Colonial History of Ireland

1. Colonial History of Ireland By: Ben Willis

2. Carrowmore • Largest cemetery of megalithic tombs in Ireland. • Most tombs were shaped with stones creating a stone circle around the burial site. • Stone circles in this time were an early example of cairn tombs. • The tombs in Carrowmore date as far back as 4600 BC

3. Early Ages • Celtic migrations in the first millennium BC brought the language and Gaelic aspects to society. • Christianity was introduced in the 5th century and was never really preserved by Irish monks. • In the early 9th century Norseman raided Ireland’s settlements and monasteries and by the 10th century the Norseman had created their own communities.

4. Early Ages • The Irish political system, including Norse people and Norman invaders after 1169, was based on five provinces. • Meath, Connacht, Munster, Leinster, and Ulster • For the next four centuries the Anglo-Normans would control most of Ireland, establishing Feudalism.

5. Early Ages • The Anglo-Normans were a very organized group. They ushered a new age in Ireland where society was organized on a grander scale. • This setup Irish government, cities, and religious organizations.

6. 16th Century • The English Crown, Henry VII, and the Tudors sought to reestablish English control of the island. • Henry VII’s goal was disestablish the Catholic Church in Ireland. Thus began the long association between Irish Catholicism and Irish Nationalism.

7. 17th Century • Elizabeth I, accomplished the conquest of Ireland. • Plantations were the confiscation of land by the crown and colonization of this land by settlers from England and the Scotish Lowlands. • Smaller scale emigration had also taken place as far back as the 12th century, which is resulted in the ethnicity of Old English

8. Policy of Colonzation • The policy the English used to colonize Ireland was to forcefully remove the native Irish from their land. • The English wanted the resources of Ireland so they created platations and had protestant emigrants settle these confiscated lands. • Settlers with British and Protestant identity would from the ruling class of future British administrations in Ireland.

9. Plantations • Scottish and English Protestants were sent to create these plantations in Ireland. • They were sent to the provinces of Munster, Ulster, and the counties of of Laois and Offaly • The largest was the plantation of Ulster, which had settled up to 80,000 English and Scots in the north of Ireland by 1641.

10. Protestant Reformation • When English came to colonize Ireland, they wanted to force Catholicism out, since the English had broken away from the Catholic church. • Penal Laws discriminated against all Christian faiths other than the church of Ireland, which was anglican.

11. Protestant Reformation • Catholics were banned from public office, from serving in the army and were denied the right to vote, from 1607 on. • In 1615 the English parliament was altered so that protestants could have majority in the Irish House of Commons. • The Catholics persisted with majority in the Irish House of Lords until the Patriot Parliament of 1689.

12. Protestant Reformation • During Cromwell’s reign, he invoked strict rule and confiscated all catholic holdings. After he died, the Irish took back their historic land. • In 1690 when the Irish defeated the English at Londonderry, they signed a treaty in London that gave them a number of rights. • This treaty was denied by the Protestant dominated Irish Parliament.

13. Protestant Reformation • During the colonization, settlers split the Irish society between English and Irish speaking, which caused the local Irish to be landless or near landless peasants. • King James I closed Catholic schools and children were taught in Protestant institutions.

14. Catholicism • English had little success in converting the natives or Irish people to the Protestant religion. • Protestant reformation failed in Ireland because of the harsh methods used by the English Crown to pacify the country and to exploit its resources.

15. Catholicism • The Enlightenment provided ideas of freedom and the revolutionary age emboldened the Irish population. • The English countered the Irish rowdiness with legislation and laws that made life for catholics and speakers of Irish very difficult.

16. Catholicism • The Irish Catholics carried out a counter reform to retaliate against the Protestants. • Irish colleges had been set up in Catholic countries throughout Europe for he training of Irish Catholic Priests. • The printing press played a substantial role in the counter-reformation. The press allowed the Irish Catholics to spread their word around faster.

17. Linguistics • Irish (Gaelic)- spoken by most of the population by the 16th century. • The subsequent Tudors and Stuart conquests and plantations, the Cromwellian settlement, the Williamite War, and the enactment of the Penal Laws started a long process of the subversion of the language.

18. Timeline • 1507: Henry VII sent Protestants to colonize • 1534-1601: Tudors and Stuart conquests • 1541: Henry VII elf proclaimed king of Ireland • 1558: Elizabeth I, policy of plantations • 1603: Enforcement of English law in Ireland • 1641: Catholics owned 59% of Ireland • 1649: Cromwell invades Ireland

19. Timeline • 1653: Cromwell strips opponents of land • 1654: The Cromwelliansettlement • 1688: James II, Catholics own 22% of Ireland • 1698-91: The Williamite War • 1690: William of Orange defeats James II • 1695: Initial Penal Laws, Catholics owned 14% of Ireland

20. Timeline • 1704: Penal Laws enacted • 1774: Catholics owned 7% of Ireland • 1778: Catholics owned 5% of Ireland

21. Sources • www.qub.ac.uk/imperial/ireland/timeline.htm • www.ricksteves.com/plan/destinations/ireland/irehist2.htm • genealogypro.com/articles/Irish-history.html • www.heriage-history.com/www/heritage.php?Dir=wars&FileName=wars_ireland.php • www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ac70 • www.historyofnations.net/europe/ireland.html • www.everyculture.com/Ge-It/ireland.htl • www.via.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/goes/ei.html • Jpellegrino.com/teaching.html