what did ireland do during the napolean wars?

[JustShoveJayOhBe]

I was just curious about this as I'm from the US and all my family lived in Ireland prior to the 40s, so I don't really know much about the Napolean era (it isn't really taught in American schools) and I studied literature so pretty much everything I know about the Napoleanic wars is limited to Wordsworth and romantics being all enthusiastic about the French Revolution and then being horrified when it went south.

So anywho, did Ireland basically just serve the British? When I visited Ireland I noticed that the tower James Joyce lived in was said to be have been built along with a whole bunch of other sea forts to defend the island from Napolean invading. Why would Napolean have invaded there instead of britain, did he want it for some reason?

[Bloodzen]

I'm from Ireland so I could probably give you a nice description of Ireland in that period but I just got home and I'm feeling lazy....so heres something I copied and pasted

In 1789 the French Revolution occurred during which French peasants overthrew the monarchy. Out of the bloodshed emerged a new democratic French republic. For many peasant people across Europe, this new democracy concept was very appealing, since it gave the power to them and not to the aristocracy. In 1791, the newly installed French government offered military assistance to any group who wanted to overthrow their own King. This was very worrying for the surrounding monarchies of England, Spain, Germany and Austria and war soon broke out between them and France.
At the same time, a new organisation was formed in Ireland. Under Wolfe Tone, the United Irishmen (who consisted of Protestants and Catholics alike) declared their belief in a peaceful future for Ireland in which Protestants and Catholics could live together in peace and with equality. They wanted to set up a French-styled democratic republic in Ireland, which was independent of Britain. They quickly gained support, although some, most notably the newly-formed Orange Order which was set up to preserve loyalty to the monarchy, were against them.

Supporting French Republicanism was seen as treasonous by the British considering they were at war with France. Also, Britain was a constitutional monarchy, which meant that the King did not have absolute power. Therefore the British regarded themselves as already democratic. Because of these facts, the British saw the United Irishmen as a national threat to be disposed of.

In 1798, the British began attacking known United Irishmen, and murdering large numbers of Protestant and Catholic members. Tone realised that if they were going to have their rebellion, it would have to be now or never, before the British destroyed them. So a large rebellion began in the spring concentrated in counties Down, Antrim and Wexford. Several bloody battles took place at Antrim, Ballynahinch and Saintfield. The United Irishmen were finally defeated at the Battle of Vinegar Hill in County Wexford. Almost all the several hundred United Irishmen were slaughtered.

However, it was not over. In late 1798, the French sent reinforcements to Ireland and they landed at Mayo, in western Ireland. They invaded and took over the area and gained popular support among the local Irish who saw it as an opportunity to get a better government. The French and their Irish allies got as far as county Sligo before being defeated by the British. While the French were taken prisoner, the local Irish were massacred as a punishment for treason. Wolfe Tone committed suicide in prison whilst awaiting execution. Note that this was the last time a hostile army ever invaded Ireland.

Although the rebellion had been put down, it was clear that Republicanism in Ireland could not be ignored and serious changes were needed in the way Ireland was governed to ensure that such violence did not occur again.

So no..we didn't just serve the British without question . The forts at James Joyce were there to stop Napoleon from helping the Irish to over throw British rule.

[♔DoomBunny666♔]

You also gave us some good Regiments, dont forget that.

[Keyser]

In 1789 the French Revolution occurred during which French peasants overthrew the monarchy. Out of the bloodshed emerged a new democratic French republic.

Nothing wrong with what you exposed, i just wanted to point than the french revolution couldn't be called a peasant overthrew of the monarchy (even if i understand it's a simplification).
It was mainly a urban phenomenum, from the upper and middle class (the bourgeois) who wanted to take their share of the political power (like they had their share of the economical power) and from the lower class, who wanted a more equalitarian society and democracy.

The peasant mainly watched, rejoiced when the aristocratic and church priviledges were abolished, hoped for land reform when their lands were confiscated by the state and feared the unrest and major political changes in the big cities (especially the attacks against the clergy and religion).
The royalists in Vendée and Britanny were mainly peasants (while the republican in those two areas were urban people).

[Humble Warrior]

Interesting stuff, Bloodzen. One of my close friends is Irish and he does not have much to say about the English of the time (though I am english myself). I still sense the anger from him.

As to the game it`s an interesting coincidence as i have been playing with darthmod and I was doing quite well. Well I got over confident and the Irish rebelled. They caught me totally by surprise as I was concentrating on fight the US and French in the Americas. They took scotland, then did a NAVAL invasion of England by landing in Liverpool, bypassed my huge rescue army and took London to my shock. I eventually took london back, and invaded and took Ireland, but it took me about 6 years to do it. I lost loads of money. I had to get rid of loads of stuff to save money including scuttling all my ships. Then Spain declared war and with france kicked me out of the Americas and the carribean.

I paid dearly for not paying attention to Ireland.

[T.C.]

I'm from Ireland so I could probably give you a nice description of Ireland in that period but I just got home and I'm feeling lazy....so heres something I copied and pasted

In 1789 the French Revolution occurred during which French peasants overthrew the monarchy. Out of the bloodshed emerged a new democratic French republic. For many peasant people across Europe, this new democracy concept was very appealing, since it gave the power to them and not to the aristocracy. In 1791, the newly installed French government offered military assistance to any group who wanted to overthrow their own King. This was very worrying for the surrounding monarchies of England, Spain, Germany and Austria and war soon broke out between them and France.
At the same time, a new organisation was formed in Ireland. Under Wolfe Tone, the United Irishmen (who consisted of Protestants and Catholics alike) declared their belief in a peaceful future for Ireland in which Protestants and Catholics could live together in peace and with equality. They wanted to set up a French-styled democratic republic in Ireland, which was independent of Britain. They quickly gained support, although some, most notably the newly-formed Orange Order which was set up to preserve loyalty to the monarchy, were against them.

Supporting French Republicanism was seen as treasonous by the British considering they were at war with France. Also, Britain was a constitutional monarchy, which meant that the King did not have absolute power. Therefore the British regarded themselves as already democratic. Because of these facts, the British saw the United Irishmen as a national threat to be disposed of.

In 1798, the British began attacking known United Irishmen, and murdering large numbers of Protestant and Catholic members. Tone realised that if they were going to have their rebellion, it would have to be now or never, before the British destroyed them. So a large rebellion began in the spring concentrated in counties Down, Antrim and Wexford. Several bloody battles took place at Antrim, Ballynahinch and Saintfield. The United Irishmen were finally defeated at the Battle of Vinegar Hill in County Wexford. Almost all the several hundred United Irishmen were slaughtered.

However, it was not over. In late 1798, the French sent reinforcements to Ireland and they landed at Mayo, in western Ireland. They invaded and took over the area and gained popular support among the local Irish who saw it as an opportunity to get a better government. The French and their Irish allies got as far as county Sligo before being defeated by the British. While the French were taken prisoner, the local Irish were massacred as a punishment for treason. Wolfe Tone committed suicide in prison whilst awaiting execution. Note that this was the last time a hostile army ever invaded Ireland.

Although the rebellion had been put down, it was clear that Republicanism in Ireland could not be ignored and serious changes were needed in the way Ireland was governed to ensure that such violence did not occur again.

So no..we didn't just serve the British without question . The forts at James Joyce were there to stop Napoleon from helping the Irish to over throw British rule.

In fact the area around Mayo was officially called the "Connaught Republic" by the French, but the small force that landed (having lost some ships to the coastal weather) could never have hoped to stay in power.

And heres some gory info, but very un-patriotic of me to say it
When Wolfe Tone tried to kill himself, he did so with a knife to his own throat. He "missed" the artery and slowly bled to death over a few hours.

[Bloodzen]

Interesting stuff, Bloodzen. One of my close friends is Irish and he does not have much to say about the English of the time (though I am english myself). I still sense the anger from him.

I find it very interesting how English history books don't describe the pain,suffering and destruction the English or British army caused to other countries in the past .

Correct me if I'm wrong but when you learnt about the rebellions in Ireland in school...or was it such a small part of English history that it wasn't included did it mention how the British army slaughtered the Irish and tortured them.I guess the same could be said for the American revolution also,from what friends of mine have told me there isn't much mention in English history books of what it was like for the Americans during that time.

I'm not surprised by your friends behavior as I know of quite a few people who dislike the British even though its been nearly a hundred years since we have fought.

I myself have no problem whatsoever with your country and its people but I think its funny how a country with such a large history seems to ignore its notorious reputation with other countries.

[EireEmerald]

I'm from Ireland so I could probably give you a nice description of Ireland in that period but I just got home and I'm feeling lazy....so heres something I copied and pasted

In 1789 the French Revolution occurred during which French peasants overthrew the monarchy. Out of the bloodshed emerged a new democratic French republic. For many peasant people across Europe, this new democracy concept was very appealing, since it gave the power to them and not to the aristocracy. In 1791, the newly installed French government offered military assistance to any group who wanted to overthrow their own King. This was very worrying for the surrounding monarchies of England, Spain, Germany and Austria and war soon broke out between them and France.
At the same time, a new organisation was formed in Ireland. Under Wolfe Tone, the United Irishmen (who consisted of Protestants and Catholics alike) declared their belief in a peaceful future for Ireland in which Protestants and Catholics could live together in peace and with equality. They wanted to set up a French-styled democratic republic in Ireland, which was independent of Britain. They quickly gained support, although some, most notably the newly-formed Orange Order which was set up to preserve loyalty to the monarchy, were against them.

Supporting French Republicanism was seen as treasonous by the British considering they were at war with France. Also, Britain was a constitutional monarchy, which meant that the King did not have absolute power. Therefore the British regarded themselves as already democratic. Because of these facts, the British saw the United Irishmen as a national threat to be disposed of.

In 1798, the British began attacking known United Irishmen, and murdering large numbers of Protestant and Catholic members. Tone realised that if they were going to have their rebellion, it would have to be now or never, before the British destroyed them. So a large rebellion began in the spring concentrated in counties Down, Antrim and Wexford. Several bloody battles took place at Antrim, Ballynahinch and Saintfield. The United Irishmen were finally defeated at the Battle of Vinegar Hill in County Wexford. Almost all the several hundred United Irishmen were slaughtered.

However, it was not over. In late 1798, the French sent reinforcements to Ireland and they landed at Mayo, in western Ireland. They invaded and took over the area and gained popular support among the local Irish who saw it as an opportunity to get a better government. The French and their Irish allies got as far as county Sligo before being defeated by the British. While the French were taken prisoner, the local Irish were massacred as a punishment for treason. Wolfe Tone committed suicide in prison whilst awaiting execution. Note that this was the last time a hostile army ever invaded Ireland.

Although the rebellion had been put down, it was clear that Republicanism in Ireland could not be ignored and serious changes were needed in the way Ireland was governed to ensure that such violence did not occur again.

So no..we didn't just serve the British without question . The forts at James Joyce were there to stop Napoleon from helping the Irish to over throw British rule.

Thats pretty much everything i was going to say.

The Irish fought on both sides of the war, and had a much larger part in the British army this time around as Catholics were only recently allowed guns and join the British army.

[Humble Warrior]

I find it very interesting how English history books don't describe the pain,suffering and destruction the English or British army caused to other countries in the past .

Correct me if I'm wrong but when you learnt about the rebellions in Ireland in school...or was it such a small part of English history that it wasn't included did it mention how the British army slaughtered the Irish and tortured them.I guess the same could be said for the American revolution also,from what friends of mine have told me there isn't much mention in English history books of what it was like for the Americans during that time.

I'm not surprised by your friends behavior as I know of quite a few people who dislike the British even though its been nearly a hundred years since we have fought.

I myself have no problem whatsoever with your country and its people but I think its funny how a country with such a large history seems to ignore its notorious reputation with other countries.

Well, every country has its very dark deeds. Even the Americans are not innocent as i`m sure the American Indians privately have a lot of anger against them - they were pretty much obliterated as a people and still live in `reservations` like zoo animals some of them. One nation oppresses another that oppresses another, etc. It`s no excuse, but no one is pure in the Human race.

And let`s not forget that what happened then was by a different generation with different values of a different time. Not the English today. As I sometimes have to remind my friend.

[EireEmerald]

I find it very interesting how English history books don't describe the pain,suffering and destruction the English or British army caused to other countries in the past .

Correct me if I'm wrong but when you learnt about the rebellions in Ireland in school...or was it such a small part of English history that it wasn't included did it mention how the British army slaughtered the Irish and tortured them.I guess the same could be said for the American revolution also,from what friends of mine have told me there isn't much mention in English history books of what it was like for the Americans during that time.

I'm not surprised by your friends behavior as I know of quite a few people who dislike the British even though its been nearly a hundred years since we have fought.

I myself have no problem whatsoever with your country and its people but I think its funny how a country with such a large history seems to ignore its notorious reputation with other countries.

Well if I was British I would be less inclined to remember that part as well as the famine and the new model army's campaign as well as the plantations. Every country tries to block out the bad parts of their history and instead romanticises it.


This is what happened to people who supported te rebels





thats not mentioned in the books either.

[Braavis]

Which books refuse to mention this?

I concede that Britain does not have a spotless history but nor does Ireland, and crushing rebellions in such a manner was common practice, regardless of the supporters' nationality (see Monmouth rebellion).

I realise that people can be very bitter about the past but surely there are more recent atrocities to get worked up about?

[Comrade_Rory]

I'm half irish, half scottish and living in England

although ill say that England has such a bad rep from some of the things theyve done in the past, but alot of other countries have done horrible things, things worse than the english.
Englands bad rep mainly comes from the fact that Irish people emigrated to many other countries bringing the tales of the bad deeds with them and the main culprit being America, since America has the largest film industry of the west and people tend to absorb everything they see and this... not as a dig at americans but im sure most americans would agree that when it comes to the mainstream media and the "public"... there are no shades of grey.

For example, in the Mel Gibson movie, the patriot (which by the way is amazing and i think everyone will agree with me) the British are potrayed as completely evil tyrants, yet little to nothing is mentioned about how a smaller than average force was in America due to troubles in India and it took the help of the french and spanish to get the american rebels anywhere.
But as Humble Warrior stated, the americans used their independence and almost wiped out an entire race just so they could have more land.

But yeah as i was saying, since the american film industry is (and quite depressingly) a large part of our youths education, people are starting to see more black and white and having very misguided views and opinions.

But yeah, back to the original topic, England did do alot of horrible things in Ireland but people are starting to forget.
I have a VERY irish name (Ruairi Hourihane) and even when i was in secondary school, only 4 or 5 years ago, even back then i would get called "paddy" and people used to say some horrible things about me, i even knocked a guy out ( in one punch ) because he wouldnt shut up, but now when people find out im irish they usually have nothing but nice things to say
and im sorry ive written a proper essay hahaha

[Comrade_Rory]

Ireland you say, damned Irish, the Irish did as her Soveriegn instructed. As to did Scotland and Whales. Serve the Empire.. And of course do what the Irish do best, and occasionally fail... And that is... Rebel...

But they didnt really fail did they?
otherwise Ireland wouldnt be an independent country now...

[Grognard_Admiral]

I find it very interesting how English history books don't describe the pain,suffering and destruction the English or British army caused to other countries in the past .

Nothing surprising to me. It happens everywhere in situations of this kind. I'm ukrainian and from my experience the same thing takes place in russian history doctrines and books. Russians actually believe that after their armies conquered another nations those nations immediately became happy and shining, and those who were not happy were actually spies paid by other countries to harm russian interests.

[Jihada]

The reason Ireland did eventually gain independence was not because of any great Irish uprising. Before and during the short 1916 Easter rebellion in Dublin the vast majority of Irish were loyal to Britain and thousands fought for the country in WW1,many thousands more than ever involved in any rebellion. The British made the stupid mistake of executing the ringleaders of the 1916 rebellion after it had been easily put down and so stirred up a lot more sympathy for the rebel cause.Ofc 1916 was the year of the Somme battles so there was little sympathy for rebels even in Ireland when so many families were losing sons in the war.
That tower in ' Ulysses' (J.Joyce) is called a Martello tower and they were built all over the UK to defend against a possible invasion .

In the Napoleonic wars only one regiment of Irish fought for France ,Legion Irlandaise ,and had a poor reputation, Many Irish regiments fought for Britain and were no better or worse than other British regiments. Also as Ireland was much poorer than England many left to join English regiments like Sharpe's sergeant if I remember right.

[EireEmerald]

In fact the area around Mayo was officially called the "Connaught Republic" by the French, but the small force that landed (having lost some ships to the coastal weather) could never have hoped to stay in power.

And heres some gory info, but very un-patriotic of me to say it
When Wolfe Tone tried to kill himself, he did so with a knife to his own throat. He "missed" the artery and slowly bled to death over a few hours.

I heard that in school. What an awful way to die. Poor guy.

Ireland you say, damned Irish, the Irish did as her Soveriegn instructed. As to did Scotland and Whales. Serve the Empire.. And of course do what the Irish do best, and occasionally fail... And that is... Rebel...

AGainst overwhelming odds, to take on the largest and most powerful empire in the world without any guns because catholics weren't allowed them.

[Legio]

Stay on topic. The topic is not about whether one part of the UK is better than another. It is about Ireland's participation in the Napoleonic Wars.

[EireEmerald]

The reason Ireland did eventually gain independence was not because of any great Irish uprising. Before and during the short 1916 Easter rebellion in Dublin the vast majority of Irish were loyal to Britain and thousands fought for the country in WW1,many thousands more than ever involved in any rebellion.

You do realise that the majority of Irishmen that did fight for Britain in WW1 either did so to gain favour for Irish Home Rule or for the adventure. Many that joined up believed they were fighting for Ireland's cause as the British Governtment was more likely to grant home rule due to their sacrifice. For others the reasons for joining were purely economic. For poorer soldiers the separation allowance paid to their wives and children was incentive to join up at a time when low wages and unemployment were rife in Ireland.

The British made the stupid mistake of executing the ringleaders of the 1916 rebellion after it had been easily put down and so stirred up a lot more sympathy for the rebel cause.

Despite Redmond ednlessly warning them not to ( leader of the constitutional nationalists home rule party )

[Comrade_Rory]

The reason Ireland did eventually gain independence was not because of any great Irish uprising. Before and during the short 1916 Easter rebellion in Dublin the vast majority of Irish were loyal to Britain and thousands fought for the country in WW1,many thousands more than ever involved in any rebellion. The British made the stupid mistake of executing the ringleaders of the 1916 rebellion after it had been easily put down and so stirred up a lot more sympathy for the rebel cause.Ofc 1916 was the year of the Somme battles so there was little sympathy for rebels even in Ireland when so many families were losing sons in the war.

The Easter Rising didn't have an immediate effect but it is directly influential to the granting of irish independence.
And the leaders were effectively martys, it was the case of James Connolly which made the most impact as he was injured and couldn't stand so they strapped him to a chair.

If it hadn't happened then Ireland wouldn't have had its independence, whereas you can't say the same for the previous rebellions.

[EireEmerald]

The Easter Rising didn't have an immediate effect but it is directly influential to the granting of irish independence.
And the leaders were effectively martys, it was the case of James Connolly which made the most impact as he was injured and couldn't stand so they strapped him to a chair.

If it hadn't happened then Ireland wouldn't have had its independence, whereas you can't say the same for the previous rebellions.

" Blood Sacrifice "

Padraic Pearse