Tenth War

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The Tithe War ( Irish Cogadh na nDeachúna ; English Tithe War ) in Ireland from 1831 to 1836 was a series of skirmishes and violent incidents related to the refusal of the Irish Catholics , the obligatory tithe to the Anglican paid clergy.

background

Under the penal laws of the 18th century, every agricultural worker was obliged to pay an annual contribution of ten percent of the produced produce (the tithe) as a kind of church tax to the official state church (in Ireland the Anglican Church of Ireland ). Although most of the people in Ireland were Catholic, tithe went to the Church of England. Despite Daniel O'Connell's achievement of abolishing most of the remaining penal laws through Catholic emancipation in 1829 , the obligation to pay the tithe remained. Often the tithe was collected in kind or cattle instead of money.

Since 1829 there have been various, mostly peaceful, actions of resistance to the collection, which quickly led to a financial collapse among the Anglican clergy, who began in 1831 to compile a list of debtors. Nearly 30,000 people were on that list, with a notable concentration in Counties Kilkenny , Tipperary and Wexford . This list was then passed on to the Royal Irish Constabulary , founded in 1822 , which took over the function of the militia.

The “War” 1831–1836

The first conflict of the war occurred in Graiguenamanagh, County Kilkenny , on March 3, 1831 , when a group of 120 armed police officers forcibly stole cattle from a Catholic priest . With the consent of his bishop, the priest had persuaded the people in the area to refuse to pay tithes. This example caught on and shortly after this incident in Newtownbarry (today: Bunclody , County Wexford ) the Royal Irish Constabulary shot at a group of people who refused to give up the cattle. The result was twelve dead and 20 seriously injured. This massacre led to the organization of the resistance with agreed signals, such as the ringing of the church tower bells when the police arrived. For example, on December 14, 1831, 40 police officers were ambushed near Carrickshock, County Kilkenny, of whom 19, including the leader, were killed. Fearful of running into another Irish rebellion (as it did in 1798 ), the British government sent more troops to Ireland. This resulted in tithe debtors being viewed as potential rebels. The other numbers of this policy: 242 murders, 1,179 robberies, 401 break-ins, 568 arson, 280 cases of cattle mutilation, 161 assaults, 203 riots and 723 attacks on private property by the foreclosures in 1831. But the foreclosures continued and so the culminated "War" 1835 in the "Rathcormack Massacre" (County Cork ). Police units there killed 17 people and injured more than 30 while trying to collect a tenth of 40 shillings from a widow.

The result

The British government recognized the gravity of the situation of this massacre from several things: First, the order to fire was given by a clergyman. Second, the disproportionate amount to the bloodshed. And thirdly, the fact that the crowd wouldn't let themselves be dispersed by a few volleys of guns. Because the collection and the associated acts of violence became increasingly burdensome and officially announced that it “costs a shilling to collect a penny”, the survey was initially suspended. The Tithes Commutation Act has reduced the amount of tithe by a quarter. Furthermore, the tithe should now be paid to the landlords , who in turn passed it on to the clergy. This partial estate and the avoidance of forced collections settled the dispute. Despite everything, Catholics were obliged to support the Anglican Church of Ireland through the tithe until 1869.

literature

  • Stewart J. Brown: The National Churches of England, Ireland, and Scotland. 1801-1846. Oxford University Press, Oxford et al. 2001, ISBN 0-19-924235-6 .