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British Reaction - Gladstone and Ireland - Coggle Diagram
British Reaction - Gladstone and Ireland
William Gladstone
Converted to support Home Rule in 1885
Became PM in 1868 and was in office for 4 terms ending in 1894
Believed government should subvert Irish nationalism by elimination the grievances sustaining it
Became increasingly sympathetic to demands for self government
Home Rule
Idea gained traction in 1870s by Parnell who headed the Home Rule party from 1880
Second Home Rule bill 1893 passed through the House of Commons but was defeated in the House of Lords
First Home Rule bill in 1886 was defeated in the House of Commons (341 votes to 311) by Tories and Unionists
Home Rule was passed in 1914 but implementation was delayed due to WW1
Kilmainham treaty of May 1882 was a tuning point as it showed aligning Irish and liberal party interests
1885 Gladstone announced support for Home Rule as it would preserve stability and needed support from Parnell and the IPP as they held balance of power in the 1885 elections
Motivation for Backing Home Rule
Moral conviction, political necessity and pragmatic calculation
Growing unrest in Ireland
Showed desperate need for reform
1867 Fenian uprising
Needed to address root cause
1868 "my mission to pacify Ireland"
Couldn't ignore growing IPP and Home Rule was something which divided liberal party could unify around
Efforts for peace seen by the Land Acts, Maynooth Grant and support for the Church ACt
Morally he believed in promoting justice, social harmony and wellbeing of citizens
Gladstone and the Land Question
Land League was banned in Autumn of 1881 leading to arrests of Davitt and Parnell who were put into the Kilmainham Jail
Led to more later legislation like the 1885 Ashburne Act, Land Purchase Act 1891 and the Land Act of 1903
Land Act of 1881 allowed the 3F's
Due to the Land War Gladstone passed the 1881 Coercion Act allowing the arrest of those involved in the boycotts and protests (empowered authorities), it made it harder for groups to gather and protest, targeted organisations like the Land League
Poor harvests in 1878-79 led to increased evictions and the Land War 1879-82 causing the boycotting of landlords and violence as a means of resistance seen by the 76 homicides of landlords
Land Act 1870 recognised Ulster Custom but left many underlying grievances unaddressed, seen by the increase in evictions due to the inadequacy of legislation
Irish Church Act 1869
Seeked to reduce tensions
Aimed to address religious inequalities
Removed the Anglican Church's status as the state religion
Withdrew financial benefits and confiscated significant portion of its property