Among the largest ethnic groups outside of their traditional homeland is the Irish. This is because it was England's oldest colony from the Normans in 1170 until Irish independence in 1921. Though they did not control the whole of Ireland until the 16th Century, the English would nevertheless use Ireland as colonial experiment for their later empire. In short, everything from claims of stolen land to genocide have been part of Ireland's history, sometimes religious, always political. This book is therefore concerned with the history of England's interaction with Ireland and the many rebellions that eventually won Ireland its freedom. However, some good things came out of the 800 years of British control, such as the Royal Irish Constabulary, which was the model for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The Anglo-Irish Act of Union of 1801 has been a model for many political unions throughout the British Empire. But sometimes, the worst events, like the Irish Potato Famine, which caused the population to drop by two million, had unexpected benefits. Between deportation to the penal colonies or emigration due to the famine or normal emigration from Ireland throughout the British Empire from the 16th to the 20th Centuries, millions of people in the English-speaking world can claim Irish descent. It is this history that time and again will give rise to bouts of political instability. The so-called "Troubles" are just the latest in an endless wave of such events going back to when King Henry II became the first English King of Ireland in 1170. It may be tempting to blame the British for politically destabilized Ireland but it was never a unified nation beforehand. Besides many people supported the British as loyalists as supported whatever Irish Republican movement happened to be occurring, from the United Irishmen of the 1790s to the Irish Republican Army (IRA) of today. So, as one can see, Irish history is so similar, yet so different from anywhere else today. So Ireland has less history of its own free will than almost everywhere else coming out of WWI in the same state as today. How much longer this will remain the case in the face of Brexit is uncertain. But then again, Ireland has always been shaped by events beyond its shores. This book will tell the story of how 800 years of British meddling in Ireland, has shaped the Irish Republic in the 21st Century with the current division of Ireland between north and south having existed since 1921.
