Thread: Following the call of our Ex-Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, I’m delighted to now provide a history of Britain & Ireland for Brexiteers. Are you sitting comfortably? Then I will begin. There’ll be lots of subjugation, will of the people & taking back control. 
Ice age ended c13,000y ago with both islands colonised by hunter gatherers (loin cloths & log boats). Building of Newgrange in Ireland (c3,200BC) & then Stonehenge (c2,400BC). According to Geoffrey of Monmouth, a Welsh 12th C historian, the latter was stolen from Ireland
About 1500BC the Celtic speaking peoples arrived in Ireland & Britain. They gave us the Irish & Welsh languages. Britain was then invaded by the Romans (55-43BC) & subjugated to foreign rule & plumbing. The Romans left by the 5thC. Ireland looked on, bemused.
England & Wales plunged into barbarity & Project Fear until Ireland reintroduced learning & Christianity to that benighted island, Britain. England was then invaded (5th-6th C) & taken over by the Germans who gave them their language (English is a dialect of German).
The Germans pushed the native Brits West & North into Wales, Cornwall & Scotland.
Then colonisation/invasion of Northern Britain by Irish people even gave that land their name, Scoti (The Irish were anciently known as the Scots, thus Scotland)
historyireland.com/medieval-histo…
Then colonisation/invasion of Northern Britain by Irish people even gave that land their name, Scoti (The Irish were anciently known as the Scots, thus Scotland)
historyireland.com/medieval-histo…
In the 9th C the Vikings invaded both islands. The Norwegians predominated in the plundering of Ireland & founded Dublin, shaping that city’s accent. Danes created the Danelaw in England & subjugated the locals there. They also introduced Danegeld (cf £39 Billion)
Vikings settled in Normandy, France, before later invading both Ireland & Britain as Normans. In Britain they quickly had the natives subdued & under the yoke. King William of Normandy controlled England with an iron fist (1066). Britain was now a Norman ‘vassal-state’
Meanwhile in Ireland the Normans had a bash at domination, but like the Vikings, failed to master the natives. Unlike the British, the Irish refused to become a subject people. In England, French became the official language. In Ireland Irish, English, Latin & French flourished.
In Ireland two systems continued to operate - the Hiberno Norman (mainly in the East & Cities) & the Gaelic (elsewhere). In England control by the Anglo-Normans was absolute. The Black Death wiped out 1/3 of Britain but had a bigger impact on the Hiberno-Normans in Ireland.
High numbers of Hiberno-Normans (who lived in the miasma of towns & castles) were killed by the plague (1349) which allowed a Renaissance of Gaelic culture in Ireland. In England the balance between landlord & peasants changed as manpower became more valuable.
The Anglo-Normans owned lands in France, including Brittany. To avoid confusion they designated the smaller area Little Britain & the larger, Great Britain. Great meant large in size rather than importance.
England was invaded & colonised by the Welsh under the Tudors (Tewdwr, 1485). The Tudors sought to increase the area of Ireland under ‘English’ control. They ‘cleansed’ parts of Ireland of the natives & planted British people in their place (Ulster, Offaly & Laois) from 1556.
Despite control of Irish cities, England was unable to subjugate Ireland in totality, particularly in the West & North. In England sectarianism broke out & bloodshed over religion was rife. England exported that sectarianism to Ireland.
In 1603 James VI of Scotland took over England. Scottish lords ruled. British religious sectarianism & oppression were such that the state was grossly unstable resulting in Civil War (1642-51) which was then exported to Ireland by the English
In 1688 England was taken over by the Dutch & William of Orange ruled there. He too exported violence, intolerance & war to Ireland. Religious oppression was such that Protestantism became the state religion. Most Irish had not joined the new religion & had no rights
By 1714 England was back under German rule with George I sitting on the throne & speaking German. Control by the Crown in Ireland was now almost absolute but under an Irish Parliament. Colonisers became more Irish than the Irish themselves
The 18th C saw the beginnings of the British Empire. Indigenous peoples everywhere saw their countries invaded, their peoples enslaved & their culture suppressed by the UK. Even as the bloodshed spread, the colonies (US) began to fight back. Ireland had the 1798 rebellion.
During this time Britain also fought in European wars. Indeed war would be a constant cultural approach for that island. By the 19th C much of the world had been colonised by Britain. Ireland was (apparently) finally subdued. For the first time there was a United Ireland.
England invented the Industrial Revolution & Concentration Camps. They also stood by as 1 million Irish people died of famine (1845-9). English politicos saw the death toll as a punishment for Irish laziness. Vast numbers of Irish fled to American & British cities for food.
Britain had 2 world wars in the 20th C. In WWI 49,000 Irish died. The US rescued Britain both times. Ireland had a rebellion in 1916, became separate in 1922 & finally Independent in 1949. The British border was formed in Ireland in 1922. Most British colonies became independent.
The Suez crisis destroyed Britain’s reputation (1956) & ended that country’s pretensions to being a world power. Meanwhile an independent Ireland, having been the victim of foreign violence & famine, became a leading force for peace in the world.
Both Britain & Ireland joined the EC (EU) in 1973. British politicians & journalists played on jingoism by fabricating European stories & blaming Europe for areas within British control. Ireland integrated into continental European culture.
Since the foundation of the Irish state (due to English inherited sectarianism) the country had been a de facto theocracy. With the influence of the diaspora & the EU, Ireland moved to being the most progressive country in Europe in the early 21st C.
In Britain the Brexit vote (which resulted in a rounding error result) led to the collapse of the British polity. No thought was given to the Belfast Agreement in the vote & Brexit ran into the sand. The Irish polity remained stable & supported by EU27.
So that’s the history of Britain & Ireland (Top tip - Global Britain is a problematic term for post colonial countries reminding them of centuries of British oppression). Most Irish will consider this a pro-British account but then that’s what Brexiteers want 😉.
