wolfe tone and the united irishmen - 1798
DESCRIPTION
A Presentation on the 1798 Rebellion in Ireland and the events leading up to it.TRANSCRIPT
Rich Anglican land owners (Known as the Protestant Ascendancy) controlled the country
Catholics and Presbyterians could not run for election & had to pay a religious tax (tithe) to the Anglican Church
Catholics were also very poor and had to deal with anti-catholic laws (called Penal Laws)
Anglicans lived in country or city mansions, such as Leinster House (where the Dail is today)
Anglican _____________________________________
Presbyterian __________________________________
Penal Laws ___________________________________
Protestant Ascendancy _________________________
Tithe ________________________________________
Ireland’s Parliament was weaker than the English Parliament in London
Irish Laws had to be approved by the UK Parliament – this was known as Poynings’ Law
Only Anglicans (Protestants) could run for election
American Revolution French Revolution
An Anglican who hated what Catholics and Presbyterians had to deal with
Wrote a pamphlet called An Argument on Behalf of the Catholics of Ireland
Set up the Society of United Irishmen in 1791 to reduce English influence in Ireland
Banned by England in 1793, the Society became a secret revolutionary society and started planning for a rebellion
Tone believed that since France and Britain were enemies, France would support an Irish rebellion
A French General known as Hazare Loche was ordered to help with the Irish Invasion
After the failure of the French help to reach Ireland, the British, led by General Lake, used torture to crush the United Irishmen
The United Irishmen planned to spark off a Rebellion in 1798
However British spies were watching the leaders....
British arrested many of their leaders and the rebellion was in trouble from the start
The arrest of Lord Edward Fitzgerald
Most fighting was in Leinster, with 30,000 United Irishmen attacking British Forces
In Wexford, the rebels set up their HQ on Vinegar Hill
Bagenal Harvey was leader but the troops were poorly armed....
Vinegar Hill today
Thousands of rebels rounded up, either executed or exiled to Australia
Leaders publicly executed, heads placed on pikes (such as Bagenal Harvey, below)
Massacre of Protestants in Scullabogue made Ulster’s Protestants reluctant to join the rebellion
Small uprisings took place but the rebels were defeated easily
Rebel leaders like Henry Joy McCracken (below) were hanged
In August a small French army of 1,100 men landed in Killala, Mayo, led by General Humbert
The British retreated in fear of the French (the Races of Castlebar) but eventually gained the upper hand
Humbert was eventually defeated by General Lake and the rebellion in Connacht was over