Acts of Union 1800
Acts uniting Great Britain and Ireland into the United Kingdom.
The Acts of Union 1800 were two laws, one passed by the British Parliament and the other by the Irish Parliament, that merged the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland into a single state called the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. These laws took effect at the turn of the new year, between the last day of 1800 and the first day of 1801. The newly combined parliament convened for the first time on 22 January 1801. In the United Kingdom, parts of these acts are still in effect, though some sections have been changed or removed. The Republic of Ireland, however, has completely abolished them.
Quick Facts
- Parliament
- Parliament of Great Britain
- Citation
- 39 & 40 Geo. 3. c. 67
- Territorial extent
- Great Britain
- Royal assent
- 2 July 1800
- Commencement
- 31 December 1800—1 January 1801
Facts from the source article.
Background
Before these acts, Ireland had been in personal union with England since 1542, when the Crown of Ireland Act 1542 proclaimed Henry VIII King of Ireland. The King of England had been technical overlord of the Lordship of Ireland since the 12th century. Both kingdoms later entered personal union with Scotland through the Union of the Crowns in 1603. In 1707, England and Scotland united into the Kingdom of Great Britain. The Irish Parliament, subject to restrictions making it subordinate to the English and later British Parliament, gained effective legislative independence through the Constitution of 1782. Frustration among the Catholic majority, among other reasons, led to the 1798 rebellion, which involved a French invasion and sought complete independence. The rebellion was crushed with much bloodshed. The union was motivated partly by a belief it would alleviate political rancour, exacerbated by both reactionary loyalists and United Irishmen. Catholic emancipation was being discussed in Great Britain, and fears that a newly enfranchised Catholic majority would change the Irish government contributed to London's desire to merge the Parliaments.
Passage
Complementary acts were enacted by the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of Ireland. The Irish Parliament had recently gained legislative independence under the Constitution of 1782, and many members, notably Henry Grattan, guarded that autonomy; a motion for union was rejected in 1799. Only Anglicans could be members of the Irish Parliament, though most of the population were Roman Catholic, with many Presbyterians in Ulster. Under the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1793, Catholics regained the right to vote if they owned or rented property worth £2 annually. Wealthy Catholics strongly favoured union, hoping for rapid emancipation and the right to sit as MPs, which came only with the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829. From Great Britain's perspective, union was desirable due to uncertainty after the French Revolution and the 1798 rebellion; a Roman Catholic Parliament could break away and ally with France, but the same measure within the United Kingdom would exclude that possibility. Differing powers given to the Prince Regent by the Irish and British Parliaments during George III's illness also contributed. The final passage in the Irish House of Commons turned on about a 16% relative majority, with 58% of votes, and similar in the Irish House of Lords, partly through bribery with peerages and honours.
Provisions
The Acts of Union were two laws passed by the British and Irish parliaments, which came into effect on 1 January 1801. The British act was the Union with Ireland Act 1800, passed on 2 July 1800, and the Irish act was the Act of Union (Ireland) 1800, passed on 1 August 1800. These laws ratified eight articles agreed upon earlier by both parliaments. The first four articles created a single parliament. In the House of Lords, the existing British members were joined by four Church of Ireland bishops, who rotated each session, and 28 Irish representative peers elected for life. The House of Commons kept its pre-union British members and added 100 Irish members. Article five united the Church of England and the Church of Ireland into one Protestant Episcopal church called the United Church of England and Ireland, while leaving the Church of Scotland independent. Article six set up a customs union, but customs duties on some goods between Britain and Ireland stayed in place for ten years because trade was suffering from the war with revolutionary France. A 2020 ruling by the High Court of Northern Ireland, upheld by the UK Supreme Court, found that parts of this article as they applied to the UK had been impliedly repealed by the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2020. Article seven required Ireland to pay two-seventeenths of the United Kingdom's expenses, a figure based on the ratio of Irish to British foreign trade. Article eight formalised legal and judicial matters. Many Irish Catholics supported the union because they were promised Catholic emancipation, which would allow them to sit as MPs in the UK Parliament. King George III blocked this, saying it would violate his Coronation Oath, and emancipation did not happen until 1829. The separate Irish Army was also merged into the British Army.
Flags and styles
The Union Flag, created as a consequence of the union, combined the St George's Cross (deemed to include Wales), the St Andrew's Saltire of Scotland, and the St Patrick's Saltire to represent Ireland. A new royal title was adopted: 'GEORGE the THIRD by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland King, Defender of the Faith'. The moribund English claims to the French throne were not continued; the title 'King of France' was abandoned and the fleur-de-lis were removed from the Royal Standard.
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