Exkurs II: Benji's History Class. Lesson 1: The old sad History of Northern Ireland Introduction to a complex matter
Verwirrend für viele von euch ist sicherlich, wenn ich von Iren und Briten, Katholiken und Protestanten oder Nationalisten und Unionisten rede. Die Geschichte von Nordirland ist (Unfortunately) not quickly tell what is fatal for a blog post. I will try to tell the old story of the conflict simplified - yet the post has become really long. First, it should be noted that the history of the Northern Ireland conflict, the story of a European society of about 1, 5 million people (20th century) is to overcome the centuries-old religious conflicts and political power could not to find a common identity - English, French and German that have somehow managed ** ** maso menos. Since the suppression of London the Catholic minority (about one third of the Northern Irish population in the early 20th century) by the Protestant majority faced at least as valid and the Protestant Unionists / loyalists without pressure from outside no compromises were ready, was split in two centuries the dominant nature of the society since the 1920s even more solidified.
A Northern Ireland, two denominations two (often street to street ! Adjacent) population groups with conflicting identities two antagonistic objectives: Understand the Catholics rather than oppressed Irishmen who were seeking a total of GB independent Ireland, the Protestants saw themselves traditionally considered descendants of the Anglo-Scottish settlers of the 17th Century, thought they were under siege amid a hostile population. The Union of GB stood for the trend-setting hard-core loyalists as the main point of their identity far beyond the needs of Catholics. But what people do which one does not offer a peaceful way to political and economic participation and the one treated in the free state of the United Kingdom as second class citizens?
From the Middle Ages to the "Plantation"
How it all began is still such a thing. In fact, the imperial claim of the kings of England since Henry II to Elizabeth has meant that Ireland was an English speaking country: 1171 Henry II began out of concern for the west flank of his empire to his advisers ** Henry: Hmmm Say, is not there such a green, damp island in the West, without a king, without any natural resources and our enemies could not establish bases there ...?** an expedition to Ireland. But up to Henry VIII (16th century) was the only Englishman to keep the area around Dublin effectively. Ireland should be feudalized the English model, but it came under the oh so enlightened aunt Lisbeth I (1558-1603) to widespread riots of the idiosyncratic Irish nobility. The County of Ulster (in about the areas of present-day Northern Ireland, NI is therefore also known as Ulster, but only for Protestants) was already a trouble spot and center of resistance to the Anglicization. Since I use the venerable Queen Elizabeth I've mentioned: Who has seen the film about her past history ** Steffi, Schell Which, Gerald, Lord, you are approached !!!**, could find that the Catholic Philip II of Spain disgusting will violate his bad English Armada only the Anglican-Protestant England and conquer - BUT: The Irish resisters were, of course, in alliance with Philip and saw his armada of course, as a liberation army! As always, history is a matter of perspective =) Well, the Spaniards have lost as you, just know the Irishman.
I skip even a few important events and go with the so-called " Plantation " section. To no longer rely on the unreliable and "faithless" Irish nobility have, the Englishman thought, finally, that one ought to make better use of his own nobles and soldiers in Ireland, together with Protestant settlers from England and Scotland, the royal family are loyal. How successful was this idea is still see the murals in Belfast, where radical loyalists swear by the royal family to almost ridiculously cheesy way their loyalty!
But back to the 17th Century: As you can imagine, was accompanied by the establishment of Protestant and kronloyaler English and Scots in Ulster with a lousy oppression and discrimination against the Irish Catholic population. I want to run no black and white painting or justify the criminal terrorist IRA 300 years later here! But the conduct of the imperial crown of England is now established fact, and even at the expense of the weaker ones - would be a trivial historical constants of all conquests I say. The crown was an ethnic separation between the ruled (Catholic Ireland) and (Prot) settlers, but because of the small number of settlers and agro-economic needs (the settlers as a major tenant at work that is needed the Irishman) was not practicable. !
violence and fear of violence ** vicious circle of a civil war like situation ** shaped the lives and attitudes of the Protestant settlers, and do so sustainably for centuries until the 1980 and above out! An incredible historical continuity and cultural memory Performance. "Armed social protest" (F. Otto) the degraded Irish population in Ulster of the early modern period led to assaults and acts of violence against settlers, in which there was hardly less cruel than the suppression damage / execution of Irish rebels and peasants homeless. 1641 was a major uprising took in Ulster, the (one-third of prot.'s Population!) 12,000 Protestants perished. Oliver Cromwell then massacred with his New Model Army from 1649 many thousands of Irishmen and left in Southern Ireland Ulster and piles of bodies and scorched earth ** Why is before the Houses of Parliament once a statue of this man? **. It was an expropriation of the Irish landowners (if still alive), other Protestant colonization, violence, sectarian divisions and disputes about the succession of typical European pretenders to the throne of different faiths of England, which makes everything more complicated ... !
From Jacob II and William of Orange in 1921 to
Jacob II was converted to the Roman Catholic religion and was, therefore, on his accession in 1685 of a Hoffnugsträger Irishmen. But He could not shake the privileges of the Protestant dominated Parliament in Westminster, whose members were among the beneficiaries of the land distribution Cromwell in Ireland ** Oh, so his statue stands where it stands ... How naive of me **. Parliament has its bustle of their Catholic king in 1688 still too colorful and decided jointly with the British Army ** You had snubbed because Jacob ran a Irish bodyguard. Military honor is so so easy to spot ...** overthrow the king and enthrone William of Orange ** Damn, I get all Dutch on this one from? He is the husband of Jacob's daughter, who cares, and of course a Protestant as the frightened old men in Westminster **. Because of this coup d'etat in 1689 was crowned with success, the uncritical historiography speaks of the "Glorious Revolution" - well, entitled to your opinion ...
King Billy ** I have called it not so! **, So William of Orange ... Sorry, I mean His Royal Majesty William III of England (and Ireland) is thus now king of the castle. The decisive battle is the Orange 1690 on the River Boyne ** I won the Shield Battle of the Boyne'm on the bus ride from Dublin Airport to Omagh seen. Wow, what? **. And three times their cunning Meier might now guess why 300 years after that Protestant Orange Order in Northern Ireland exist and each year ** EVERY damn years !!!** enact the Battle of the Boyne, and celebrate all summer carrying out their parades in all major cities of Northern Ireland ... I know, sounds crazy, but true. For I was there, here in Omagh, in early September.
** It was early September, dozens of them, honestly dozens of such groups of the Orange Order march from one end of town to the other (which is next to our apartment house on the court). Loud music of flutes, drums and cymbals as in IMSA, marching in uniform, Union Jacks. And children who are socialized in this old, militant traditions by marching into it. A train to the other, for hours, every small town in NI has its own Orange Club, dozens of different groups accordingly, but always the same music ...**
** 
But back to the past, with jumps and necessarily in the near future because of you has the patience to read this long article? Honestly !!**. The 18th Century was characterized by demographic and economic advancement of Ulster, said Catholics were discriminated against and consistently represented mainly the lower classes of the population.
The next blast of world history, the Declaration of Independence in 1776, missed its effect even in Ulster and Ireland. Needless to say: National awareness and desire for freedom of Ireland will be strengthened. An invasion of France in Ireland was likely to London so that the wishes of Ireland for more Irrespective took seriously ** Hear, hear! What can thus cause a little fire under his ass all! **. The following is the long way of the Irishmen to a "Free State", which culminates in the division of the island. I will tell it in fast forward. Important to take from the past: Plantation, shared religious and national identities and discrimination against Catholics in almost all areas of society.
1782: Dublin Parliament gets more rights, humiliating laws are withdrawn
late 18 Century: uprising United Irishmen (! Originally interdenominational) French expeditionary army calls for help; ideals of the French revolution, schism deepens the confessions: Catholic Protestant militias terrorize peasants, Protestants fear Catholicization
1801: union with Great Britain; Dublin no longer executive, King George III prevented legal emancipation: not Catholic. Members or officers authorized!
1829: Emancipation Act: Political equality for Catholics
1845 Great Famine in Ireland
19th Century: Socio-economic upheavals of industrialization in the North (Belfast): Shipyards ** Yes, the Titanic !!!**; the south of the island remains the entire century agrarian
1914: Home Rule for Ireland Act, postponing until the end of the 1st WK; fight Protestant and Catholic voluntary associations (religious getennt!) In the French trenches for GB
1916: Easter Rising in Dublin (the middle of the first ! WK) is suppressed by the British hard, radical nationalist party Sinn Féin (Irish for "we ourselves") will supply
1919: Dáil Eireann (Parliament of the Irish Catholic population) in Dublin, dominated by Sinn Féin selected provisional government under Eamon de Valera
1919-21 : Anglo-Irish War of Independence: Brutal guerrilla war between the IRA and British ends with a ; compromise, namely, the political division of Ireland. The south is the Free State, the North remains in the Union with the Kingdom
1922-23: Irish civil war in the south of the division between opponents and supporters, which the Befü ; orwort win
central problem of Northern Ireland was now both the Protestant and a 2/3-Dominanz in centuries of conflict and maintained in the light of the recent escalation worsened intransigence, coupled with the will and the skills to political violence by the radical forces Sinn Féin / IRA und radikalen Unionisten **die vorerst leider den Ton angaben!**. Londons Einlenken gegenüber den unionistischen Kräften
und sein Desinteresse, sich in dem komplexen Konflikt zu engagieren, machten alles nur
noch schlimmer.
Filmtipp : The Wind that shakes the Barley (2006). Ein Film über den Unabhängigkeits- and civil war in the south of the island. Ask him to not look at a typical Gammel-Sunday. Mir has not he done well!
How goes it after the 1920s as the Troubles in the second half of the 20th ; century came and how, despite bombs bombs came over after 1998 but (officially) peace in that troubled part of Europe, I will tell you in the next hour, ;! love children
