Ireland Dance History

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Pages: 5

A History of Ireland and Its Dance

The history of Ireland is a long and rich one. The small island has a past with England that has proven to be very influential on its culture. The history includes foreign rule, miserable failed rebellions, a catastrophic famine and a mass exodus of its people. All dance forms somehow reflect the culture from which it came, and because if that I believe that the strict rule of Great Britain had a huge influence on how we see Irish dance today. The first people of Ireland were the Celts. They first came to Ireland more than 2,500 years ago. They were divided into several tribes, but the largest tribe was the Everni. As time moved from the Bronze to Iron age, the tribes began to grow larger and more separate. These tribes were lead by their own kings. Much like the kings of England, these rulers would protect their own while forming alliances with each other. The system was very comparable to the feudal system of
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Because kings didn’t necessarily own their people, it took a while for Christianity to take hold. Because of that, the religious conversion of the country was a very natural one. The nation believed more in monetary compensation for crimes and wrongdoing and less in capital or brutal punishment. This idea of a non-barbaric justice system fit well into the idea of Christianity, and the people liked the social aspect of the religion. It was around this time that England became a dominating world power. Henry II conquered Ireland in the late 12th century. Ireland was considered a colony by England, and many English immigrated to Ireland when that occurred. Ireland was a huge draw to people because of its rich and plentiful land, as well as the fact that Britain had less of a rule there. The reformation was a huge change of ideas in the Catholic Church, brought on by Martin Luther. This movement sparked a large amount of change in all of