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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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Emancipation Act
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(1829) The act which removed most of the barriers preventing *Roman Catholics from holding public office, from which they had been excluded since 1678 in the hysteria following the fictitious *Popish Plot. Earlier attempts at emancipation had led to the *Gordon Riots of 1780 and the resignation of *Pitt in 1801. The act of 1829 was prompted by the election to the House of Commons of the Irish leader Daniel *O'Connell and was promoted by *Peel; its crucial clause dropped the requirement of an oath denying the spiritual authority of the pope. The act also enabled Roman Catholic peers to take their seats in the House of Lords, one of the first to do so being the *Earl Marshal.
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