The Ulster plantation in the counties of Armagh and Cavan, 1608-41

Abstract

Extract from introduction: The background In Ulster to the flight of the earls, which precipitated the adoption of the policy of plantation there, is well known. Already since the battle of Kinsale British institutions and laws wore being introduced and the very progress of these played some part In the earls’ decision to embark for the continent. The flight of the earls on 3 September 1607 suggested an all-out confiscation of their territories. Immediate steps also had to be taken to fill the power vacuum created by their departure. Thus on September 7 a proclamation was issued assuring the inhabitants of Tyrone and Tyrconnell that they would not be disturbed in the possession of their lands so long as they behaved as dutiful subjects, and also a commission was issued to the archbishop of Armagh and sixteen others, bishops, local commanders, and Gaelic Irish, for the government of Tyrone, Tyrconnell, and Armagh. Suggestions for re-settlement took various forms, a division of the land between natives and servitors being commonly suggested, with forts and towns to guarantee security, though it was also felt that British colonists should be imported. With the drift of these early plans the London government concurred, requesting further information. The precedent of the Munster plantation was also examined. In December the territory of the fugitives, indicted of treason, was found, by local juries, to be forfeit to the king …