Protestant Ascendancy

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Beginning in the 17th century, The Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland was characterized by the social, political, and legal monopolization by a minority of Protestant landowners, clergymen, and others of prestigious profession. In 1695, five years after the Protestant Victory at Battle of the Boyne, William III of England introduced a set of Penal laws. These Penal Laws were directed towards Irish Catholics and prohibited them from owning land, intermarrying, holding state office, and various other social and political activities. Accompanied with the Penal laws, Irish Catholic land confiscations grew and the number of Catholic landowners reduced drastically to just 14%. In 1704, the Catholics were prevented from buying any new land, and existing …show more content…

Ascendancy focused on and revolved around Anglicanism, and included people of Norman, Old English, and Cromwellian descent. The Ascendancy became an aristocracy of self-made men; men who regardless of their background put rigorous effort and work into making a name for themselves. These men demonstrated the idea that even the poor could rise. Trinity College in Dublin had a huge impact on the members of the Ascendancy, and was seen as the essential institution of the Ascendancy. Trinity represented the mixture of levels in Ascendancy culture, and those who were not from families of extreme wealth, (sons of shoe makers, builders, etc.) but wanted to get a foot hold in the door of aristocracy would attend Trinity. After, they would push for a seat in …show more content…

Foster discusses how important of a role architecture played in the ascendancy. The architecture expressed the attitudes felt by the Protestant Irish towards England. For example, in Dublin large and beautiful buildings and homes were constructed to show the English that their architecture could not only be matched, but trumped. Foster explains how the architecture “indicated a realization that their status was not international, but colonial, and a determination to compensate for it.” The ascendancy were deeply focused on creating such lavish buildings and homes not only for aesthetics, but to convince themselves and others that they would remain in power for a long time. They were insanely insecure about the English and worked on a sub-conscious level to prove to everyone that they and their homes represented change within the nation. Much of the culture of the ascendants stemmed from this insecurity-they resented their dependence on the English and feared they would break their monopoly. On the other side, while the Protestants were increasing their wealth and constructing palace-like residences on their estates, the Catholic Irish were dealing with devastation from poverty, lack of land and struggles to maintain failing

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