Causes of the Easter Uprising

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Causes of the Easter Uprising

In the mid 1800s the course of Irish history was changed forever. The Irish were devastated by The Great Potato Famine of the mid to late 1800s. Population declined from over eight million people in 1840 to under 4.5 million in 1900 due to death and immigration (O’Rourke 2). The poorer Irish people, unlike many British citizens, relied almost entirely on agriculture. The Irish immigration not only affected Ireland and Britain, but its affects were felt over much of the world, including the United States. The famine had a significant effect on the future of Irish history including Home Rule legislation, The Easter Uprising of 1916, and the eventual creation of an Irish free state in the early twentieth century.

In the early 1900s, Irish nationalists were fed up with the British rule that had dominated Ireland since its existence. The Irish in this situation closely resemble the American Colonists prior to the American Revolution. The Irish felt as if the British did not represent them well and they wanted to run their own country and govern themselves. There were many small rebellions and confrontations between some Irish citizens and the British army all throughout Ireland’s history with the purpose of lowering the morale of British troops that occupied Ireland, or in rebellion to specific actions by the British. However, there never was any organized uprising with a goal of completely eliminating the British like the Easter Uprising in 1916.

Irish nationalists planned to take Dublin and all of Ireland by force and rid themselves of the British. On the morning of Monday April 24, 1916, the day after Easter, a force between 1,000 and 1,500 men and women began a rebellion that they hope...

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...e uprising had on the young Irish nationalists. Both Connolly and Pearse were strong leaders that were well respected and influenced many of the men that they worked with in the uprising. Though Eamon de Valera was an extremely powerful speaker and tremendous leader, he still received all of his early guidance from the leaders of the uprising.

The Easter Uprising is one event that can be attributed to Ireland starting down the path of independence and self-government. The efforts and deaths of those involved seemed to show the defeat of the rebellion, but the ensuing support for the revolution that followed showed that the uprising was an overwhelming success. Today those men and women who gave their lives in the Easter Uprising as well as all the other efforts and rebellions that led to the formation of the Irish Free State are regarded to as national heroes.

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