Irish Island divided into two

Irish Island divided into two

The UK, which decided to withdraw from the European Union through a referendum in 2016, has faced another challenge. Next to England is another island. Ireland is an independent country, but Northern Ireland (14,131 sq km) in the north of Ireland is a British land. It is the coexistence of Ireland and England (Northern Ireland) on one island.

Unlike the UK, Ireland plans to stay in the European Union. But Ireland is a British land, so it falls out of the European Union. So far, we are all members of the same European Union, and we have had free access, but in the future we may have to set up a 'border' between Ireland and Northern Ireland.

The island of Ireland is a little smaller than South Korea. Northern Ireland is a little smaller than Gangwon Province. How did Ireland become parted?

◇ Invading England and Ireland

Ireland has been invaded by its neighboring country, England, since the second half of the 12th century. In 1542 King Henry VIII conquered Ireland completely. Since then, Ireland has become dominated by the British. At that time, the land that the British settled in was the present Northern Ireland.

The two countries are different in race and religion. The Anglo-Saxon tribes in Protestantism are the main force in Britain, while the Celtic tribes in Ireland believe that Catholicism is the main axis. Britain took over Ireland and took away the indigenous land and handed it over to the newly arrived Englishmen in Ireland. The majority of Irish people have borrowed land from British landowners to become farmers.

So the Irish people did not have anything to eat, so I was tasting potatoes. In Europe at the time, potatoes were called "Devil's Crops" because they look odd and grow up in the ground rather than on the ground. Still, it is very nutritious and grows well in rough terrain. In the early 19th century, 40% of Irish people stocked potatoes. At this very moment 'potato famine' struck. The 'potato blight' in the 1840s revolved, and the potato that was fine turned sour.

◇ 1 million people starved to death 'potato famine'

I was so upset that I had a heavy snowfall and a cold wave. The Irish people, who were hard to reach for, could hardly win the winter. Even when the Irish people were dying, the British government did not take aggressive measures. There are records that 1 million people starved to death in Ireland for four years from 1845 to 1849, and there are records that 1.25 million people died. A similar number of survivors left the country. In Ireland as a whole, roughly 20 to 25 percent of the population is said to have died or lost their homes at this time. Many of the Irish Americans who live in America today are descendants of those who crossed.

After the famine passed, the survivors complained to the UK. Since then, the independence movement has been going on. In 1916, when the First World War was in full swing, it caused a massive armed uprising. Ireland was independent after the First World War, but it was only "half independent." Only 83% of the Irish islands (84,421 km2) became independent, and Northern Ireland remained a British land.

◇ Blood Sunday that shot unarmed citizens

In Northern Ireland, there have been many bloodsheds since the 20th century. Among Northern Ireland, indigenous people who believed in Catholicism wanted to get out of British rule and integrate with Ireland. I am discriminated against the British people who believe in Protestantism. In the late 1960s, a massive resistance movement was set on fire. After about 30 years of shooting, 36,900 shooting and 12,600 bombing were reported. I was caught by him and killed 3254 people and injured 50,000 people.

The bloodshed is a blood Sunday. In 1972, the Irish indigenous people rallied in the city of Londonderry on the Foyer River in Northern Ireland. The British government put in airborne troops to suppress ordinary civilians who were not armed. On January 30 of that year, the Air Police Department fired at unarmed protesters, killing 14 people. The British government wrapped up the airborne troops, saying, "There were people armed in protesters and explosives came out of their houses." The whole world criticized the British government for this.

In 2010, the British government admitted that after 12 years of research, "the bloody Sunday incident was wrong." David Cameron At the time, the British prime minister reported his findings to Congress and said: "What happened on the bloody Sunday was not justified, nor could it be justified."

Several Irish factions in Northern Ireland met in Belfast in 1998 and agreed to end the conflict. Ireland has given up its sovereignty over Northern Ireland, and Britain has said, "I will not stop it if Ireland decides to remain in the UK for a while, vote, and leave England to join Ireland." After the dispute was lulled, the UK decided to withdraw from the EU, and the issue of "should or should not border the border between Ireland and Ireland."