Why were troops sent into Northern Ireland in 1969
Why were troops sent into Northern Ireland in 1969? The essay will look at the different factors why the government decided to send in the British troops to Northern Ireland on the 14th August 1969. I will look at the short and long term causes of why the troops were sent and the political, legal, social and religious factors and try to link these together, also I will rank the factors in order of significance. ... Northern Ireland was affected by the radical wave which swept the world in 1968. The Civil Rights Movement arose from the changed situation in Northern Ireland and was heavily influenced by the movement internationally. ... The Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association was formed in response to Unionist discrimination against Catholics. ... With the influence of Martin Luther King it showed the Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, James Chichester-Clarke, the Catholics might be able to win the fight for they demands. ... 9% Protestants, sometimes led the Catholic marchers into a traps and this ended up in violence and so Catholic marches were banned. This angered the Catholics, they felt that if the Protestants should get to march they why shouldnt they. In trapping and stopping the Catholics march the Protestants had caused the Catholics to become angrier and more determined to fight, so the troops were send in to restore order with the Catholics and the Protestants because even if the troops only restore order with the Catholics the Protestants would still provoke the Catholics into another battle. Also, the Catholics didn’t mind the British troops so they would have cooperated more with the troops than they would have with the Protestant police. On 12th August 1969 the Apprentice Boys march from Belfast to Londonderry to commemorate the Siege of Derry in 1689 which they had won against the Catholics, this made the Catholics angry. ... Within hours rioting had escalated, police were stoned and petrol bombed as they made their way in riot gear into the Bogside. ... So, on 14th August 1969 The British Government sent the army into Northern Ireland.