Selective history fuelled the arguments between the two communities, which only supplied ammunition to use against each other. This was fought out in riots on the streets in the 1960s and British Troops were sent in to try and keep the peace in.
Political differences between the two communities in the twentieth century also caused distrust, suspicion and fear. These differences are shown with events like the Easter Rising in 1916, or the Partition.
The Easter Rising was where 1200 members of the Irish Republican Brotherhood and James Connolly’s Citizen Army occupied parts of central Dublin. Padraig Pearse then declares the establishment of an Irish Republic.
After 1 week, the rebels surrendered.
The rebel leaders were then executed by the British which lead to increasing support in Sinn Fein.
In 1921, a truce was called between the groups. In October negotiations began. As a result of these negotiations, there was an Anglo-Irish Treaty. Consequently, 26 counties became the Irish Free State and this Free State was to have its own passport, flag, coins and stamps.
In June 1922, people of the Free State voted overwhelmingly in favour of the treaty.
Some Protestants though that they had surrendered the south to the Catholics. But some Catholics thought that they had lost the north to the Protestants. This was just ammunition to be used against the other side.
These problems had not been solved by the 1960s therefore the British troops were sent in to keep the peace.
In the 1930s Election Fixing became another long term factor as to why the troops were sent into Northern Ireland.
The Election fixing started when the Nationalist MPs were not consulted when the electoral boundaries of wards were drawn up. This led to gerrymandering, where the Unionists fixed the boundaries to ensure they got the maximum rewards at council elections, this lead to Nationalist anger towards the state of Northern Ireland.
This fixing would have fuelled other impacts like distrust, segregation and IRA violence.
As well as many long term problems, there are also short term factors that influenced Britain’s decision to send in their troops.
Employment was one factor; Unionist companies would only employ Unionist people. This was the same for the Nationalists.
This again, fuelling mistrust and anger between the two communities.
Another impact was caused by Ian Paisley. He built up a strong base of dedicated and loyal supporters. He also rallied and had demonstrations that often ended in violence. He was a very controversial figure.
The final trigger was the Battle of the Bogside. This started when the RUC attempted to take down a barricade, but missiles were being thrown and the riot soon turned into a battle.
The rioting continued for 2 days, and the police faced a hail of petrol bombs and missiles from the Bogside residents. Bogside was the first ‘no-go’ area in Northern Ireland. The RUC could not cope with the situation, so the British Troops were sent in.
From this information I can conclude that the reason the British troops were sent in was part of a long-term history. Ireland was partitioned in 1920 after a long period of violence between the Protestants and the Catholics. This was expected to bring an end to the aggression, but in fact the relations between them got worse, so eventually the troops had to be sent in.