<human>:  When did the Troubles start in Northern Ireland?
<bot>: The Troubles started in the late 1960s and lasted until the late 1990s. The Troubles were a series of armed conflicts between Irish republicans and British loyalists in Northern Ireland. The conflict began as a result of the partition of Ireland in 1921, and was a major factor in the eventual breakdown of the United Kingdom and the creation of the modern independent state of Ireland.