CCEA A-Level History 4010
England 1509–58AS Unit 1
England 1603–49AS Unit 1
Britain in the Age of Reform 1830–80AS Unit 1
Italy and Germany 1815–71AS Unit 1
Germany 1919–45AS Unit 1
Spain and Europe 1556–98AS Unit 2
The Ascendancy of France in Europe 1660–1714AS Unit 2
Ireland 1823–67AS Unit 2
France 1815–70AS Unit 2
Russia 1914–41AS Unit 2
Italy's Quest for Great Power Status 1871–1943AS Unit 2
Crown and Parliament in England 1625–1714A2 Unit 1
Ireland Under the Union 1800–1900A2 Unit 1
The Causes and Consequences of Great Power Conflict 1848–1945A2 Unit 1
The American Presidency 1901–2000A2 Unit 1
Clash of Ideologies in Europe 1900–2000A2 Unit 1
England 1558–1603A2 Unit 2
Ireland 1685–1714A2 Unit 2
Ireland 1778–1803A2 Unit 2
Partition of Ireland 1900–25A2 Unit 2
Ireland Under the Union 1800–1900
The Protestant ascendancy and the supporters of the Union
- 3 things to know
- A2 Unit 1
Overview
Who supported the Union before 1885, the position of the Church of Ireland and the reasons the ascendancy declined after 1870.
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
How far had the position of the Ascendancy changed by 1900?
Give three reasons why unionism succeeded in resisting Home Rule before 1900
Questions from this subtopic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
What is meant by the Protestant ascendancy?
Model answer
The Protestant ascendancy was the Anglican landed and professional class that had monopolised political power, land and office before 1800 and that continued after the Union to hold the estates, the magistracy, county government, Trinity College and the established church.
- 2
How did Protestant attitudes to the Union change between 1800 and the 1830s?
Model answer
Protestant opinion was deeply divided in 1800, with much of the Ascendancy opposing a measure that abolished their own parliament, but once Emancipation and O'Connell's mass movement appeared the same class came to regard the Union as the only guarantee of their position.
- 3
Which groups supported the Union in the middle decades of the century?
Model answer
Support came from the landed proprietors, the Church of Ireland, the Orange Order and popular Protestantism, the northern manufacturers, and increasingly from Presbyterians who had once been the most radical part of the population.
- 4
Why did Ulster Presbyterians move from radicalism towards unionism over the century?
Model answer
Presbyterians gained legal equality and the increased regium donum, prospered in Belfast's industrial economy, were drawn together by the evangelical revival, and came to see O'Connell's movement as Catholic in character rather than as the reform they had wanted in 1798.
- 5
Who was Henry Cooke, and why does he matter to the development of unionism?
Model answer
Henry Cooke was the dominant figure in conservative Presbyterianism, who allied his church with the Church of Ireland and with Toryism at the Hillsborough demonstration of 1834 and publicly challenged O'Connell when he came to Belfast in 1841.
- 6
How was county government in Ireland controlled before 1898?
Model answer
Counties were run by grand juries of unelected landowners, who levied the county cess and controlled roads, bridges and much local expenditure, so landed Protestants governed localities in which they were often a small minority.
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