WI the Act of Union did join the Irish and English monarchies, but it allowed the Parliament of Ireland to remain intact?
Fenwick said:Would this improve Anglo-Irish relations any? Or was it only a matter of time before England tried to get total control of Ireland?
The only way that you can blame England or Britain for any of this is that we didn't stop the Irish parliament continually striking down pro-Catholic legislation - in other words, you're blaming us for not invading and overturning the Dublin government's legislation.![]()
Why did Dublin keep striking down the pro-Catholic legislation?
That doesn't make sense.
That's like saying 'what if the CSA became independent, but stayed in the Union?'
The Act of Union was solely the act of merging the Irish and Great British parliaments.
Read some history books, kid.
a) There was no England at this point; b) the Act of Union was concocted because the Protestant-dominated Irish parliament was seen as being incapable of governing with the Grattan powers granted in the 1780s; c) the Act was supposed to come with Catholic emancipation for Ireland, but the Irish parliament struck that out. The Act was Pitt the Younger's brainchild for attempting to stabilise and improve the Irish situation by merging the Irish parliament (home to much corruption and largesse) with Westminster. Of course, in the long run it didn't work.
Much like after the Treaty of Limerick Britain (or rather England then) promised Catholic rights retained in Ireland, but the Irish parliament again struck it down.
The only way that you can blame England or Britain for any of this is that we didn't stop the Irish parliament continually striking down pro-Catholic legislation - in other words, you're blaming us for not invading and overturning the Dublin government's legislation.![]()
The Irish Catholics could easily have defeated the Irish Protestant minority. Only the British army and navy kept the Irish Protestants in power. In fact, if the British had apologised to the Irish Catholics the Irish Catholics would have not hated the British nearly as much as they did. The Irish Catholics would have avenged themselves on the Irish Protestants and even more Irish Protestants would have immigrated to America than in OTL.
Invasion by the British army was not necessary. The Irish would have just imported enough guns to settle accounts and done just that. There were more Irish Catholics with military experience than Irish Protestants because they were serving in the British army and would promptly have formed the Irish army if allowed.
It also assumes that Catholic = Rebel and Protestant = Loyalist. In fact the lesson of history is that the Catholic population of Ireland were broadly loyalist and the really fractious group were the Ulster Presbyterians, i.e. the modern North Irish Proddies.
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Irishmen
In fact the forerunners of the IRA, the Irish volunteers were, strictly speaking, more loyal than the Ulster volunteers.
a) There was no England at this point; b) the Act of Union was concocted because the Protestant-dominated Irish parliament was seen as being incapable of governing with the Grattan powers granted in the 1780s; c) the Act was supposed to come with Catholic emancipation for Ireland, but the Irish parliament struck that out. The Act was Pitt the Younger's brainchild for attempting to stabilise and improve the Irish situation by merging the Irish parliament (home to much corruption and largesse) with Westminster. Of course, in the long run it didn't work.
Much like after the Treaty of Limerick Britain (or rather England then) promised Catholic rights retained in Ireland, but the Irish parliament again struck it down.
The only way that you can blame England or Britain for any of this is that we didn't stop the Irish parliament continually striking down pro-Catholic legislation - in other words, you're blaming us for not invading and overturning the Dublin government's legislation.![]()