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The Acts of Union 1800 merged Great Britain and Ireland on paper. What it couldn
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August 1

Acts of Union: Britain and Ireland Merge Into One

The Acts of Union 1800 merged Great Britain and Ireland on paper. What it couldn't merge was three centuries of resentment. Ireland had no manufacturing base, a landowner class that sent its rents to London, and a Catholic majority barred from Parliament. The Act passed partly through bribery — Irish MPs were offered titles, pensions, and positions. Daniel O'Connell spent the next three decades trying to undo it. The Union lasted formally until 1922. The arguments it created are still running.

August 1, 1800

226 years ago

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