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Plantations: plans and realities. (Plantation settlement structures.…
Plantations: plans and realities.
what are plantations? (Andrews, 2000).
The assignment of crown/ commonwealth land to head-tenants (chosen for their political qualification). - paid v. low rents but were bound to enforce law & order.
represented an unprecedented correspondence/ documentation under Henry VIII, beginning w/ Leix & Offaly in 1556 and ending w/ Ormond in 1630.
offered the Crown both security & profit.
entirely unsuccessful?
lack of surviving buildings.
complete abandonment following Cromwellian land settlement.
towns = crowning success of Anglo-Norman conquest (Andrews, 2000). Built on pre-existing settlement sites.
the lowest plantation farmers were isolated - criticised by Mountjoy that it jeopardised their safety in Munster.
see Barry, 2000: 141.
1) Leix & Offaly, 2) Smith, 3) Essex, 4) Desmond, 5) Monaghan, 6) Ulster & 7) others.
used to exploit natural resources (gold, silver & agriculture).
Plantation settlement structures.
ideas behind plantation settlement processes: 1) "English" way of life & 2) "The Pale" / Old Irish nucleated settlements.
Shire -> smaller territories comparable to Anglo-Irish barony -> seignory or manor (matket function & ecclesiastical parish) -> individual farms.
e.g. Munster (seignory) Model.
Modelled on the British shire town.
inspired by C13 & C14th English & Welsh grid streets (Andrew, 2000) e.g. Coleraine & Bandonbridge.
open-field systems (agricultural & commercial centres).
see Barry, 2000:143.
Derry was "a town of war & a town of merchandise" (Andrews, 2000). - Defensive focus obscured the distinction between forts & towns.
plantation towns ≠ plantation villages. Towns = manorial & pariochal.
An ideal urban landscape, dominated by public places & spaces.
An instrument of British control - Irish place-names were evident in later schemes but no Irish ghettos/ encalves except for Newry. Expansion into the Pale was discouraged.
Centrifugal behaviour of British tenants (social stratification reflected in settlement patterns).
Irish tenants were excluded & the most vulnerable (clachans).
N.B. plantation schemes were less important than other social & $ factors in shaping Irish landscape & society (Gillespie, 1993).
mass-migration from Britain by those looking for more social mobility.
plantation plans
settlement structures
highly centralised ($ and settlement regulations) creating a new landscape.
commercial centre w/ new regional & international trade links.
port towns e.g. Coleraine.
medieval moated sites -> tower houses.
Offered profit & (cheap) security to the Crown.
A response to Gaelic insurgency. Land in Leix & Offaly were confiscated & plantations were set-up.
offered of "civilised living" that the natives would then want to emulate.
social purpose: outlet for burgeoning English & Scottish populations.
required to accompany military defeat in order to successfully colonise Ireland (background of Gaelic/ Catholic resurgence) (Bartlett, 2012).
The landscape was transformed & Anglicised: replaced w/ hedgerows, markets, manorial courts, towns, parklands, field patterns, stone houses & English language.
Religious purpose: outlet to solidify Protestant Reformation by dispossessing Catholic landholders.
An all-out assualt on Catholicism in Ulster was postponed for $ reasons leading to social cohesion (Bartlett, 2000). BUT the systematic marginalistion bred murderous hatred which came to a head in 1641.
plantation realities
vast geographical differences e.g. hybrid zones of Tipperary.
see Ulster for case study. (Bartlett, 2000).
An all-out assualt on Catholicism in Ulster was postponed for $ reasons leading to social cohesion (Bartlett, 2000). BUT the systematic marginalistion bred murderous hatred which came to a head in 1641.
Settlers were hard to attract.
Security was too weak & Scottish presence was a concern for Dublin castle (Scottish Presbyterians = bipolar).
complex Old-English (now Catholic) but loyal to the Crown dynamic. - they were financially targeted by King James in 1620s leading to Old English insecurity & anger.
Leix & Offaly
Largely a failure - barely survived.
not offered adequate financial provision, which hindered the flow of settlers & prevented the creation of a civil environment.
Ulster (Earl of Essex & Sir Thomas Smith)
equally unsuccessful
ordered Sir Francis Drake to slay 600 men & women on Rathlin Island.
His men deserted him, son was killed by locals & fed to the dogs.
Irish tenants were however included & offered land for rent.
not made self-sufficient - a £50 000 grant from Crown was still required.
Hugh O'Neill, earl of Tyrone, conducted a full-scale rebellion in 1594. He had served as a "cultural & military mediator" between the Gaelic-Irish and Anglo-Normans.
solicited Spanish, Catholic assistance which prompted the Crown to dispatch 20 000 men at the 1601 Battle of Kinsale.
granted a pardon following his surrender in 1603 leading to the Flight of the Earls . - this collapse of Gaelic Ulster bought about the political unification of Ireland.
Resulted in the plantation of Ulster.
Planners were determined to learn from earlier failures, sought to rid the landscape of any Gaelic influence (largely achieved by Battle of Kinsale).
sought private London based partnerships offered low rent & vast land areas in Derry, but required to build & fortify towns.
Land also offered to the Church, which had previously been impoverished.
also sought undertakers - individuals offered cca. 2000 acres but expected to establish self-sufficient colonies w/ entirely British Protestants.
1610-1640 saw a transformation of Ulster from impact of (estimated 40 000) English & Scottish immigrants.
country divisions were enforced.
sought servitors - former military officials as a reward for military service & as a security measure.
loyal native Irish were awarded 20% of lands (but w/ conditions that eroded Gaelic landholding.)
successes
communal harmony - inter-marriage & occupation.
modern economic life (market $, commercial farming, English law) did flourish in 1610-1640.
Munster (Sir Edward Fitton) in 1570
encompassed Cork, Kerry & Waterford.
largest of all plantations - 0.5m acres
Desmond's rebellion of 1579-83.
Queen Elizabeth replaced fallen Irish chiefs w/ English colonisers.
