Passage: The prospect of reform inspired a small group of Protestant liberals in Belfast to found the Society of United Irishmen in 1791. The organisation crossed the religious divide with a membership comprising Roman Catholics, Presbyterians, Methodists, other Protestant "dissenters" groups, and some from the Protestant Ascendancy. The Society openly put forward policies of further democratic reforms and Catholic emancipation, reforms which the Irish Parliament had little intention of granting. The outbreak of war with France earlier in 1793, following the execution of Louis XVI, forced the Society underground and toward armed insurrection with French aid. The avowed intent of the United Irishmen was to "break the connection with England"; the organisation spread throughout Ireland and had at least 200,000 members by 1797. It linked up with Catholic agrarian resistance groups, known as the Defenders, who had started raiding houses for arms in early 1793. To augment their growing strength, the United Irish leadership decided to seek military help from the French revolutionary government and to postpone the rising until French troops landed in Ireland. Theobald Wolfe Tone, leader of the United Irishmen, travelled in exile from the United States to France to press the case for intervention.
How many religious divide did the organisation cross? How many years after its founding did it take the Society of United Irishmen to reach 200,000 members? How many years after raiding houses did the Defenders link up with the United Irishmen? How many years after the founding of the Society of United Irishmen did the society have to go underground due to war and the execution of Louis XVI? How many years after the founding of the Society of United Irishmen did the society have to go underground? How many years did it take for The Society of United Irishmen to reach 200,000 members? How many years passed between the founding of the Society of United Irishman and Louis XVI's death? Where did the Defenders get their weapons? Which even happened first, the outbreak of war in France, or the execution of LouisXVI? Which happened first, the execution of Louis XVI, or the French entering war with Ireland? Which happened first, the growth of the Sociey of United Irishman's membership or raiding by the Defenders? Which occurred first, the founding of the Society of United Irishmen, or the war with France? Who did the United Irishmen receive assistance from?