On December 6, 1921, the Anglo-Irish Treaty was signed in London by representatives of the British government and Irish delegates, including Michael Collins and Arthur Griffith. This pivotal agreement concluded the Irish War of Independence and provided for the establishment of the Irish Free State as a self-governing dominion within the British Empire. The treaty's terms, particularly the Oath of Allegiance to the British Crown and the partition of Ireland, proved highly controversial, leading to deep divisions within the Irish nationalist movement and ultimately precipitating the Irish Civil War.
