Catholic Emancipation Act

Historical Context Note

Litencyc Editors (Independent Scholar - Europe)
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(10 Geo IV. c. 7) Formally called

An Act for the Emancipation of His Majesty’s Catholic Subjects

removed restraints placed on Catholics by the Test Act (1673) and Corporation Act (1661). Catholics were allowed to serve as members of corporations and parliament. The cause of the Act was the effective exclusion of the majority of Irish citizens from political participation, an exclusion thrown into relief by the election of the catholic Daniel O’ Connell in a by-election in County Clare. The Tory government under Peel realised that the only way to contain the Irish problem was to enable their representation in the London parliament, a view not shared by many Tories, nor by the King. Tory disunion would lead to their defeat in the election of 1830 and the passing of the 1832 Reform Act.

130 words

Citation: Editors, Litencyc. "Catholic Emancipation Act". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 16 February 2005 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=171, accessed 19 March 2024.]

171 Catholic Emancipation Act 2 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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