2009/04/20 by Michael T. Davis · 1 citation
Social Sciences · Arts and Humanities · #Irish and British Studies #Historical Studies of British Isles #Scottish History and National Identity
paper · doi:10.1002/9781405198073.wbierp1500
openalex publication_date 2009/04/20 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/14
The United Englishmen was an underground revolutionary society that existed in England between about 1796 and 1802 and which sought to overturn the government by means of a coordinated insurrection in England, Ireland, and Scotland. The foundations for the United Englishmen were laid after attempts to seek political reform through constitutional avenues were unsuccessful in the first half of the 1790s. Following the passage of the repressive Two Acts in 1795, sections of the English democratic movement shifted their tactics to a more physical force approach to promoting reform. In this climate, a reinvigorated United Irish society was able to find willing recruits in England. Political tours by United Irishmen in the winter of 1796–7 helped disseminate the prospect of insurrection and foster an interest in establishing societies modeled on the Irish example. Many English radicals, particularly in the northern manufacturing districts, were lured by the opportunity offered through the United movement and the first cells of the United Englishmen were established in late 1796.