CATHOLIC EMANCIPATION

Question 1

Catholic cause in ireland during early 1800s

Answer 1

• made little ground

-leaders of emancipation campaign unwilling to support a compromise bill: gave political and civil rights to catholics but included a ‘veto’ that would allow the english to vet ecclesiastical appointments to the church.

-timidity of previous emancipation movement criticised heavily by O’Connell

-despite the king, majority of MPs were in favour of emancipation: 1821 and 1826= majority in HOC but failed in HOL

Question 2

Emancipation crisis 1828-9

Answer 2

• tory government opposed emancipation (wellington, peel)
• some tory cabinet members in favour (canning)
• canning PM in april 1827 (king disliked him)
• canning died, king too petty for wellington or peel so appointed goderich who resigned asap, king then forced to appoint wellington in jan 1828- Peel home secretary

-Tory party in disarray due to heaps of liberal tory resignations as protest against wellingtons ultra conservativism (whig reinforcements and cannings supporters

-Test and corporations act 1661 and 1663 repealed by HOC (tories did not have power to resist)

Question 3

County Clare election 1828

Answer 3

-William vesey Fitzgerald tory MP in county clare - landowner and well liked + supporter of emancipation, O’connell viewed the by election as a political opportunity.

-dilemma: O’ Connell was Catholic and would therefore refuse to renounce his faith through the parliamentary oath, so therefore the oath would require change- effectively leading to Catholic emancipation

-opposing his right to stand would run risk of widespread disorder in Ireland, an issue worsened by the pro emancipation majority in the HOC which would not vote in favour of putting down unrest via force

• O’ Connell won easily with double the votes of fitzgerald (largely due to the efforts of the Catholic Association and the emphasis placed on tenants defying their landlords)

-Establishment of Brunswick clubs as ulster resistance towards emancipation, although had basically 0 effect on the PM or govt

Question 4

Creation of the bill (1829)

Answer 4

-passed through commons with large majority in 1829- 141 tory votes against.

-Lords would not dare to defy the duke, passed it by 2:1 majority

-became law in april 1829

Question 5

Terms of the act

Answer 5

-removal of oath to protestant faith from parliamentary initiation

-effectively final step in granting catholics equality in civil and political rights

Question 6

British response

Answer 6

• introduction of £10 household suffrage (as opposed to previous 40 shilling freehold)
• this cut electorate from 216,000 to 37,000, but still welcomed by O’ Connell

-broke up the old tory party, made way for new one

-led to triumph of Whigs in 1830 GE

Question 7

Irish nationalist effect

Answer 7

-O’Connell deeply satisfied, not over-worried by restrictions on voting as he thought that the 40 shilling freehold was still too restrictive anyway

-O’Connell hopeful that it would lead to the destruction of the protestant ascendency

-O’Connell claimed that it was a “bloodless revolution”

-emergence of irish nationalist party in HOC led by O’Connell

-demonstrated what could be achieved by power of mass opinion in Ireland

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Question 8

Ulster/anti emancipation reaction in ireland

Answer 8

-increased sectarianism due to the perception that it was a catholic victory

-ultimately counterintuitive to O’Connell’s goals (uniting ireland) Protestant/Catholic divide dominated irish politics even more than before