Nationalism & Unionism in
Ireland
Do Economic Forces Matter?
1
Nationalist Ideology: some theory
• Product of the modern industrializing world
• Reaction to disruptive economic & social
change
• Especially where an ethno-cultural group feels
disadvantaged
• Nationalist intellectuals and ideologues
emerge
• Demand political autonomy
2
Overview: 19th century
• Economic changes
• Demographic changes
• Political changes: movement towards greater
democracy
• Context: industrializing Britain; liberalizing
tendencies in the direction of mass politics
3
Take five economic indicators & three
time periods*
•
•
•
•
•
Living standards
Handling or avoiding economic crises
Industrialization
Emigration
Economic justice
• *1800-1850; 1850-1880; 1880-1914
4
Tables: Five economic indicators
• An uncontroversial choice of indicators (I think!)
• Fundamental for economic well-being
• Simple scoring system: bit like noughts and
crosses
• Could devise a more complex scoring system but
…
• Score of 1 indicates a substantial gain
• Score of 0 indicates little or no improvement
5
Five economic indicators, 1800-50:
Nationalist Ireland (South)
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Living standards: no gain
Handling or avoiding economic crises: no gain
Industrialization: no gain
Emigration: no gain
Economic justice: no gain
OVERALL SCORE: No gains (0)
Union not working: Repealers
6
Five economic indicators, 1800-50:
Unionist Ireland (North)
•
•
•
•
•
•
Living standards: no gain
Handling or avoiding economic crises: no gain
Industrialization: gain*
Emigration: no gain
Economic justice: gain
OVERALL SCORE: Two gains (+2)
*Rev Henry Cooke: look on Belfast and be a
Repealer if you can
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Summary, 1800-1850
• Southern Ireland: no major gains in any of the
5 economic indicators, so no obvious
economic reasons to favour the Union
• North of Ireland: some gains (though limited),
so some economic reasons to favour the
Union
8
Five economic indicators, 1850-80:
Nationalist Ireland (South)
•
•
•
•
•
•
Living standards: gain
Handling/avoiding economic crises: no gain?
Industrialization: no gain
Emigration: no gain
Economic justice: no gain?
OVERALL SCORE: One gain (1)
9
Five economic indicators, 1850-80:
Unionist Ireland (North)
•
•
•
•
•
•
Living standards: gain
Handling/avoiding economic crises: gain
Industrialization: gain
Emigration: no gain
Economic justice: gain
OVERALL SCORE: Four gains (+4)
10
Summary 1850-1880
• Southern Ireland: some limited economic
progress
• North of Ireland: substantial economic
progress on most fronts
11
Five economic indicators, 1880-1914:
Nationalist Ireland (South)
•
•
•
•
•
•
Living standards: gain
Handling/avoiding economic crises: gain
Industrialization: gain
Emigration: no gain
Economic justice: gain
OVERALL SCORE: Four gains (4)
12
Five economic indicators, 1880-1914:
Unionist Ireland (North)
•
•
•
•
•
•
Living standards: gain
Handling/avoiding economic crises: gain
Industrialization: gain
Emigration: no gain
Economic justice: gain
OVERALL SCORE: Four gains (+4)
13
14
Belfast 1911: the industrial success
story
• Industrial capital of the island
• Two world-class shipbuilding yards
• Major engineering works: Sirocco, Mackies,
others
• Internationally-renowned Linen industry
• Other industries
• So Ulster Unionists pro-Union?
15
Summary, 1880-1914
• Southern Ireland: substantial economic gains
on most fronts
• North of Ireland: maintaining economic gains
• Paradox: “last years of the Union were the
most prosperous!”
16
Do Economic forces matter?: Ulster
Unionism
•
•
•
•
Ireland’s only industrial city: Belfast
Based on Free Trade and World exports
Economic success
group confidence
Business class: financial resources for anti-HR
agitation and eventually guns
• DEMOGRAPHIC implications
17
18
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POPULATION OF BELFAST, 1800-1911 ('000s)
450
400
350
300
('000)
250
200
150
100
50
0
1800
1821
1831
1841
1851
1861
1871
1881
1891
1901
1911
20
Population: political importance
• Numbers vital to political power in a
democratizing era
• Compacting of Protestant and Unionist
population of Ireland in East Ulster
• Industrialization created a critical mass of
Protestants and Unionists in East Ulster
• Capable of resisting Home Rule
• Underpinning all this: industrializing economy
21
Do economic forces matter?: Irish
nationalism
• Long litany of economic woes
• No great economic progress pre-1880
- Emigration, Famine & Land War
• Formative period of Irish nationalism before
1880s
• False optimism: political autonomy
economic prosperity
22
Conclusion
• Best to see economic forces in conjunction
with political and other historical forces
Eg Land War, 1879-1882:
- Agricultural Depression (European-wide)
- But role also of political leadership: Parnell &
Davitt
- in conjunction to mass mobilisation
powerful Home Rule movement
23
Conclusion (contd.)
• “If really pressed, my view is that, taking the
long view, cultural and political forces take
precedence over economic factors in the
making of Irish nationalism and Ulster
Unionism, even though arguments for and
against the Union are often dressed up in
economic terms.”
- Liam Kennedy
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