AncientPages.com - On May 24, 1798, the Irish Rebellion began against British rule. The United Irishmen led it.
It eventually failed and resulted in 34 of its key leaders and supporters and ultimately led to the Act of Union of 1800. Ireland was fully brought under the governmental control of England.
"Battle of Ballynahinch" circa 1798. In the center, Captain Henry Evatt of Ireland's Col. Charles Leslie's Monaghan Militia lies mortally wounded. Thomas Robinson (1838–1902) - Public Domain
People’s longstanding anger caused the outbreak of this uprising over the oppression of Catholic Ireland by the British government, which had occupied Ireland since the twelfth century.
Many people in Ireland were not happy with how the English king ruled Ireland.
Political control took the form of religious and cultural oppression as the dominantly Catholic population of Ireland became subject to increasingly strict anti-Catholic laws distributed by the Protestant government in England.
Ireland had a parliament in Dublin, but it could only pass laws that the king of England agreed with most of the time. When the American colonies broke free from England, some people hoped that Ireland would become free from English rule. People liked the ideas of liberty and equality, which they heard about during the French Revolution.
The French Revolution encouraged the formation of the Society of United Irishmen in 1791, an initially peaceful society dedicated to Irish parliamentary reform and the cultural and nationalistic union of the Irish people.
After the declaration of war between France and Britain in 1793, the Irish and British governments chose to suppress the organization. There were fears of a domestic war similar to the American Revolution.
The Society had to re-emerge as an underground movement dedicated to more militant actions to achieve democracy for Ireland.
Among their plans, members focused on a Dublin-based rebellion, coordinated with more minor supporting revolts staged throughout nearby counties. The plan’s success depended upon French support, but neither French aid nor the uprising in Dublin was forthcoming, and the rebellion failed.
Thirty-four leaders were executed for treason in its wake, and Ireland’s parliament was officially disbanded.
Fearing further action, the British government quickly pressed through the Acts of Union of 1800, a conglomeration of laws designed to bring Ireland more directly in line with British control while also mollifying the Irish public with a relaxation of specific anti-Catholic measures.
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