The militia in eighteenth-century Ireland : in defence of the protestant interest / Neal Garnham.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Garnham, Neal.

Series:

Irish historical monographs series ; 8.

Irish historical monographs series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Protestantism--History.

Protestantism.

History.

Ireland--Politics and government.

Ireland.

Politics and government.

Physical Description:

ix, 198 pages ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Woodbridge, Suffolk ; Rochester, NY : Boydell Press, 2012.

Summary:

Throughout the eighteenth, century Ireland faced the possibility of both foreign invasion and internal rebellion. The defence of the state was undertaken by a large garrison and a substantial fleet, but the Crown's Protestant subjects were also expected to play their part. Formed into a militia, Ireland's Protestants were required to appear in arms to face potential invaders and prospective rebels. Service for most men was compulsory from 1716 with the result that, in theory at least, a force of more than 150,000 men might at one time have been placed in the field. By contemporary standards, this was a massive army. In the event, this Irish militia was never truly tested on the battlefield. Its importance came to lie not in its size or its military worth. Instead, the militia emerged as a key social institution, binding together some and excluding others. Militia service also marked out men as true citizens and real members of the Irish Protestant nation. Moreover, the idea of a militia came to be established as a key political issue and institution. Irish Patriots first called for the force to be established and reformed but would then reject it as a dangerous imposition. The Irish administration supported the force through necessity, though it largely distrusted Irish Protestants in arms. Political debates about the militia came to reflect changing views about the nature of the Irish establishment and administration, and the shifting nature of Irish Patriotism. They eventually also centred around the relative merits of a professional soldiery and a citizen army in the defence of a nation.

This book charts the origins and establishment of a statutory militia in Ireland, and its reform and decay. It also examines its replacement by a volunteer army and the eventual reinvention of the Irish militia in the 1790s in a form never considered before. In doing so, it offers new light on aspects of eighteenth-century Irish society and politics and seeks to put Ireland's militia in a wider eighteenth-century perspective. Book jacket.

Contents:

Introduction: Militia issues 1

1 To 1691: Precursors 5

2 1692-1716: Establishment 14

3 1716-59: Maintenance 35

4 1760: Action 60

5 1761-69: Reform Debated and Attempted 73

6 1769-78: Reform Achieved 89

7 1778-82: Volunteering Ascendant 101

8 1782-85: Fencible Men and the Militia Reconsidered 123

9 1785-93: Indecision and an Act 142

10 Conclusions 164.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781843837244

1843837242

OCLC:

761854541