The Tree of Liberty

Sources:

1.) Whelan, Kevin.

The Tree of Liberty: Radicalism, Catholicism, and the Construction of Irish Identity. 1760-1830. United States: University of Notre Dame Press, 1996.

Irish History

Tree of Liberty Paper

The Protestant Landowners in the 1690's grew tired of attempting to collect taxes from a relatively poor Irish population. Middlemen were therefore appointed to manage the lands, collect taxes, and ensure profitability. The owners of the lands may have been Protestant but the workers were often Catholic causing landlords to place a buffer between themselves and their often angry tenants. The solution came from dispossessed Irish Catholics who could conduct their business for them. These Middlemen provided the means by which they were to effectively govern the local population allowing Ireland to become a colony and not an ancien regime. This new and effective method allowed for the consolidation of property and the accumulation of wealth. "These accumulated leases laid the basis for the striking success of middlemen in the more expansionary conditions from the 1740s onwards."(pg.4)

Catholics were not all taken from their lands; some resisted the Protestant surge and kept their holdings. These few landlords were crucial in rebuilding the Catholic influence in Ireland as they provided the base on which other Catholics could build. Middlemen even had clans with which they used to enforce their territory. "These Sullivan's are a desperate and dangerous gang, so connected and related that there is no breaking them without military force."(pg.15) Gaps in law were found which allowed others to stay on their lands, the dispossessed landowners kept records of their family's holdings in hopes of their eventual reacquisition.

Catholics finally got their chance in the 1790's when the penal laws were lifted. Now it was much easier for Catholics to compete for lands. This led to a new breed of Catholic middle man who increased the divide between the common people and landlord. "This Catholic advantage was of pivotal significance when the middleman system was undermined in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries."(pg.49) Eventually causing the system's failure under the new economic stress. Many Protestants began to flee to the United States under new Catholic pressures. Landlords were forced to deal directly with their tenants.

Popular Culture provided the spark that re-enkindled the Irish Catholic fire in Ireland. Songs and poetry constantly reflected the woes of the common Irish Catholic. Newspapers and essays came about allowing the spread of revolutionary sentiments and were popularized as radicals made use of the printing press. The United Irishmen published the Northern Star which expressed their enlightened views formed from French and American Influence. It spread quickly as means of distribution improved. There were three zones of distribution based on how many days it took to reach its location. Many people were not able to read but this did not stop them from listening to others. People subscribed in groups as many could not afford it on their own but this only helped encourage discussion. Enlightened clubs were formed under false names as to not attract suspicion.