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Why were British troops sent into Northern Ireland in 1969?
The conflict between Northern Ireland is part of a larger conflict with a long-term history between the Irish Catholics and the Irish Protestants. The conflict between these two groups became so violent that Ireland had to be divided. Some Catholics found themselves in the minority in the Protestant controlled North, where they were treated unfairly sparking a series of Civil Rights marches in the late 1960’s. The violence escalated, and this is why British Troops were sent to the area to maintain the peace.
The struggle between Irish Catholics and Irish Protestants had a long-term history. The Nationalist’s wanted an Independent Ireland but their rebellion, the Easter Rising on 1916, failed because the British quickly defeated them. It was difficult to control the situation as hundreds of constables were resigning because they feared for their lives. Both sides were constantly gunning down innocent people. The Government of Ireland Act 1920 failed miserably so it was decided on to create the Anglo-Irish treaty which consisted of Ireland being free state and the Irish MP’s would have to swear an oath of allegiance to the King. The British Army was to be removed but Northern Ireland was to be kept a part of the United Kingdom and a Boundary Commission would decide on the exact border between the North and South.
Northern Ireland was in Protestant control. In the Northern Ireland parliament there was always a majority of Unionist MP’s, even when the Protestants were in a minority. The control was established in local councils by only restricting the vote to householders and property owners. Boundaries were reconstructed to contain the highest possible number of Unionist councillors. This was a method called “gerrymandering”. Catholics were treated with no respect and were left to live in poverty. The living conditions were terrible and efforts were made to put the situation, affected by gerrymandering, right. The new Prime Minister of Northern Ireland promised there would be reforms to help the Catholics, but they were slow to come into action. The Civil Rights Association in the 1960’s was then formed.
New groups were formed in an attempt to secure equality of civil rights. The Prime Minister made attempts to improve the affairs between the two communities, but this made the Protestants believe the Catholics were questioning their superiority. In retaliation the Orange Order re-emerged, as did the UVF, which lead to Catholic buildings being attacked and several Catholics were murdered. The police took little action and instead of protecting the Civil Rights marchers, some of them joined in attacking them in Derry. There was a demand for more Civil Rights not only in Northern Ireland but also in the USA. The general culture of the 1960’s/70’s was that of equality and rights, people believed they were not being treated fairly.
The Catholics felt very threatened and realised they were to get no help from the police so they barricaded themselves in Derry’s Bogside area. The situation worsened and the [next page]