Why were British troops sent into Northern Ireland in 1969?

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Hari Sukarjo 5572

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Why were British troops sent into Northern Ireland in 1969?

There were many reasons in why British troops were sent in. Some of these reasons are short-term, such as the failure of partition and civil rights. As well as short term factors there was long-term factors, such as plantation, William of Orange. The combined ingredients of both give reasons in why the British Army was sent in. The causes in why British troops were sent in can be put into an order of importance, Partition being one of the most important causes, followed by plantation then Easter Rising. The Easter rising led partition, this brewed troubles on both catholic and protestant side, as neither side can forget the past, showing the failure of partition. Both Irish Catholics and Protestants cannot forget the history as they outline the importance of this for them. After Partition, Catholics found that they were in the minority in the Protestant controlled North. From 1922 Catholics were on the receiving end of discrimination against them, increasing numbers of civil rights marches. By 1960s tension is on both sides, violence escalated, leading to the British Troops being sent in.

The reason in why the British got involved is due to a long-term history as well as short term. Ireland has always been a catholic country, but Henry 8th, Elizabeth 1 and James 1, sent Protestant settlers to Ireland, Plantation. The settlers were mainly situated in the North, where Catholic land was seized by the British, becoming protestant land, making the North a more Protestant land. During the English civil war, there was an Irish rebellion against the English rule in Ulster, 1641, restoring Ireland under Irish rule. In 1649 Oliver Cromwell killed Irish Catholics. On both sides there was murders, causing tensions between Catholics and Protestants. This links to the battle of the Boyne, which Protestants remember the Victory of William of Orange. William was a protestant, who defeated Irish Catholics at the Battle of the Boyne. The Irish Protestants remember this as the most important defeat over Catholics, every year Protestants march celebrating King Billy’s victory at the Battle of the Boyne. This builds tension between Irish Catholics and Protestants, as it shows the difficulty to forget the history. By 1800 the Act of Union was introduced, giving Britain direct rule over Ireland, giving an increase in Nationalism, hatred of British, Protestants (loyal to the British crown). This links to the Famine with the hatred of the British. In Ireland potato was the major crop. In 1845 the crop failed, and as most Catholics were tenant farmers they were faced with a choice. Catholic farmers could either eat their crop and lose income and be evicted, or sell pay rent and starve. The British evicted many farmers, and no aid was given to the starving Catholics. “A disgrace to the home authorities” showed that the British didn’t even care that in Ireland one million starved to death and one million emigrated to America. This fuelled nationalism, the Fenian movement grew, and this gave an increased number of Irish volunteers for the IRA, thus leading to the Easter Rising. The Easter Rising was saw as a “blood sacrifice”, meaning that the rising was hopeless. This was right as after one week the rebels surrendered, the British killed rebel leaders, resulting in seven martyrs, “ The day is coming when I shall be shot, swept away, and my Colleagues like me will be shot”(Patrick Pearce). This links to the blood sacrifice made by the rebels, it shows that the Irish Nationalist would just be shot and ignored by the British government. This increased the flame of nationalism, giving growth to the Sinn Fein, increasing the division between Catholics and Protestants, giving the emergence of the IRA. Leading to the partition of Ireland. Partition gave way to a rivalry between Catholics and Protestants with discrimination on both sides. The South became the Irish Free State, the North becoming part of the British Isles. The Whole of Ireland split for those pro treaty (lead by Michael Collins) and anti treaty (De Valera). Violence broke out on both sides showing the failure of partition. All these factors lead up to the British army going in 1969, overall the most important factor was the partition of Ireland, this links back to the Plantation, where the British Protestant settlers, settled mainly in the North, turning the North more protestant, starting a religious divide, which led to Ireland splitting into two.

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In the 1920s and 30s after partition, it seemed that partition didn’t create a problem free Northern Ireland. There were troubles brewing on both sides, discrimination being one. In Northern Ireland Catholics were on the receiving end of discrimination. Protestants got all the best jobs; hardly any Catholics got a job in the civil service. It even went to phone calls. Richard Dawson Bates (Minister of Home Affairs) refused to use his telephone until a catholic phone operator in his department got transferred. There was segregation in Irish life, Protestants go separate places to Catholics, and this even affected ...

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