The Statute of Westminter (December 11, 1931) recognized the independence of all the dominions of the British Empire, of which the Free State was once a part. The Statute of Westminster also gave free, autonomous and independent status to Canada, Newfoundland, New Zealand and the Union of South Africa.
For many centuries, Ireland and England have had a very difficult and contentious relationship. At issue was England’s colonialist desire to impose its politics, language and religion on Ireland, to the detriment of Irish customs.
After centuries of violent confrontations, most of which ended in failure on the Irish side, Ireland finally entered a War of Independence in 1919. Things soon accelerated, and the Irish independence movement won its case with the signing of the Treaty of London (December 21, 1921), which authorized the creation of an Irish Free State…
However, this text placed the Irish Free State under Dominion Status, obliging Ireland to swear allegiance to the English Crown, and to concede Northern Ireland to the official ownership of the British Empire. This agreement was not to the liking of some Irish people, who ended up confronting the Treaty’s supporters during the Irish Civil War (1922/1924).
At the end of the war, the Irish Free State had not moved an inch, nor had Northern Ireland. The 2 are still under British influence, although the Free State is no longer considered a dominion.
December 11, 1931 was the fateful date that finally marked the full independence of the Irish Free State, and crowned it once and for all as the “Republic of Ireland”. This was a major step forward in Irish life: the Irish were now free from British interference, and could pursue their own cultural and religious policies without interference from England.
Despite this, the Statute of Westminster did not return Northern Ireland to the Republic of Ireland, leaving the North under British rule as a dominion.
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