Ireland and empire

: Colonial cultures and politics, 1882-1898

Abstract

This thesis broadly surveys the cultural, economic and political impact of the British Empire on Irish society in the late nineteenth century. Case studies are used to assess aspects of Ireland’s experience of empire. Two periods of major British imperial activity are examined: the Egyptian and Sudanese crises of 1882-85, and the reconquest of the Sudan, 1896-98. The timing of these events are crucial from an Irish perspective; they occurred after the tumultuous Land War, and before the second Boer War, the latter significantly influenced Irish nationalist attitudes towards empire. Responses in Ireland are considered along with responses in Britain for comparative purposes. The project seeks to make a contribution to the history of Ireland and the British Empire in the late nineteenth century.