England Vs. Ireland

The history among the English and Irish people was one filled with hatred, turmoil, and controversies, and that didn't stop after the suppression of the Irish rebellion in 1798. Three years later, after the Act of Union was passed in 1803, which made Ireland under English control, several controversies became quite evident: the conflicting views of power, the differences in religion and the persecution of those of each belief, and the fight over the rights to the land of Ireland.

Not soon after the inclusion of Ireland into the Kingdom, views of the English towards the Irish were relatively the same throughout the nation, that Ireland must be governed in the English interest. (Document 1) The English believed that they were doing nothing but helping the Irish by maintaining rule over them, blaming the Irish for all of the turmoil that they have felt, and giving the recognition to themselves for all of the good things that happened to them, like culture and wealth. (Document 5) Yet it is very apparent that the Irish did not feel the same way whatsoever, believing that the land of Ireland belonged to the Irish people and that the English had no right to it. (Document 6) Knowing these things, one could only speculate the hatred that the Irish felt for the English taking their homeland through a war and instituting their own rules upon them. Underneath these existing views, there was also a prejudice that ran through each culture, one against each country's religious beliefs.

Religion was probably the main source of conflict between the two countries. Originally, there were not many issues between the two states because they were basically the same race of people, but with England being a protestant state, and Ireland, with primarily Roman Catholic beliefs, brought many problems between them. As pointed out by a Presbyterian messenger, the English looked down upon the Irish for their beliefs and allegiance to the pope because they found it corrupt and the source for Ireland's misery. This opinion is biased though because he would be more inclined to say that the Catholics were a lesser people since Protestants disliked Catholics so much (Document 4) It was not just England that was prejudice towards the Irish, there was even a province within Ireland that was primarily Protestant, Ulster. The people in Ulster had a genuine hatred for the rest of Ireland and this led Sir Edward Carson to state in 1911 that it was their right to stay under English rule because they would not want to be part of Ireland after the Home-Rule law was passed. (Document 12) With Ulster pledging itself to stay in England, it left no reason why Ireland should not become its own state. Even though it was clear that the split would be coming soon, there was still one more controversy that was still burning.

England saw Ireland as a way to make its people prosperous, in the process making the people of Ireland suffer from this of funds. As