This course explores the history of Ireland, Scotland and Wales, and draws numerous comparisons with the contemporary political and institutional issues. During the 18th century, Ireland was nominally an autonomous Kingdom with its own Parliament; in actuality it was a client state controlled by the King of Great Britain and supervised by his cabinet in London. The great majority of its population, Roman Catholics, were excluded from power and land ownership under the penal laws. The second-largest group, the Presbyterians in Ulster, owned land and businesses but could not vote and had no political power. The period begins with the defeat of the Catholic Jacobites in the Williamite War in Ireland in 1691 and ends with the Acts of Union 1800, which formally annexed Ireland in a United Kingdom from 1 January 1801 and dissolved the Irish Parliament.
In Scotland, the 18th century opened in 1707 with the Union of Parliaments which marked the prelude of an institutional and economic fusion with England. However, this union was not deprived of confrontations, disillusions and open conflicts. Armed uprisings and political jousting dominated the Scottish scene until 1745. After the last Jacobite uprising was crushed, the Highlands were opened to anglo-saxon influences and the second half of the century witnessed an economic and cultural boom. Thanks to a refined society and an intellectual elite, Edinburgh came to be known as the “Athens of the North” and the Scottish Enlightenment pushed Scotland at the forefront of European culture. The Scots’ ambition to be fully part of the Union translated into their significant contribution in the success of the British Empire.
Under England’s authority, Wales became part of the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707 and then the United Kingdom in 1801. Yet, the Welsh retained their language and culture despite heavy English dominance.
This course therefore navigates between the 18th and 21st centuries to try and reflect on the future of the UK’s constitution.
- Enseignant: Godard Desmarest Clarisse