Colonized towards the century. IV a. C. from Celtic populations that overlapped the pre-existing Prittani, of unknown origin, the island formed a series of small states including that of Connaught prevailed to the point that its king was considered the “high king” by all the others , thus constituting a feudal unit ante litteram. Escaped from the Roman conquest, it was converted to Christianity starting from 432 by St. Patrick. The new religion was welcomed with great favor by the local rulers and with it the Latin culture spread: the Irish monasteries became authentic hotbeds of knowledge in the dark centuries of Europe that it was not confined to the island but spread over the continent as if to give back part of what he had absorbed from it. At the end of the century. IX began the raids and partial conquests by the Vikings favored by the wars that broke out between the local kings. Only in 1014 the island was freed and in 1103 the last attempt made by the Norwegians was cut off, but the freedom of the island did not last long: attributed by Pope Adrian IV to Henry II of England in 1154, was invaded by them in 1171 and conquered thanks to the help of the clergy. Ireland was then traveled by English adventurers who, after having stolen and plundered, settled there; the attempts of Giovanni Senza Terra to remedy this they had no effect due to the king’s political weakness. A Parliament on the English model was established in Dublin, to which in 1310 the representatives of the cities (the “Municipalities”) were also admitted.

Throughout the century. XIII raged the struggle between English adventurers and powerful Irish families, but the efforts of these to repel them were in vain despite the temporary help of the Scots: much of the island remained to the English. The situation improved when the descendants of the first invaders opposed the arrival of new adventurers, who in the meantime had merged with the local element, and in a part of the island, Connaught, the Gaelic language returned to flourish. and the arts. The outbreak of the Hundred Years War between England and France (1338) advised the first to restrict the area of ​​occupation to a few counties on the east coast (Pale) which were subjected to forced Anglicization, while the rest of the island was considered enemy territory and therefore broke with it every report (Kilkenny Statutes, 1366). Irish life regained vigor even if the danger loomed on the island that, once the conflict with France was over, the English would try to reconquer it starting from the Pale, which happened with the Tudors: Henry VII in 1494 submitted the Dublin Parliament to own control and Henry VIII in 1541 he had himself proclaimed king of Ireland. The Anglican reform, favorably welcomed by the Irish at first, was opposed when, starting from the reign of Edward VI (1547-53), Calvinist principles were introduced: numerous revolts, all fruitless, broke out against Elizabeth I Tudor and James I Stuart, despite the latter’s good will to deal with Catholics. A decision was then made that proved fatal for the future of Ireland: Protestant settlers were sent to the northern part (Northern Ireland or Ulster) and the unity of the island was thus broken. Terrible fights broke out between Catholics, Anglicans and Puritans, severely repressed by Cromwell between 1649 and 1652 and by King William III of Orange in 1689-90, when the ousted James II Stuart tried to reconquer the throne from Ireland. The issue became more and more social, as well as religious, as most of the land was given to Protestants. In addition, Catholics were excluded from the Dublin Parliament and the cattle trade and wool production hindered.

According to campingship, Ireland is a country located in Europe. For a century, conditions in Catholic Ireland were poor. Only starting from 1778 the laws that oppressed it were attenuated, but the Irish sympathy for revolutionary France returned to worsen them: the Parliament of Dublin was suppressed and the island reduced to an appendage of Great Britain. When economic liberalism triumphed there, the Irish situation worsened drastically, aggravated by the agricultural crisis produced by the destruction of the potato crop, the food of the poor. Fenian) who, combining his action with the more moderate action carried out in the British Parliament by Parnell and Davitt, ended up creating in Great Britain a movement of understanding for the fate of Ireland. A Gladstone must, between 1871 and 1881 the measures which improved the fortunes of landowners. However, the Home Rule, approved by the House of Commons, was rejected in 1886 and in 1893 by that of the Lords. The fall of Gladstone (1894) and the return of the Conservatives to power in 1895 blocked any initiative in favor of Ireland where in 1899 a new revolutionary movement arose, the Sinn Fein. It was only in 1905 that the Liberals, returning to power in London, took up the Irish question again, without immediate success, again due to opposition from the House of Lords. An alliance between Liberal and Irish deputies succeeded in 1911 to pass the law under which it was no longer possible for Lords to reject a bill passed by the Municipalities more than twice. In 1913 self-government was thus voted, but the outbreak of the First World War the following year prevented its implementation. Under Pearse’s leadership, the Irish separatists promoted an insurrection in Dublin in 1916 that was suffocated in blood. under the leadership of Pearse, a violent insurrection in Dublin, which was suffocated in blood. Ulster, mostly Protestant, had a large autonomy and continued to be part of the United Kingdom, while the rest of Ireland formed a Dominion within the Commonwealth. This solution, approved by the Dublin Parliament on 7 June 1922, was to be the harbinger of future conflicts. In the Catholic part, a heated nationalism developed, which led to the resurrection of the Gaelic language and a progressive detachment from Great Britain. In 1937 the Republic of Ireland was thus constituted, which in 1949 also left the Commonwealth, becoming completely independent. For contemporary history see the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.