contentious, begrudgingly pressurized the Irish administration to grant concessions to the Catholic community. The Irish government though, due to their intransigent approach to Catholic Relief, ruled this out of the question, rejecting the Catholic Committee petition for the extension of the franchise in February 1792. Even when Catholic Relief did make it through the Irish Commons, it met with fierce opposition from conservative elements who accused the Catholic Committee of being ?men of very low parentage?, further acting to radicalize the Committee. The French Revolution further affected the actions of the Ascendancy as the war with France, which broke out in 1793, led to a clamp down on Irish radicals. Leading radicals were imprisoned, as the administration grew more intransigent towards their ideological beliefs, which were undoubtedly linked to those of the French. This served to drive Irish radicals underground and further increased ill feeling towards the Ascendancy. The Ascendancy were also forced by the war to reconsider the attitudes of Catholics, since: ?Revolution was now a present danger, not just a vague possibility, and this fact gave new and critical importance to the attitudes of the Roman Catholics? Beckett Due to the similar scenarios in France and Ireland, the French Revolution had real relevance, as it provided an example of how to overthrow an unrepresentative system of government and helped bring about a Catholic-Dissenter alliance, thus removing the reason for the previous failure to gain representative government in Ireland, as Presbyterians were encouraged by the actions of the French Catholics to ally with the Catholics of Ireland. ?It was the situation created by the French Revolution which eventually brought about an alliance between the extreme Protestant reformers and the Catholics, giving the latter the leadership which alone could have turned their passive discontent to revolutionary ends? M. Elliot Irish Catholics saw the French revolutionary principles as a means to removing the Penal Code, as did the Presbyterian community who also saw it as an ideological crusade. The politicization and radicalization of the Irish Catholics, under the middle class led Catholic Committee, caused the Irish administration to adopt further suppressive methods to deal with this ?revolutionary force?. The French Revolution helped initiate the rebirth of the Irish reformist movement, and the inauguration of the United Irishmen who helped develop a Catholic-Presbyterian alliance and the beginnings of an Irish separatist movement, again serving to increase the intransigence of the Ascendancy, as war with revolutionary France broke out in 1793. The French Revolution had a profound affect on Ireland. According to JC Beckett it: ?Altered the current of political life throughout western Europe, and not least in Ireland?
The Essay on The French Revolution 9
The events leading to the French Revolution are quite obvious. 30 million people living in France, most living in small, rural villages while less than a million people lived in Paris. The population was growing rapidly but the economy was not. The previous king had spent too much money fighting wars and the national debt was staggering. There was an obvious rift between classes; peasants were ...
