Used By Michael Collins example essay topic

Michael Collins (Liam Neeson in the movie) was a product of the history created by the colonizing of Ireland and molded by the incidents of his time. In 1916, the British government ruled Ireland with a firm and cruel hand. When a group of Irish rebels staged a six-day siege at Dublin's General Post Office, only one of the leaders was able to escape execution, Eamon De Valera, an American citizen of Irish / Spanish blood. De Valera takes control of Sinn Fein after being released from prison in 1917. Michael Collins averted punishment, but while in prison became convinced that a new approach was needed to free Ireland from British rule. He formed the Irish Volunteers, who used a combination of terrorist tactics and guerilla warfare against the British.

By employing espionage, using an inside informant to learn what the British plans were and what they knew about Collins and his supporters, the volunteers were able to hit the British at their weak points. His skills and talent for warfare made a major impact on the British, and he became the hero of the new Republican Movement. In the movie, Collins, talks of his, 'talent for mayhem' (Michael Collins, 1996, Warner Brothers), being as much a burden as a gift. De Valera was often in conflict with Collins in terms of the methods and approach of their struggle. Traveling to the United States to gain support for the Republican cause, De Valera is away from the action for a year and a half.

Upon his return, Collins and the Volunteers tactics have forced a victory, as the British government announced that they were willing to formally negotiate. The negotiations are to be held in England and De Valera insists that Collins go, once the radical now the negotiator. I believe De Valera understood that full freedom of Ireland would be impossible and he wanted the ability to remove himself from the outcome. Collins helped to negotiate the peace settlement that formed the Irish Free State but failed to win full independence for his country, agreeing to the partition between the Protestant North and the Catholic South. This agreement was flawed according to De Valera, who believed there could be no separation of Ireland as part of the agreement. Collins countered that the treaty was the best attainable at the time and believed that it was a crucial first step that could lead, in time, to true freedom for the Irish.

The Irish parliament accepts treaty, De Valera is strongly opposed and advocates violence among pro- and anti-treaty factions. Michael Collins was branded a traitor by many of his countrymen and was killed in an ambush after attempting to meet with De Valera in the Cork area. The Movie portrays the British as the antagonist and Michael Collins as the protagonist. In terms of history, the British as a colonizing power gave little consideration to the Irish in any capacity. I believe that if the same circumstances existed here today, many Michael Collins' would emerge to lift the oppressive rule of the English. Using history is an indicator, many of our forefathers called themselves, "patriots", and were called, "terrorists".

My impression from the movie is that Michael Collins was a necessary consequence of his times, which in the end proved adequate in history's eye for Irish independence. Many of the tactics used by Collins are similar to those developed by Carlos Marighella or by Che Guevara. Che Guevara looked at tactics that were designed to start out as isolated groups that later merge into guerilla columns and finally to a conventional army. The rural areas were the focus for Che Guevara from which he grew the revolution. Terrorism played a limited role for Che Guevara, to small urban centered actions to keep the government off balance and tie up the logistics.

Carlos Marighella on the other hand focused on terrorism as an apolitical model to revolution. He moved the violence from the countryside to the city, with the basis of revolution being violence. It never really worked out for either Che Guevara or Carlos Marighella. Their works, however, have been a model for modern terrorists and guerillas alike. Many of the tactics used by each of these men are similar to those used by Michael Collins, though neither was in Collins league in my opinion. Collins tactics were focused at the antagonist, where Carlos Marighella allowed for general violence of any kind, and Che Guevara used targeted violence.

I would say that Che Guevara's tactics were more consistent with Collins. Jonathan R. White, Terrorism, Thomas Wadsworth 2002 Director Neil Jordan, Michael Collins, Warner Brothers 1996.