causes of the uprising

• the cromwellian plantation

  • oliver cromwell led an english army to ireland
  • they commited a massacre in drogheda
  • he brought the whole of ireland under english control
  • he introduced the penal laws:
  • catholics could not:
  • hold commission in the army
  • enter a profession
  • own a horse worth more than five pounds
  • possess weaponry and arms
  • study law or medicine
  • speak or read gaelic or play irish music
  • catholics were also forced off their lands "to hell or to connaught"-irish catholics forced to move to the west of the river shannon
• the protestant ascendancy: the situation in ireland since the cromwellian plantation were the protestants had all the political power and most of the financial power (land ownership)
• tithe: 10% of a persons annual salary had to go to the established church( ie. the church of ireland)-even if they weren't members of that church
• tenant farmers: most catholics did not own the farms they lived on
• absentee landlords: landlord (usually protestants) who owned vast areas of irish land but lived in england (absent)
• ideas of the enlightment: many educated irishmen were inspired by the ideas of enlightment

  • liberty
  • nationalism ( a nation decides its own destiny, not ruled by a foreign power)
  • democracy (the people of a nation choose their own leaders)
• inspiration from successful revolutions

  • the american revolution showed that a determined local population could defeat the british empire
  • the french revolution showed that a monarchy could be overthrown
  • both america and france removed their king and created democratic republics
  • irish nationalists and republicans wanted to do the same