Whiteboys

views updated May 17 2018

Whiteboys was the name adopted by agrarian rebels in Ireland from 1761 onwards. The immediate cause of the outrages seems to have been the enclosure of common land for pasture, but grievances soon included tithes and extortionate leases. Bands of armed men rode at night with comparative impunity, levelling walls, maiming cattle, and burning houses. The centre of the movement was Munster, where the native Irish were poorest. Supported by widespread intimidation, it was difficult to deal with and continued for some decades.

J. A. Cannon