About this Event
'Every breeze from the west brings news of fair liberty' - Ulster and the American Revolution.
During the 18th century, up to 200,000 Ulster Presbyterians emigrated to what would become the United States, fleeing religious and economic hardships. Many supported the American Revolution, which was widely welcomed by Presbyterians and praised by both the United Irishmen and moderates, despite the constitution allowing slavery. Some migrants helped build democratic institutions, while others moved westward, sometimes becoming slave owners or participating in conflicts with Native Americans. The ideas which propelled the United States to Independence then flowed back across the Atlantic fostering a renewed sense of radicalism in Ulster.
Belfast born John Gray is the former long-standing librarian of the city’s historic Linen Hall Library. He is Chair of Reclaim the Enlightenment, a charity formed in 2017 to celebrate the town’s progressive era and as a trigger for radical interventions in the present. As a social historian he has been widely published.
This event is supported by the Departmet for Communities through USA250NI and is part of a series of six public events being delivered in the city of Armagh to mark the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence by the United States.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Cardinal Ó Fiaich Memorial Library, 15 Moy Road, Armagh, United Kingdom
GBP 0.00
