Northern Ireland troubles - source related work.

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Assignment 2 Q.1

     Yes I feel when looking at all the sources there is a lot of evidence why the troubles broke out in Northern Ireland. The sources contain a lot of important information about what the troubles started over and give us an insight into the tension between Catholics and Protestants at this time.

     Source G shows us a drawing from a protestant textbook which says “ English protestants stripped naked and turned into the mountains in the frost and snow, where of many hundreds are perished to death and many lying dead in ditches and savages upbraises (scolded) them saying, now are ye wild Irish as well as we” This is a biased drawn by a protestant writer and it is not an immediate cause of the troubles and is only sufficient to an extent. It is a long-term cause as it goes back to the roots of the conflict and shows us why Catholics and protestants were so deeply divided in Ireland.

     Source E is a nineteenth century Protestant cartoon showing Erin (Ireland) bound in ropes by a Catholic priest. This shows a symbolic Ireland being tied up by a Catholic priest. This picture was drawn at a time when nationalists were looking to get Home Rule in Ireland and this is to show that the Catholic Church controlled Ireland at this time. They felt if Catholics got home rule it would be bad for Protestants, as it would mean the Catholic Church would control them. This source is a long-term cause of the troubles as it shows the mistrust Protestants had for nationalist’s intentions as they saw nationalists being controlled by the Catholic Church.

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     Source F shows us a map showing the gerrymander in Derry in 1966. In 1966 the adult population of Derry was 30 376 (20 102 Catholics; 10 274 Protestants) More protestants than Catholics became boundary commissioners because Catholics refused. Therefore, the boundaries of the constituencies favoured Protestants. Source F is a very reliable source as it shows the statistics. It is a short-term cause of the troubles as it led to the Civil Rights marches in Ireland. It was one of the main factors of the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association. The N.I.C.R.A was formed in Ireland to ...

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