partition

Division of a country into two or more nations. Ireland was divided into Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic under the Government of Ireland Act 1920. The division of the Indian subcontinent into India and Pakistan took place in 1947. Other examples of partition include Korea 1953 and Vietnam 1954.

partition

In mathematics, of a set, to divide into parts.

partition

Separation of Ireland into the Irish Free State and Northern Ireland under the Government of Ireland Act (1920). This was recognized by the Anglo-Irish Treaty (1921) following the Anglo-Irish War (1919–21). In the south, the nationalists were given independence from Britain within the British Commonwealth, with the setting up of the mainly Roman Catholic Irish Free State. In the north the unionists gained control over six of the nine counties of Ulster, those with a Protestant majority, and remained part of the UK as Northern Ireland.

The movements of Irish nationalism, Irish republicanism, and unionism all failed to achieve what they actually wanted in 1921, and the results of this were violence in both the new Irish Free State and Northern Ireland.

Impact of partition in the Irish Free State The nationalists led by the Sinn Fein leaders Michael Collins and Arthur Griffith had compromised with Britain and accepted the effective independence of 26 of the 32 counties of Ireland. However, they did not achieve total independence for the whole of Ireland and had to accept the British monarch as their head of state, as well as the continuing presence of British soldiers in the new Irish Free State (until 1922). The result of this compromise was the Irish Civil War (1922–23). Sinn Fein and their military wing, the Irish Republican Army (IRA), both split between pro-Treaty and anti-Treaty factions. Eventually a truce was declared, although by this time Michael Collins had been murdered by anti-Treaty forces for his acceptance of the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty.

Impact of partition in Northern Ireland In the new state of Northern Ireland the Protestant majority elected 40 members of the Unionist Party (later the Ulster Unionist Party) in a parliament of 52 members. This gave the Unionists total power over Northern Ireland. They set about ensuring this control by gerrymandering (fixing) the local elections to guarantee Unionist Party control even in areas with a Catholic majority such as Londonderry. In 1922 the B-Specials, the armed section of the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), were used to control the situation. The Unionist Party felt under threat from the anti-Treaty politicians in the new Irish Free State in the south, and these fears were heightened by the continuing campaign of terrorist violence in Ulster from the IRA. This made them keen to pass laws to ensure their own control over the new state of Northern Ireland.

Border problems between the two states The main unresolved issue from the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty was the border between the two states. This contributed to the split between the unionists and nationalists in Ireland. A supposedly temporary border had been agreed in 1920 under the Government of Ireland Act. This had reduced the size of Ulster from the traditional nine counties down to six to guarantee a Protestant majority. Under the terms of the Anglo-Irish Treaty a Boundary Commission was set up in 1924 to finalize the border between the two states in Ireland. The commission proposed to alter the border by transferring Catholics to the Free State in areas where they were in a clear majority and the transfer would not damage the territorial integrity of Northern Ireland. The British government rejected the proposals of the Boundary Commission in 1925 and the border remained the same as that of 1920.

There was resentment among Catholics all across Ireland at the failure to redraw the border in favour of the Irish Free State. The Unionist government in Northern Ireland led by James Craig was pleased, however, as it kept Northern Ireland as large as possible, while still maintaining the Protestant Unionist majority in the country.

British–Irish relations following partition Overall the outcome of the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty partitioning Ireland was to go a long way to solving the problems of British–Irish relations. In 1922 most British troops left the Free State and, although the Free State remained nominally under the control of Britain, it was effectively independent. The Irish had achieved most of the goals they had aimed for since the rebellion of Wolfe Tone and the United Irishmen in 1798. The Protestant unionists of the north were relieved that they were still British and did not have to live under Catholic rule with the rest of the Irish. However, the violence that followed the treaty reflected the fundamental divisions that existed in both countries over the treaty, and were to last throughout the 20th century.

Recognition of partition by the Republic of Ireland Following ‘the Troubles’ in Northern Ireland that developed in the 1960s, the Northern Ireland peace process of the 1990s resulted in the Good Friday Agreement (1998) in which the Republic of Ireland agreed to recognize partition for the first time, rescinding their territorial claim of Northern Ireland.