| Documents relevant to personal and legislative unions of the Countries of the United Kingdom |
|---|
|
The Acts of Union 1800 (sometimes called the Acts of Union 1801) describe two complementary Acts,[1] namely:
Passed on 2 July 1800 and 1 August 1800 respectively, the twin Acts united the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland to create the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.[2][3] The union came into effect on 1 January 1801. Both Acts, though since amended, remain in force in the United Kingdom.[4]
In the Republic of Ireland the Union with Ireland Act 1800 (that passed in Great Britain) was not finally repealed until the passing by the Oireachtas of the Statute Law Revision Act 1983.[5] The Act of Union (Ireland) 1800 (that passed in Ireland) was repealed in 1962.[6]
Contents |
Before these Acts, Ireland had been in personal union with England since 1541, when the Irish Parliament had passed the Crown of Ireland Act 1542, proclaiming King Henry VIII of England to be King of Ireland. (Before then, since the 12th century, the King of England had been overlord of the Lordship of Ireland, a papal possession.) Both Ireland and England had came in personal union with Scotland with the Union of the Crowns in 1603.
In 1707, the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland were united into a single kingdom: the Kingdom of Great Britain. Upon that union, each House of the Parliament of Ireland passed a congratulatory address to Queen Anne, praying that, "May God put it in your royal heart to add greater strength and lustre to your crown, by a still more comprehensive Union".[7] The Irish parliament at that time was subject to a number of restrictions that placed it subservient to the Parliament of England (and following the union of England and Scotland, the Parliament of Great Britain).
In the century that followed the union of England and Scotland, Ireland gained effective legislative independence from Great Britain through the Constitution of 1782. However, a rebellion in 1798, involving a French invasion of Ireland and seeking complete independence from Great Britain, descended into sectarian violence and ruthless repression by the Irish authorities. The British drive for union between Great Britain and Ireland that passed in 1800 was motivated at least in part by a desire to restore order to Ireland, end sectarianism (including the introduction of Catholic Emancipation) and to ensure that Ireland would not become a staging post for a French invasion of Great Britain.
Each Act had to be passed in the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of Ireland.
After centuries subordination to the English, and later, British Parliaments, the Parliament of Ireland gained a large measure of independence by the Constitution of 1782. Many members of the Irish Parliament jealously guarded its autonomy (notably Henry Grattan) and a motion for union was rejected in 1799. However, a concerted campaign by the British government overcame the reluctance of the Irish Parliament.
Only Anglicans were permitted to become members of the Parliament of Ireland, though the great majority of the Irish population were Roman Catholic, with many Presbyterians in Ulster. In the 1790s Roman Catholics gained the minimal right to vote.
From the perspective of Great Britain, the union was required because of the uncertainty that followed the Irish Rebellion of 1798 and the French Revolution of 1789, which inspired the rebels; if Ireland adopted Catholic Emancipation, willingly or not, a Roman Catholic parliament could break away from Britain and ally with the French, while the same measure within a united kingdom would exclude that possibility. Also the Irish and British parliaments, when creating a regency during King George III's "madness", gave the Prince Regent different powers. These considerations led Great Britain to decide to merge the two kingdoms and their parliaments.
The final passage of the Act in the Irish Parliament was achieved with substantial majorities, achieved in part according to contemporary documents through bribery, namely the awarding of peerages and honours to critics to get their votes.[8] Whereas the first attempt had been defeated in the Irish House of Commons by 109 votes against to 104 for, the second vote in 1800 produced a result of 158 to 115.[8]
The Acts ratified eight articles which had been previously agreed by the British and Irish Parliaments:
Part of the attraction of the Union for many Irish Catholics was the promise of Catholic Emancipation, thereby allowing Roman Catholic MPs, who had not been allowed in the Irish Parliament. This was however blocked by King George III who argued that emancipating Roman Catholics would breach his Coronation Oath, and was not realised until 1829.
The flag, created as a consequence of the union of the Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1800, still remains the flag of the United Kingdom. Called the Union Flag, it combined the flags of England (which included Wales) and Scotland with a "St Patrick's Cross" to represent Ireland.