Editing William Pitt the Younger (section)

====Ireland====
Pitt maintained close control over Ireland. The Lord Lieutenants were to follow his policy of Protestant control and very little reform for the Catholic majority. When the opposition Portland group joined Pitt's ministry, splitting the Foxite opposition, Pitt was put in a difficult situation. He wanted to replace his friend Westmorland, who was Lord Lieutenant, with Lord Camden, whom he could trust. However, one of Portland's group, Earl Fitzwilliam, wanted the position. Pitt, to keep Portland on side, appointed Fitzwilliam but allowed the new Lord Lieutenant to believe that he had free range to reform the government in Ireland. Thus, when Fitzwilliam's reforms became public in London he was quickly recalled and Camden replaced him. This ensured Pitt had his man in Dublin Castle, whilst also retaining Portland and his group. The unfortunate effect was to produce optimism amongst Irish Catholics who wanted political reform.<ref>Alter 'Pitt' Volume 1 (2024) ''pp''239-263</ref>   In May 1798, the long-simmering unrest in Ireland exploded into outright rebellion with the [[United Irishmen Society]] launching a revolt to win independence for Ireland.{{sfn|Evans|2002|pp=67–68}} Pitt took an extremely repressive approach to the United Irishmen with the Crown executing about 1,500 United Irishmen after the revolt.{{sfn|Evans|2002|pp=67–68}} The revolt of 1798 destroyed Pitt's faith in the governing competence of the Dublin parliament (dominated by [[Protestant Ascendancy]] families). Thinking a less sectarian and more conciliatory approach would have avoided the uprising, Pitt [[Acts of Union 1800#Passage|sought an Act of Union]] that would make Ireland an official part of the United Kingdom and end the "[[Irish Question]]".{{sfn|Evans|2002|p=68}} The French expeditions to Ireland in 1796 and 1798 (to support the United Irishmen) were regarded by Pitt as near-misses that might have provided an Irish base for French attacks on Britain, thus making the "Irish Question" a national security matter.{{sfn|Evans|2002|p=68}} As the [[Parliament of Ireland|Dublin parliament]] did not wish to disband, Pitt made generous use of what would now be called "[[pork barrel politics]]" to bribe Irish MPs to vote for the Act of Union.{{sfn|Evans|2002|pp=68–69}}

[[File:History of the Irish rebellion in 1798 - with memoirs of the union, and Emmett's insurrection in 1803 (1854) (14797903353).jpg|thumb|[[Irish Rebellion of 1798]]]]
Throughout the 1790s, the popularity of the [[Society of United Irishmen]] grew. Influenced by the American and French revolutions, this movement demanded independence and republicanism for Ireland.{{sfn|Evans|2002|p=67}} The United Irishmen Society was very anti-clerical, being equally opposed to the "superstitions" promoted by both the Church of England and the Roman Catholic church, which caused the latter to support the Crown.{{sfn|Evans|2002|p=65}} Realising that the Catholic church was an ally in the struggle against the French Revolution, Pitt had tried fruitlessly to persuade the Dublin parliament to loosen the anti-Catholic laws to "keep things quiet in Ireland".{{sfn|Evans|2002|p=66}} Pitt's efforts to soften the anti-Catholic laws failed in the face of determined resistance from the families of the [[Protestant Ascendancy]] in Ireland, who forced Pitt to recall [[William Fitzwilliam, 4th Earl Fitzwilliam|Earl Fitzwilliam]] as [[Chief Secretary for Ireland]] in 1795, when the latter had indicated he would support a bill for Catholic relief.{{sfn|Evans|2002|pp=66–67}} In fact, the actions of Fitzwilliam had been encouraged by Pitt who wanted an excuse to remove Fitzwilliam and replace him with the Earl of Camden, however, Pitt had managed this feat without witnesses.<ref>Alter 'Pitt' Volume 1 (2024) ''pp''239-63</ref> Pitt was very much opposed to Catholic relief and the repeal of their political disabilities which were contained in the Test and Corporation Laws. <ref>Alter 'Pitt' Volume 1 (2024) ''see pp''232-7, 248-9</ref> In much of rural Ireland, law and order had broken down as an economic crisis further impoverished the already poor Irish peasantry, and a sectarian war with many atrocities on both sides had begun in 1793 between Catholic "[[Defenders (Ireland)|Defenders]]" versus Protestant "[[Peep o' Day Boys]]".{{sfn|Evans|2002|p=67}} A section of the Peep o'Day Boys who had renamed themselves the [[Orange Order|Loyal Orange Order]] in September 1795 were fanatically committed to upholding Protestant supremacy in Ireland at "almost any cost".{{sfn|Evans|2002|p=67}} In December 1796, a French invasion of Ireland led by General [[Lazare Hoche]] (scheduled to coordinate with a rising of the United Irishmen) was only [[Lazare Hoche#Ireland and Austria|thwarted by bad weather]].{{sfn|Evans|2002|p=67}} To crush the United Irishmen, Pitt sent [[Gerard Lake, 1st Viscount Lake|General Lake]] to [[Ulster]] in 1797 to call out [[Protestant Irish]] militiamen and organised an intelligence network of spies and informers.{{sfn|Evans|2002|p=67}}