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bebootsOh, Ulster Unionists... So I've been reviewing for my Irish history exam! Let me tell of some of the interesting - and awesome stuff I've been learning about.
First of all, there was Charles Parnell. He was an Irish MP in the British parliament in the late 1800s. After the 1800 Act of Union, Ireland no longer had an independent parliament; Parnell aimed to change that. He was aiming for what they called "Home Rule" - essentially, "Dominion" status, like what Canada had up until 1982, meaning control over domestic affairs (Britain still controls foreign affairs, but hey, that means that they just don't have to organize for defense, right?). Anyway... Some of his tactics were hilarious, especially in the context of 19th century British politeness.
Essentially, his tactics were: annoy the British into submission. He would have his MPs make countless, meaningless amendments to proposed bills. At the time, there was no limit to how long an MP could talk - and Parnell took advantage of this fact. Once the MP had the floor, well... He would talk for hours. Days, even. Limits were put in place BECAUSE of him. Parnell's MPs ground the House of Commons to a halt. Nothing could get done. Finally, they were actually kicked out (temporarily) so the rest of the parliament could actually get stuff done.
I also want to tell you guys about the woman pictured up above: Countess Markievicz. She was pure awesome. She was actually an Irishwoman, but married a Polish count, and later divorced him, hence the un-Irish sounding title and name.
She caught my attention first because I may actually be related to her, somehow - my last name is Markewicz (pronounced Mark-eh-vich, the cz making a "ch" sound). My Irish history prof actually confused me because when he was handing back the midterms last month, he raised his eyebrow at my last name and gave a sort of half-bow, saying "Countess". I had no idea what all of that was about until I had a reading several weeks later on the Easter Rising of 1916.
Essentially, this woman was in the nationalist movement in Ireland in the early 20th century. She founded the League of Woman - which were militaristic female nationalists who weren't allowed in male paramilitary groups. She trained women, and had them marching down the street - during the Great War.
She and her ladies just showed up, uninvited, during the Easter Rising of 1916 against the British, and kicked ass. The Rebellion failed, though, and she was only one of two main military leaders NOT executed (the other was De Valera, who was technically an Irish-American, and as the British were trying to encourage the Americans to join in the war effort against Germany and Austria-Hungary, they didn't want the execution of an American citizen to blight their negotiations). The reason the Countess wasn't executed was... because she was a woman. She didn't even plead her belly (claim she was pregnant) or anything: they just let her go. Man, that would never happen today...
Just to show you how badass this woman was, see these famous photographs of her:
These are STUDIO photographs of her in military uniform (and this was before the days of even flapper skirts - trousers weren't exactly standard woman wear).
I also wanted to talk briefly about the Ulster Unionists, whom I think are the Kings of Irony for the moment. You know how Queen Elizabeth is still Queen of Great Britain and Northern Ireland? Well, they're the reason why. After the Home Rule Bill was passed in 1912, there was a two-year delay until it was to be implemented (in 1914). This made all of the Unionists (those who supported a continued Union between Britain and Ireland) very panicky - most of them were in the North, in Ulster.
The Ulster Volunteer Force was formed in 1913. Their goal was to fight against Home Rule. Let me spell this out: they were 100,000 men ready to take up arms against the Home Rule Bill in a technically TREASONOUS plot. They were going to fight the British... to stay British.
Irony = top score. My hat's off to you guys.
Here's another picture of Countess Markievicz before you go.
Stylish AND revolutionary. She can look good in anything.
Also, I've decided to write my Honor's Thesis on American Civil War Medicine! (Although really, shouldn't I be working with my new crush, the Countess? ;) )
First of all, there was Charles Parnell. He was an Irish MP in the British parliament in the late 1800s. After the 1800 Act of Union, Ireland no longer had an independent parliament; Parnell aimed to change that. He was aiming for what they called "Home Rule" - essentially, "Dominion" status, like what Canada had up until 1982, meaning control over domestic affairs (Britain still controls foreign affairs, but hey, that means that they just don't have to organize for defense, right?). Anyway... Some of his tactics were hilarious, especially in the context of 19th century British politeness.
Essentially, his tactics were: annoy the British into submission. He would have his MPs make countless, meaningless amendments to proposed bills. At the time, there was no limit to how long an MP could talk - and Parnell took advantage of this fact. Once the MP had the floor, well... He would talk for hours. Days, even. Limits were put in place BECAUSE of him. Parnell's MPs ground the House of Commons to a halt. Nothing could get done. Finally, they were actually kicked out (temporarily) so the rest of the parliament could actually get stuff done.
I also want to tell you guys about the woman pictured up above: Countess Markievicz. She was pure awesome. She was actually an Irishwoman, but married a Polish count, and later divorced him, hence the un-Irish sounding title and name.
She caught my attention first because I may actually be related to her, somehow - my last name is Markewicz (pronounced Mark-eh-vich, the cz making a "ch" sound). My Irish history prof actually confused me because when he was handing back the midterms last month, he raised his eyebrow at my last name and gave a sort of half-bow, saying "Countess". I had no idea what all of that was about until I had a reading several weeks later on the Easter Rising of 1916.
Essentially, this woman was in the nationalist movement in Ireland in the early 20th century. She founded the League of Woman - which were militaristic female nationalists who weren't allowed in male paramilitary groups. She trained women, and had them marching down the street - during the Great War.
She and her ladies just showed up, uninvited, during the Easter Rising of 1916 against the British, and kicked ass. The Rebellion failed, though, and she was only one of two main military leaders NOT executed (the other was De Valera, who was technically an Irish-American, and as the British were trying to encourage the Americans to join in the war effort against Germany and Austria-Hungary, they didn't want the execution of an American citizen to blight their negotiations). The reason the Countess wasn't executed was... because she was a woman. She didn't even plead her belly (claim she was pregnant) or anything: they just let her go. Man, that would never happen today...
Just to show you how badass this woman was, see these famous photographs of her:
These are STUDIO photographs of her in military uniform (and this was before the days of even flapper skirts - trousers weren't exactly standard woman wear).
I also wanted to talk briefly about the Ulster Unionists, whom I think are the Kings of Irony for the moment. You know how Queen Elizabeth is still Queen of Great Britain and Northern Ireland? Well, they're the reason why. After the Home Rule Bill was passed in 1912, there was a two-year delay until it was to be implemented (in 1914). This made all of the Unionists (those who supported a continued Union between Britain and Ireland) very panicky - most of them were in the North, in Ulster.
The Ulster Volunteer Force was formed in 1913. Their goal was to fight against Home Rule. Let me spell this out: they were 100,000 men ready to take up arms against the Home Rule Bill in a technically TREASONOUS plot. They were going to fight the British... to stay British.
Irony = top score. My hat's off to you guys.
Here's another picture of Countess Markievicz before you go.
Stylish AND revolutionary. She can look good in anything.
Also, I've decided to write my Honor's Thesis on American Civil War Medicine! (Although really, shouldn't I be working with my new crush, the Countess? ;) )
