Author: Russell Shortt
The Flight of the Earls of 1607 had left Ulster leaderless ad the people defenceless, it also gave the English administration a free hand to implement a policy of plantation across the province. It was planned on a much more systematic and comprehensive scale than previous plantations in the country. Each county was to be divided into segregated areas, placing the native Irish in defined places and creating a new network of Protestant communities. Settlers arrived from England and the lowlands of Scotland bringing their own traditions, codes and institutions. They levelled forests,. Commenced arable farming, built towns and villages and fortified frontier posts. They established industries, markets, churches and schools; basically a whole new society was created. However, the native Irish were not completely displaced as the segregation plan was not carried out but they were shifted to the worst lands. In 1609, some 1300 former Irish soldiers were deported from Ulster to serve in the Swedish Army with a view to decreasing the threat to the new settlers. However, Irish natives continued to plague the settlers, angered that their lands had been taken from them. In the 1640s, the Ulster Plantation was seriously threatened by the civil wars which sparked off in England, Scotland and Ireland. In October 1641, the native Gaelic Ulster Catholics rebelled, massacring 4,000 planters and expelling a further 12,000. The following year, 10,000 Scottish soldiers arrived in Ireland, they fought an inconclusive campaign with the Ulster Catholic forces, led by Owen Roe O’Neill. In addition to fighting the native Irish, the settlers fought one another over issues brought on by the English Civil War. Cromwell’s forces suppressed both the Scottish and Irish forces in Ireland.
About the Author:
Russell Shortt is a travel consultant with Exploring Ireland, the leading specialists in customised, private escorted tours, escorted coach tours and independent self drive tours of Ireland. Article source: http://www.exploringireland.net
Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – A History of the Ulster Plantation in Ireland