For much of the 17th and 18th centuries, relations between
England and Ireland were strife-torn and unhappy. England
had consistently treated Ireland as a poor Catholic
relation, to be colonised and controlled. English and Scots
migrants were often encouraged to settle in Ireland -
most notably by James I in Ulster. The resulting tensions
led to a series of rebellions.
In 1800, Ireland was governed by its own parliament,
dominated by Protestants. William Pitt's Act of Union was
intended to combine Irish and British parliaments at Westminster - in return for which the Catholics would be given certain freedoms (for example the right to stand in elections). However, George III refused to agree to Catholic emancipation, Pitt resigned, and the Union began in an atmosphere of distrust.
