plantations Flashcards
(14 cards)
what was ireland like in the 16th century
· Population = 750,000
· Very few towns, most people lived in the countryside.
· King of England = Lord of Ireland but he had very little control outside the Pale.
· In the Pale, people spoke English, followed English common law and English customs.
· Outside the Pale, Ireland was ruled by:
- Anglo-Irish lords, like the Desmonds of Munster -> followed English common law
- Gaelic Irish lords, such as the McCarthys of Cork -> followed Brehon law, ruled by a Taoiseach
why did ireland matter?
- Introduce ‘superior’ English culture and laws
- Spread the Protestant religion
- Protect England from attack through Ireland
efforts to conquer ireland
Efforts to conquer Ireland
- Military conquest. Expensive.
- Plantation.
- Land was confiscated from rebellious chiefs and lords.
- The land was given to loyal settlers or planters often brought over from England.
- The planters would use English law, languages and customs.
- There were 3 plantations carried out by English monarchs: Laois-Offaly (1556, Mary 1), Munster (1586, Elizabeth 1) and Ulster (1609, James 1
the nine years war, what was it?
The Ulster Plantation
- The Nine Years War:
-1594- a great rebellion broke out against English rule in Ireland.
-Lead by Hugh O’Neill, the Earl of Tyrone, this was a last ditch effort by the Gaelic Irish lords to slow the extension of British rule into Ireland.
-Asked Philip II of Spain for help.
-The Battle of Kinsale (1601); Spanish Armada arrived here only to be defeated by an English army led by Lord Mountjoy.
-1607: Flight of the Earls; O’Neill and the Ulster nobility fled to Rome.
-The new king James I confiscated their lands.
the ulster plantation in practice, 1609
-Started 1609.
-Fermanagh, Armagh, Tyrone, Derry, Donegal and Cavan were planted.
-The size of estates was capped at 2,000 acres, unlike the Munster plantation.
-Servitors (men who had served in the English army during the Nine Years War) were awarded land.
-Tories (Gaelic Irish who lost their land) were often forced to live as outlaws, scavenging for food and attacking settlers.
-County Derry was given over to the control of the London Trade Guilds. It was renamed Londonderry.
-Many Scottish Presbyterians (converted by John Knox) came to Ulster at this time. Like servitors, they would not be driven from their land.
-Undertakers built stone houses and bawns (stone-walled defensive enclosures) to protect themselves. E.g. Tully Castle, Co. Fermanagh.
-Towns such as Belfast and Omagh were built. Towns offered planters greater protection.
-The use of land changed radically
ireland before vs after the plantation
Before; pastoral farming (keeping sheep and cows)
After; arable farming (growing crops like wheat and oats)
-Flax became a popular crop. Later during the industrial revolution this attracted industry to 19th century Ulster.
-Irish labourers continued to work the land as they had done before the plantation, but land ownership had changed.
-The native population lost control of the land and this created a level of resentment that would grow over the centuries
what impact did the ulster plantation have on identity.
- Two distinct identities emerged; unionist and nationalist.
· Unionist: many are Protestants and view themselves as British e.g. David Ames competed in Rio for team GB. Unionist organisations include the DUP (political party) and Orange Order.
· Nationalist: many are Catholic and view themselves as Irish e.g. James McClean plays for ROI. Nationalist groups include Sinn Féin, the GAA and the IRA (paramilitary group, uses violence to achieve aims).
· However, many people in NI would view themselves as British and Ireland e.g., former rugby player Trevor Ringland says there is an ability of those from NI to ‘move between different identities’.
- Conflict has often arisen because of these different identities e.g. the 12th of July marches often end up in violence. The Troubles were a 30 year period of violence in NI.
- A new population of English or Scottish settlers settled in Ulster. Between 1690-98, 80,000 Scottish settlers came to Ulster.
- A new religion now dominated parts of Ulster as the new settlers were Presbyterian or Anglican.
- Landownership changed from native Irish (Tories) to the new settlers. This often led to conflict e.g. in 1641, 12,000 Protestants were killed.
- New towns like Belfast and Coleraine were built. They had wide streets and a diamond shape in the centre.
- Planters introduced arable farming. They also grew flax.
- Use of the Irish language declined.
- English Common Law replaced Brehon Law.
how did the plantations influence identity?
- the new population.
the planters = scottish or english - presbyterian or Church of England
brought own clergy, took over catholic churches and built their own.
1641, there was 40,00 in ulster.
1690 - 1698, 80,000 scottish people came to ulster due to famine.
new planters = bartons, parkes, scot= adams, armstrongs, elliotts, humes, stewarts.
who was the first monarch to try to put plantations in ireland, what happened?
the laois-offaly plantation by MARY I , 1556, Planters attacked by native irish. It was a failure.
who was the second monarch to try to put plantations in ireland?
Elizabeth I, munster, 1586, new towns like bandon were created along with new farming methods, few planters came from england. It was both a success and a failure.
who was the last monarch to try put plantations in ireland.
the ulster plantation, james I, 1610, nothern ireland exists because a majority of people in ulster see themselves as british, not irish. It was a success.
how did the ulster plantation influence identity (2)
new towns
more than 20 were built eg coleraine, letterkenny, strabane,
straight, wide streets,
central square/diamond. surrounded by stone walls.
how did the ulster plantation influence identity (3)
the economy
introduced new farming methods
grew more crops, dvlpd the FIELD SYSTEM
gaelic irish system depend on cattle and an open grazing system
woods were cut down, timber exported
trade prospered and roads, inns and mills were built
how did the ulster plantation influence identity (4)
the gaelic irish
gaelic irish tenants given land by servitors and the loyal irish.
