THE KING AND THE CATHOLICS: The Fight for Rights 1829

Weidenfeld & Nicholson, 2018. 1st Paperback Edition 1st Printing. Soft cover. New/No Jacket Issued. 2 era B&W and Color Photo & art reproduction sections. CONDITION: NEW 2018 Weidenfeld & Nicholson trade paperback, first paperback edition, first printing. 2 era B&W / color photos & art reproduction sections. CONTENT: The Gordon Riots of 1780 were the worst civil disturbance in British history, causing 285 deaths and widespread looting in central London. The riots had begun as an anti-Catholic protest against the Papist Act two years earlier, which intended to reduce official discrimination against British Catholics after over one hundred years of penalties against them. It is against this backdrop that the 50-year battle for Catholic Emancipation developed, culminating in the Roman Catholic Relief Act of 1829. A hugely sensitive issue during the Napoleonic Wars, William Pitt's government had fallen in 1806 over it. Its successful passage followed a vigorous campaign on the issue by Irish lawyer Daniel O'Connell, who had firm support from the Prime Minister - the Duke of Wellington, no less - as well as from the Whigs and liberal Tories. The Act permitted Catholics to sit in the parliament at Westminster, something denied O'Connell when he won a by-election seat for Clare in 1828. Robert Peel, the Home Secretary, who had until then opposed emancipation (and had, in 1815, challenged O'Connell to a duel) concluded that although 'emancipation was a great danger, civil strife was a greater danger'. Fearing a revolution in Ireland, Peel drew up the Catholic Relief Bill and guided it through the House of Commons. To overcome the vehement opposition of the House of Lords and King George IV, the Duke of Wellington worked tirelessly to ensure its passage through the Lords and threatened to resign as Prime Minister if the King did not give the Royal Ascent. The King and the Catholics is a gripping character-driven piece of narrative history at its best. It is also a distant mirror of our times, posing the abiding question of balancing the religious rights of the individual against the contravention of the laws of the land.