British rule inIreland was built upon the 12th-centuryAnglo-Norman invasion of Ireland on behalf ofKingdom of England, where parts of Ireland fell under English control. The full conquest of the island was completed in the 17th century after theTudor conquest of Ireland. Most of Ireland gained independence from the United Kingdom following theAnglo-Irish War in the early 20th century. Initially formed as aDominion called theIrish Free State in 1922, theRepublic of Ireland became a fully independentnation state following the passage of theStatute of Westminster in 1931. It effectively became a republic with the passage of a new constitution in 1937, and formally became a republic with the passage of theRepublic of Ireland Act in 1949.Northern Ireland remains part of the United Kingdom as a constituent country.[1]
From the late 12th century, theAnglo-Norman invasion of Ireland resulted in Anglo-Norman control of much of Ireland, over which the kings of England then claimed sovereignty.[2][3] By theLate Middle Ages, Anglo-Norman control was limited to an area around Dublin known asthe Pale.[4]
Enacted in 1494,Poynings law ensured that theIrish parliament could not meet without the approval of England'smonarch andPrivy Council.[4] In 1541, English king Henry VIII changed Ireland's status from a lordship to a kingdom, and he was proclaimedKing of Ireland.[4]
TheUlster Plantation began in the 17th century and involved the settling of English and Scottish Protestants in Ulster.[3]
Coinciding largely with theEleven Years' War, theCromwellian conquest of Ireland was led by Oliver Cromwell between 1649 and 1651, resulting in theconfiscation of land from many native landowners andregranting to Parliamentarian supporters.
Introduced in the 17th century, thePenal Laws outlawed the Catholic clergy and precluded Catholics in Ireland from owning or leasing land above a certain value, accessing higher education and certain professions, and gave primacy to theestablished church, theChurch of Ireland.[4] While these laws were later eased, including by theTreaty of Limerick which followed theWilliamite War in Ireland (1688–1691), by 1778 Catholics still held only around 5% of land in Ireland.[4]
TheUnited Irishmen Rebellion of 1798 (which sought to end British rule in Ireland) failed, and the1800 Act of Union merged the Kingdom of Ireland into a combinedUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.[4]
In the mid-19th century, the Great Famine (1845–1852)resulted in the death or emigration of over two million people. At the time, trade agreements were controlled by the British government and, whilst hundreds of thousands were suffering from hunger, Irish dairy products and wheat harvests were exported to Britain and other overseas territories.[4]
AHome Rule Bill was passed in 1912 but not brought into law due to the outbreak ofWorld War I in 1914. TheEaster Rising of 1916 resulted in the execution of the rebellion's leaders. In the1918 general election, the nationalistSinn Féin party won a majority of Irish seats, and in 1919 these elected MPs declared the independence of theIrish Republic. TheIrish War of Independence followed from 1919 to 1921. TheGovernment of Ireland Act of 1920 and theAnglo-Irish Treaty of 1921 resulted in the formation of theIrish Free State, while Northern Ireland's MPs opted out to formNorthern Ireland.[4] Many foreign powers, including the United States in 1924, recognised the Irish Free State's independence, and the futureRepublic of Ireland was globally recognised as a legitimate member of the world community by the time theUnited Nations was formed in the 1940s.