The greatest obstacle to solving the Irish question in the years 1874 - 1886 was the issue of land: assess the validity of this view.
"THE GREATEST OBSTACLE TO SOLVING THE IRISH QUESTION IN THE YEARS 1874 - 1886 WAS THE ISSUE OF LAND": ASSESS THE VALIDITY OF THIS VIEW There can be little doubt that question of land, with specific regards to tenant farmers and absentee landlords, was a major obstacle for the British government as they attempted to 'solve the Irish Question'. However, in addition to the fact that there were other issues within Ireland which also formed obstacles to resolution, such as Home Rule, one must also consider the actions of the Disraeli and Gladstone administrations in this period and assess whether they too acted as obstacles to their own attempts to deal with Ireland. The interpretation that the issue of land was the greatest obstacle has much to commend it. Some of the most serious crises in 19th Century Britain had come about as a result of 'knife and fork' issues (including the Chartist movement and the Plug Riots); the disastrous harvests of 1877-79 in Ireland which meant that many famers unable to pay the rent for their land and were subsequently evicted by the landowners resulted in similar 'knife and fork' issues and caused great Irish unrest. This unrest manifested itself in violence, most notably in Connaught and in Phoenix Park in 1882, as the immediate threat to Irish people's wellbeing sparked 'direct action' in such a way that issues such as a religion could. The
How liberal were Gladstone's domestic reforms during his first ministry?
How liberal were Gladstone's domestic reforms during his first ministry? Gladstone became Prime Minister for the first time in 1868, by winning the majority in the government. Gladstonian Liberalism united all members of the party and gave ordinary people hope and optimism to change their future. During his first ministry he introduced major reforms and policies which drastically changed the country, some of these included the reorganisation of the educational and civil services, rearrangement of the judicial system and the licensing act; he was also involved in developing Ireland and her political reform. Some of his policies supported his ideals of the government; however others contradicted his initial promises. Gladstonian Liberalism was based on principles which were to create a stronger and efficient government. Gladstone wanted to give all individuals freedom to manage their affairs without interference of the state and enable them to trade without restrictions. He believed that the state should involve itself as seldom as possible, and should not interfere with the economy or decide what should be taught in schools. Gladstone wanted to create a competent and cheap government with low taxes and rates, and didn't want to invest money in the public sector and instead to rely on private donations. Liberalism supported the idea of promotion by talent rather than
Assess the role of the nobility in providing political stability in Tudor England
Assess the role of the nobility in maintaining political stability in Tudor England. The nobility's role during the Tudor era was something of great importance in the maintenance of political stability, despite undergoing a dramatic change throughout the 16th century. Although not all nobles remained loyal to the Crown, the Tudors relied heavily on them as councillors, administrators and as military leaders, chiefly due to their desirable attributes including prestige, wealth and importance. The nobility however was not the sole factor in maintaining stability; the clergy, the gentry, local authorities and of course the monarch had significant parts to play in the keeping of authority. The Crown depended on the nobles a great deal, for instance all Tudor monarchs used the nobility as a source of advice, Henry VII summoned five great councils of the nobles and in the suppression of Lovel and Simnel he consulted with nobles such as Oxford and Pembroke. Pembroke again assisted Henry VIII with Wyatt's rebellion and both Henry and Elizabeth held assemblies of nobles in the 1530s and 1580s to discuss matters of state. Elizabeth, although only including one noble in her council of 1601, still expected every peer and leading gentleman to attend the royal court intermittently to pay his respects. Many nobles also held leading political positions in Tudor administration, for
Did Oliver Cromwell achieve his objectives from 1642 to 1658?
Did Oliver Cromwell achieve his objectives from 1642 to 1658? To look at Cromwell's aims and whether he achieved them or not is to enter "a minefield of` historical controversy and uncertainty," as modern day historian Barry Coward put it. Cromwell's aims have always been somewhat of a paradox so to answer whether he achieved them all would be impossible. Many of his goals contradicted or obstructed some of his other views. The views which he held closest to his heart were 'Liberty of Conscience' - Cromwell's belief in religious toleration, a united National Church, the 'Reformations of Manners'- his goal of a nation of Godly people, and social and legal reform. Although these were his most favoured objectives, throughout his rule as Protector he attempted to achieve what he described as 'settlement and healing'- keeping conservative support and repairing the wounds of the civil war. This meant there were a number of other policies he strived to achieve, often having to contradict the religious and social reforms he desired, these were; establishing broad support- even including royalists; keeping government as traditional as possible and maintaining social order. The whole time he also wanted to keep the army satisfied, as it was his main source of power. However the army was associated with radicalism by the propertied and gentry, again causing more compromises for
Explain how Ferdinand and Isabella dealt with the problems facing them before 1479.
HISTORY AS-LEVEL 2003 European History Essay Paper - Past Question Plans. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Explain how Ferdinand and Isabella dealt with the problems facing them before 1479. This is an 'explain' type question - so it's asking you to do just that, but also a little more. Merely describing the measures Ferdinand and Isabella took to cope with various problems will get some marks, but more marks will be gained if you weigh up the outcomes of these policies, and register how successful they were. For example, you may say in the essay that Ferdinand and Isabella faced economic problems, and you may go on to explain what policy(ies) they introduced to solve the problem. This would be 'explaining' how they 'dealt' with the problem, but you can go further and say how well they dealt with it compared to other issues, etc. Also, refer to historians and what they said about how they dealt with problems. Always link back to the question. So - you must: a) Show what the problems were b) What measures they took to deal with them c) How successful these measures were, evaluating against other issues, historiographical interpretations, short-term/long-term instances. The essay: PARA 1 - WHAT WERE THE PROBLEMS: i) Civil War in Aragon - decline of Barcelona, civil disorder, social unrest. ii)
How successful was Wolseys Domestic policy?
Jack Stephenson How successful was Wolsey's Domestic policy During his fourteen years of chancellorship Wolsey exercised considerable influence over Henry VIII's domestic policy during the years 1515 to 1529, involving himself in economic, legal, aristocratic and church affairs. Wolsey's domestic policy was relatively successful with some failures. Wolsey was no domestic reformer in any modern political sense and he saw his prime duty as Lord Chancellor. Wolsey was either loved or hated for his wealth, position and lofty manner. Historians also differ in their views of Thomos Wolsey, Peter Gwyn sees Wolsey as a man of "enormous ability and unstoppable determination" with a huge capacity for hard work and whose reforms were limited because of the ambitions of Henry in Europe. Other historians like John Guy and David Loades acknowledge Wolsey's abilities but are less effusive in their praise and see his own deficiencies as responsible for the failure of some of the reforms he embarked on. One area in which Wolsey is seen as having a great impact on is legal reform. Wolsey was keen to make it clear that no one was above the law and that the law as applicable to all so the wealthy/powerful could not escape. In 1516 Wolsey put forward a scheme to improve the whole legal system, the power of the court of the Star Chamber was to be increased and ordinary subject were to file
Labour weakness was the most important reason for Conservative dominance from 1951 to 1964. How far do you agree?
Labour weakness was the most important reason for Conservative dominance from 1951 to 1964. How far do you agree? Between 1951 and 1964, the Conservative's time in power, the Labour party were providing ineffectual opposition. One of the reasons for this was their internal disputes over issues such as unilateralism. However, there were also more important reasons for Conservative dominance, such as the economy and growing prosperity in Britain, the property owning democracy and the greater availability of credit, modern conveiniences and luxury items. Prosperity during this time was growing, and people were in general wealthier than they had been before. A reason for this could have been the manipulation of the economy by the Conservatives; their stop-and-go stagflation lowered and rose taxes in accordance to the election date in order to gain more votes. Though they had no real long-term economic plan and their wily manipulation was often criticised, it did help them to gain votes. The wages also rose during this time meaning people were able to more freely afford luxury items and other things such as mortgages, which links to the property owning democracy. This prosperity heavily contrasted to Labour's post-war government, when the country was still in the grips of rationing and shortages, and the public's remembrance of this time would not be favourable. They would not
Why did the Liberals lose the 1874 election?
Why did the Liberals lose the 1874 election? The reason for the Liberal's 1874 election defeat is a common area of debate amongst historians. Historians often argue that it was the rise of the Conservative Party and Disraeli that caused the Liberals to lose support. Others argue that it was the unpopularity of the vast amount of the Liberal Party's policies that lost them the votes of the masses. In addition to the lack of popular policies, it is often put forward that the growing divisions within the Liberal Party caused its defeat. Finally, historians such as Vincent regularly argue that the election defeat was due to the external circumstances of the time. Watts argues that it was Disraeli's leadership of a more appealing Conservative Party that caused the Liberal election defeat. He emphasises the importance of Disraeli's tactics in opposition, especially his refusal to accept office after the collapse of the Liberal government in 1873. This further weakened the Liberal Party as it was forced to limp on for another eighteen months and further secured the Conservative election victory. Disraeli's numerous speeches also contributed to the loss of Liberal support such as his speech at Manchester in 1872 in which he attacked Gladstone's policies as 'endangering national institutions'. These speeches appealed to all aspects of society and played on the middle class
' Did Alexander II deserve the title Tsar Liberator
' Did Alexander II deserve the title Tsar Liberator? ' Justify your view. In the 19th Century, Russia had no zemstva, very little education, industry and railway building, a biased judicial system and very few freed peasants. Czar Alexander II, who succeeded Nicolas I in 1855, went some ways to remedying these deficiencies through a series of reforms. Alexander II became the great modernizer of Russia, walking a delicate line between preserving Russia's Slavic identity and enabling its people to benefit from Western advancements. For this reason he was known to some as the ' Czar Liberator'. However, indeed he was a liberator in name only. Alexander II initiated substantial reforms in education, the government, the judiciary and the military. In 1861, he proclaimed the emancipation of about 20 million privately held serfs. It has been described as "the greatest social movement since the French Revolution" and constituted a major step in the freeing of labour in Russia. Yet at the same time, it helped to undermine the already shaken economic foundations of Russia's landowning class. The Czar abolished a Russia tradition, the serfdom, which symbolizing class struggle and feudalism. This was a very great step forward in the modernisation of Russia. Reforms of local government were closely followed emancipation. Russia, for the first time, was given a judicial system that in
The most important reason for Wolseys fall from power was his failure to obtain a divorce for Henry VIII- How far do you agree with this statement?
'The most important reason for Wolsey's fall from power was his failure to obtain a divorce for Henry VIII'- How far do you agree with this statement? Due to Wolsey's constant victories, he was able to sustain power for 15 years, outlasting the King's other advisers. Yet unlike his role as 'alter rex' his fall was swift and dramatic, which came after his failure of obtaining Henry's divorce from Catherine of Aragon. In regards to this, it seems clear that this is the reason why Wolsey fell from power, yet there are possible contributing factors that one must take into consideration. One reason is that Wolsey was undoubtedly unpopular in court throughout his time. Within his time at court he acquired many enemies such as the King's minions because of his less than wealthy upbringing. This may have impact the king due to the closeness of him and the minions- who were influencing the King to oppose Wolsey. This is evident in his rivalry against the Duke of Norfolk and Suffolk who were the figureheads in the Tudor court. The Duke of Norfolk was also related to Anne Boleyn, therefore Henry was influenced by the Boleyn faction to rid of Wolsey thus providing reason for his downfall. Wolsey himself could easily influence Henry to get rid of his enemies in addition to acquiring more power, therefore the fact that the King was easily influenced also suggests a reason as to why
