Renunciation Act

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Renunciation Act, 1783. Pressure from the Irish volunteers during the American War forced the British government in 1782 to repeal the Declaratory Act of 1719 (6 Geo. I c. 5) which had affirmed the authority of the British Parliament over Ireland. After a few weeks, Henry Flood launched a new agitation, insisting that the concession was inadequate. To ‘remove all doubts’ a Renunciation Act (23 Geo. III c. 28) was hastily passed in 1783 explaining that the Irish people were subject only to laws passed by the Irish Parliament. But as long as the lord-lieutenant was a British cabinet minister, Britain remained in control.

J. A. Cannon