Famine and Rebellion: The History of Ireland Under the British Empire in the 19th Century

by Charles River Editors

*Includes pictures *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading *Includes a table of contents “If you strike us down now we shall rise again and renew the fight. You cannot conquer Ireland; you cannot extinguish the Irish passion for freedom. If our deed has not been sufficient to win freedom then our children will win it by a better deed.” – Padraig Pearse There are very few national relationships quite as complicated and enigmatic as the one that exists between the English and the Irish. For two peoples so interconnected by geography and history, the depth of animosity that is often expressed is difficult at times to understand. At the same time, historic links of family and clan, and common Gaelic roots, have at times fostered a degree of mutual regard, interdependence, and cooperation that is also occasionally hard to fathom. During World War I, for example, Ireland fought for the British Empire as part of that empire, and the Irish response to the call to arms was at times just as enthusiastic as that of other British dominions such as Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. And yet, at the same time, plots were unearthed to cooperate with the Germans in toppling British rule in Ireland, which would have virtually ensured an Allied defeat. In World War II, despite Irish neutrality, 12,000 Irish soldiers volunteered to join the Khaki line, returning after the war to the scorn and vitriol of a great many of their more radical countrymen. One of the most bitter and divisive struggles in the history of the British Isles, and in the history of the British Empire, played out over the question of Home Rule and Irish independence, and then later still as the British province of Northern Ireland grappled within itself for the right to secede from the United Kingdom or the right to remain. What is it within this complicated relationship that has kept this strange duality of mutual love and hate at play? A rendition of “Danny Boy” has the power to reduce both Irishmen and Englishmen to tears, and yet they have torn at one another in a violent conflict that can be traced to the very dawn of their contact. This history of the British Isles themselves is in part responsible. The fraternal difficulties of two neighbors so closely aligned, but so unequally endowed, can be blamed for much of the trouble. The imperialist tendencies of the English themselves, tendencies that created an empire that embodied the best and worst of humanity, alienated them from not only the Irish, but the Scots and Welsh too. However, the British also extended that colonial duality to other great societies of the world, India not least among them, without the same enduring suspicion and hostility. There is certainly something much more than the sum of its parts in this curious combination of love and loathing that characterizes the Anglo-Irish relationship. Famine and The History of Ireland Under the British Empire in the 19th Century analyzes the tumultuous events that marked Irish history during British rule in the 19th century. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about Ireland in the 19th century like never before.

Genres: History

119 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 29, 2018

About the author

Charles River Editors is an independent publisher of thousands of ebooks on Kindle, Nook, Kobo, and Apple iBookstore & provider of original content for third parties.

Reviews

[James Crawford · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book does a good job examining the history of the famine in Ireland and how England was controlling Ireland and, depending on which party was in power at the time, did or did not try their best to help.

The book goes into the effect of the monasteries in Ireland, feudalism, English invasions of Scotland and various people involved including Henry VIII, Bloody Mary and Edward Longshanks.

It also goes into how Ireland became divided into two parts depending on the region of the people in those parts.

Other topics covered include the English Civil War, England's war with Spain, Cromwell and the Glorious Revolution of 1688.

It goes into potato farming, the massive poverty in Ireland, tenant-landlord relationship, 'famine graveyards' and the emigration of people from the country, many of them coming to the U.S., and how over time this itself had an effect on what was going on in Ireland.

The book covers more topics and has a long footnotes section.

The whole 'Irish problem' is way more complicated then I ever knew What I see is a lot of greed on the part of those in power and the very unfortunate results of the Protestant/Catholic divide.

A very informative book.