Everything about The United Kingdom Of Great Britain And Ireland totally explained
The
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the
United Kingdom from
1 January 1801 until
12 April 1927. It was formed by the merger of the
Kingdom of Great Britain (itself having been a merger of the Kingdoms of
England and
Scotland) and the
Kingdom of Ireland.
Following
Irish independence on
6 December 1922, when the 1921
Anglo-Irish Treaty came into effect, the name continued in official use until it was changed to the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland by the
Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act of 1927. The part of the island of
Ireland that seceded from the United Kingdom in 1922 is today named
Ireland (although often described as the
Republic of Ireland to distinguish it from the island).
Origins
The merger of the two kingdoms followed the
Irish Rebellion of 1798. The rebellion, which shook the
Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland, was met with brutality on the part of the government resulting in the death of up to 30,000 at government hands through massacres, atrocities and terrors. The rebellion had been preceded by a century of
discriminatory rule in Ireland, where the overwhelming majority of the population were excluded or limited from public and economic life. As a result of this, the London government pushed the merger largely in response to the perception that the rebellion was provoked as much by the brutish misrule of the Ascendancy as by the efforts of the revolutionaries.
It also prevented a possible constitutional crisis over the mental health of King
George III, given that both separate kingdoms could in theory appoint different
regents.
The union was enacted by means of the
Act of Union, passed by both the
Irish Parliament and the
British Parliament.
Terms of the Union
Under the terms of the merger, the separate Parliaments of
Great Britain and
Ireland were abolished, and replaced by a united
Parliament of the United Kingdom. The new
House of Commons consisted of all
Members of Great Britain's
18th Parliament and 100 Irish MPs
co-opted in a special
election in 1801. On
6 December 1922, a year after the
Anglo-Irish Treaty was signed, the entire island of Ireland seceded from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and formed a new
Dominion, the
Irish Free State. However, as was widely expected,
Northern Ireland almost immediately exercised its right under the
Anglo-Irish Treaty, to
opt out of the Irish Free State and back into the United Kingdom. With that, the
Irish border become an international frontier.
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland continued in name until 1927 when it was renamed as the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland by the
Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act 1927.
Legacy
Despite increasing political independence from each other from 1922, and complete political independence since 1949, the union left the two countries intertwined with each other in many respects. Ireland used the
Irish Pound from 1928 until 2001 when it was replaced by the
Euro. Until it joined the
ERM in 1979, the Irish pound was
directly linked to the
Pound Sterling.
Decimalisation of both currencies occurred simultaneously on
Decimal Day in 1971. Coins of equivalent value had the same dimensions and size until the introduction of the
British Twenty Pence coin in 1982, the first new coin to be issued since the break with Sterling. British coinage, therefore, although technically not legal tender in the
Republic of Ireland was in wide circulation and usually acceptable as payment, and vice versa. The new
British Twenty Pence coin and later
British One Pound coin were the notable exceptions to this, as there was initially no equivalent Irish coin value, and when subsequently, Irish coins of these values were introduced, their designs differed significantly, thereby not allowing for 'stealth' passing of the coins in change.
Irish Citizens in the UK have a status almost equivalent to
British Citizens. They can vote in all elections and even stand for
parliament. As well as this, some people born in the
Republic of Ireland before 1949, but after 3rd March 1922, are
British Subjects.
British Citizens have similar rights to Irish Citizens in the Republic of Ireland and can vote in all elections apart from
Presidential Elections and
referendums. People from Northern Ireland can have dual nationality by applying for an
Irish passport in addition to, or instead of a
British one.
List of monarchs
Until 1927, part of the monarch's royal title included the words
King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1927 the words
United Kingdom were dropped from the royal title so that the monarch was instead styled as
King of Great Britain, Ireland...[andother palces]. The words
United Kingdom were restored to the monarch's title in 1953 with the reference to
Ireland replaced with a reference to
Northern Ireland.
Further Information
Get more info on 'United Kingdom Of Great Britain And Ireland'.
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