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History of Ireland, 1689-1815
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History of Ireland, 1689-1815
We must now deal with the history of Ireland from the Revolution of 1688 until the battle of Waterloo. Its history during these one hundred and twenty-five years is in sad contrast to that of Scotland during the same period. How James landed in Ireland in 1689 and was finally beaten at the battle of the Boyne in 1690, and how after his departure his Roman Catholic supporters were gradually beaten back and capitulated at Limerick in 1691, has already been narrated (p. 434). But the Roman Catholics, under the terms of the Capitulation of Limerick, were promised two important concessions. First, those soldiers who chose were to be allowed to go to France, and a very large number left Ireland. Secondly, the Roman Catholics in Ireland were to have the same privileges as they possessed in the reign of-Charles II. But this second condition was not observed. On the contrary, between 1697 and 1727, the Irish Parliament, in which by an English Act of Parliament only Protestants were allowed to sit, passed against the Roman Catholics, who composed four-fifths of the population, a series of laws, known as the Penal Laws, of the most vindictive character. A Roman Catholic was not allowed to have a vote, and was excluded from every imaginable office or profession from that of a lord chancellor to that of a gamekeeper. He could not be educated at a university, and he could not keep a school or be the guardian of a child; he could not marry a Protestant, was not allowed to buy land, and was even forbidden to possess a horse worth more than £5 (A Protestant was at liberty to offer £5 for any horse belonging to a Roman Catholic, who was bound to accept the offer). All Catholic bishops and deans were exiled, and subject to the penalties of high treason if they returned; all Catholic priests had to be registered, and to take an oath abjuring the son of James II. No Catholic chapel was allowed a bell or a steeple, and pilgrimages to holy wells were forbidden.
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Chronology
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