Religion, law, and power : the making of Protestant Ireland, 1660-1760 / monograph

This is a study of religion, politics, and society in a period of great significance in modern Irish history. The late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries saw the consolidation of the power of the Protestant landed class, the enactment of penal laws against Catholics, and constitutional conflicts that forced Irish Protestants to redefine their ideas of national identity. Connolly's scholarly and wide-ranging study examines these developments and sets them in their historical context. The Ireland that emerges from his lucid and penetrating analysis was essentially a part of ancien regime Europe: a pre-industrial society in which the dominance of a landed elite depended on maintaining the balance between coercion, deference, and an absence of credible pretenders to power; in which the ties of patronage and clientship were often more important than horizontal bonds of shared economic or social position; and in which religion remained a central part of personal and political motivation. This Is A Study Of Religion, Politics, And Society In A Period Of Great Significance In Modern Irish History. The Late Seventeenth And Early Eighteenth Centuries Saw The Consolidation Of The Power Of The Protestant Landed Class, The Enactment Of Penal Laws Against Catholics, And Constitutional Conflicts That Forced Irish Protestants To Redefine Their Ideas Of National Identity. Sean Connelly's Lucid And Penetrating Analysis Illuminates These Developments And Sets Them In Their Historical Context. -- Back Cover. A New Ireland. December 1659: 'a Nation Born In A Day' ; Settlement And Explanation ; A Foreign Jurisdiction ; Papists And Fanatics ; Counter-revolution Defeated -- An élite And Its World. Uneven Development ; Gentlemen And Others ; Manners -- The Structure Of Politics. A Company Of Madmen: The Politics Of Party 1691-1714 ; 'little Employments . . . Smiles, Good Dinners' ; Politics And The People -- Relationships. Kingdoms ; Nations ; Communities ; Orders -- The Inventions Of Men In The Worship Of God: Religion And The Churches. Numbers ; Catholics ; Dissenters ; Churchmen ; Christians -- Law And The Maintenance Of Order. Resources ; The Limits Of Order ; The Rule Of Law ; Views From Below: Disaffection And The Threat Of Rebellion ; Views From Above: Perceptions Of The Catholic Threat -- 'reasonable Inconveniences': The Theory And Practice Of The Penal Laws. 'raw Head And Bloody Bones': Parliamentary Management And Penal Legislation ; Debate ; The Conversion Of The Natives ; Protestant Ascendancy? The Consequences Of The Penal Laws. S.j. Connolly. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. This is a study of religion, politics and society in a period of great significance i modern Irish history. The late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries saw the consolidation of the power of the Protestant landed class, the enactment of penal laws against Catholics, and constitutional conflicts that forced Irish Protestants to redefine their ideas of national identity.; S. J. Connolly's scholarly and wide ranging study examines these developments and sets them in their historical context. The Ireland that emerges from his lucid and penetrating analysis was essentially a part of ancien regime Europe: a pre-industrial society in which the dominance of a landed elite depended on maintaining the balance between coercion, defence, and an absence of credible pretenders to power; in which the ties of patronage and clientship were often more important than horizontal bonds of shared economic or social position; and in which religion remained a central part of personal and political motivation Frontmatter LIST OF FIGURES (page ix) LIST OF TABLES (page x) REFERENCES AND CONVENTIONS (page xi) INTRODUCTION (page 1) 1 A New Ireland (page 5) 2 An Elite and its World (page 41) 3 The Structure of Politics (page 74) 4 Relationships (page 103) 5 The Inventions of Men in the Worship of God: Religion and the Churches (page 144) 6 Law and the Maintenance of Order (page 198) 7 'Reasonable Inconveniences': The Theory and Practice of the Penal Laws (page 263) EPILOGUE (page 314) BIBLIOGRAPHY (page 318) INDEX (page 339) This is a study of religion, politics and society in a period of great significance in modern Irish history, the late 17th and early 18th centuries. It explores the consolidation of Protestant power, the enactment of penal laws against Catholics, and constitutional conflicts.