Centuries of Trial Vol 2. 1692-1922: A History of Ireland under English Rule

Centuries of Trial, Volume 2Part 3 - Cross Upon Cross, 1692 - 1900Following the departure of the Irish army to continue the fight against England under the flag of France, a Protestant Parliament consisting of colonists and planters which is under London's control, assembles in Dublin and quickly renounces the Treaty of Limerick. The seizure of property is followed by a sustained Catholic persecution and the introduction of an evil Landlord system which reduces the native Irish tenants to a nation of paupers.Denied free trade and parliamentary independence, the Irish Colonist Parliament secures both after raising their own army during the American War of Independence. However, the English Prime Minister, William Pitt provokes rebellion among the native Irish, which is brutally crushed. He then bribes the colonists into accepting an Act of Union with England, promising them England's protection.In 1829, Daniel O'Connell secures Catholic emancipaton but the British government seeks to undermine it. As O'Connell demands non violence from his followers, the following battle for Irish home rule fails.Although the Irish grow many crops to pay their rent, they themselves are entirely dependent on the potato to survive. When the potato fails, a great starvation of the Irish follows. Even though Ireland is part of the United Kingdom the London Government fails to take effective action during the starvation and Ireland's population is reduced by half because of starvation, disease and emigration.>Part 4 - Freedom?, 1900 - 1922In the British House of Commons, a Home Rule Bill for Ireland is finally passed.in 1912. When the descendants of the Ulster planters promise war if the Home Rule Bill takes effect, the Bill is put on hold.However on Easter Monday of 1916, an Irish nationalist rebellion takes places in Dublin and an Irish Republic is declared. Although the rebellion is an apparent failure it triggers a great national revolution and a fight for Irish freedom.