Irish Land League
The Irish Land League (ILL, Irish Conradh na Talún ) was a 19th century political organization in Ireland , the aim of which was to improve the situation of poor farmers (tenants). After the League was banned on October 20, 1881, the Irish National League was founded in 1882 .
prehistory
The land in Ireland, which was under British rule, was then owned by English landlords (landlords). The Irish farmers tilled the land as tenants, often had to pay high rents and lived in abject poverty, which culminated in the famine from 1845 to 1849. Irish agriculture was also plagued by the poor potato harvest in 1879 and many farmer emigrations .
Work and goals
The Irish Land League was formed on October 21, 1879, after local Land Leagues had been established in various counties of Ireland. Especially in County Mayo and the surrounding counties, the tenants began to defend themselves against the landlords.
The main goal of the League was to end forced evictions (see Ballinglass Incident ), excessive rent payments and oppression by the landlords. Men like Charles Stewart Parnell and Michael Davitt went to the United States to raise funds for the League among the Irish immigrants living there - with considerable success. The Irish Land League was founded shortly before the " Land War " (1880–1882), which resulted in various upheavals.
The ILL set a “fair” rent and then encouraged its members to claim it from the landlords. If they refuse, the lease should be paid directly to the ILL, which kept the money under lock and key until the landlord would relent. The first target was the Catholic canon Ulick Burke, who had to reduce the rent for his tenants by 25%. The landlord Charles Cunningham Boycott also fell victim to this strategy.
Many landlords resisted violently the demands of the ILL, there were deaths on both sides. The Royal Irish Constabulary , though mainly composed of Irish, sided with the landlords.
Achievements
The ILL movement transcended denominational boundaries - many meetings were held in Ulster . Within two decades of its founding, the ILL achieved the introduction of the Wyndham Land Purchase Act in 1903 - not least with the help of freedom fighters like William O'Brien . After the implementation of the Laborers (Ireland) Acts of 1906 and 1911, Irish soil was finally back in Irish hands.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Richard Vincent Comerford: Land League . In: SJ Connolly (Ed.): The Oxford Companion to Irish History . Oxford University Press, Oxford 1998, ISBN 0-19-211695-9 , pp. 296-297 .