Irish Culture Dbq

From 1800 to 1916, Ireland and England’s relationship consisted of many controversies due to their different cultural and religious practices, and their different views on the rightful governmental authority and economic equality. Culturally, the Irish were more mythical, folky, and spoke different languages; the English looked at these under developed cultural characteristics and believed that the English culture was superior and that it was their duty to enforce their ideas, language, technologies, and hierarchy over the native Irish cultures. Many Irishmen and women completely revolted against the English-superiority mentality and continued to fight for their native customs. Additionally, Roman Catholicism was still the Irish’s national

The Irish were no special case. Since the moment the English arrived, they thought the Irish cultural traditions were mythical, backwards, and barbaric compared to their culture advanced by science, technology, and conquest. With this superior mentality, the English refused to let the Irish speak their own languages, would not let them work in certain professions for fear that they would taint the work, and taught them using English textbooks. English literature was emphasized and Irish wasn’t worth reading. During this Irish cultural oppression, the English believed the Irish should thank them from bringing civilized culture to the Irish homeland (Doc 5). To the fellow English conservatives point of view, the Irish culture was just another lucky recipient to be blessed with the advancement of English culture. To conservatives, the Irish were ancient and the English were advanced, therefore England had to make the Irish realize their ancient faults and correct them. The Irish, however, were anything but grateful for this English invasion upon their customs and traditions. The Irish were not fools. After seeing many countries fall under England’s empire, they knew that their culture could not co-exist with England’s, especially when their cultures were so very different (Doc 13). In the end, there could only be one cultural victor. The English prematurely assumed that their culture would claim the prize because it had done so in many of its other colonies. However, the Irish people were not too willing to give up the fight. Many National Leagues formed to continue the native Irish culture against England’s wishes. One group, the Daughters of Ireland, urged the Irish to continue using the Irish Celtic language, read Irish literature, create Irish music and art, and discourage everything culturally tied to England (Doc 8). This league proved very effective