IRELAND IN THE 16TH AND 17TH CENTURY
By Tim Lambert
THE TUDOR CONQUEST OF IRELAND
Henry VII (1485-1509) tried to bring Ireland to heel. In 1494 he made Sir Edward Poynings Lord-Deputy of Ireland. In 1495 Poyning persuaded the Irish parliament to pass 'Poyning's Law' which stated that the Irish parliament could only meet with the permission of the English king and could only pass laws previously approved by the king and his ministers.
Henry VIII (1509-1547) continued his father's policy to trying to bring Ireland under his control but he adopted a 'softly, softly' approach of trying to win over the Irish by diplomacy. In 1536 the Irish parliament agreed to make Henry head of the Irish church (although the reformation made little headway in Ireland and the country remained overwhelmingly Catholic). In 1541 the Irish parliament agreed to recognise Henry VIII as king of Ireland.
Under Henry's son Edward VI (1547-1553) English policy hardened. The English undertook military campaigns against Irish chiefs in Laois and Offaly who refused to submit to the king. They then made the first attempt to 'plant' loyal English people in Ireland as a way of controlling the country. Land confiscated from the Irish was given to English settlers. However in the face of attacks from the Irish the English colonists were forced to abandon the 'plantation'.
After Edwards death his sister Mary (1553-1558) became queen. She carried out the first successful plantation of Ireland. Again people were settled in Laois and Offaly but this time they were better prepared for war.
Further plantations took place under Elizabeth (1558-1603). From 1579 to 1583 the Earl of Desmond led a rebellion against the English. When the rebellion was finally crushed much of the land in Munster was confiscated and was given to English colonists.
Then in 1592, Elizabeth founded the first university in Ireland, Trinity College, Dublin.
Finally in 1593 rebellion broke out in Ulster. Hugh O' Neill the Earl of Tyrone, joined the rebellion in 1595. At first the rebellion was successful. The rebels won a great victory at Yellow Ford in 1598. However O'Neill was severely defeated at the battle of Kinsale in 1601. The rebellion ended in 1603.
IRELAND IN THE 17th CENTURY
After the rebellion O'Neil was, at first, treated leniently. He was allowed to return to his land. However after 1605 English attitudes hardened. In 1607 Hugh O'Neil and Rory O'Donnell, the Earl of Tyrconnell, fled to France with their supporters. This event became known as the flight of the Earls.
Afterwards their land in Ulster was confiscated by King James who decided on a plantation of Ulster. This time the plantation was to be far more thorough. This time Protestant settlers would outnumber the native Irish. Between 1610 and 1613 vast numbers of English and Scots settled in Ulster on confiscated land. Many new towns were founded.
Naturally the native Irish resented the plantation and in 1641 Ulster rose in rebellion. Some massacres of Protestants undoubtedly occurred. However the extent of the massacres was later greatly exaggerated.
In the South in 1642 the Anglo-Irish and the native Irish formed an alliance called the Confederation of Kilkenny. They quickly took over all Ireland except Dublin and some other towns and part of Ulster. Meanwhile in England civil war was raging between the English king and parliament so Ireland was largely left to its own devices for several years. However divisions between the Anglo-Irish and the native Irish weakened the rebellion. Moreover the English civil war ended in 1646. King Charles I was executed in January 1649. Afterwards the English parliament turned its attention to Ireland.
Oliver Cromwell was determined to crush Irish resistance and impose Protestantism on Ireland. He also sought revenge for the massacres of 1641. When Cromwell captured Drogheda in 1649 the defenders were massacred. A similar massacre took place in Wexford. Cromwell left Ireland in 1650 and his Son-in-law took over. By 1651 all of Ireland was in English hands.
In 1653-654 another plantation took place. Land belonging to Irish Catholics was confiscated. Those who could prove they had not taken part in the rebellion of 1641 were given other (less fertile) land west of the Shannon. The confiscated lands were given to Englishmen.
In 1660 Charles II became king of England and Scotland. At first it looked as if he would undo the Cromwellian confiscation of Irish land. However the king soon back-pedalled, fearing a backlash among his own people if he treated Catholics too kindly.
Furthermore during the 1660s the export of cattle from Ireland to England was banned. Yet exports of meat and butter boomed. The population of Ireland also rose rapidly in the late 17th century. English merchants also resented competition from the Irish wool trade. Labour costs were lower in Ireland than in England and Irish wool was exported to many other countries. In 1699 the Irish were forbidden to export wool to any country except England. However the English already charged high import duties on Irish wool and there was little demand for it. So exports of Irish wool were effectively ended.
In 1685 a Catholic, James II, succeeded Charles II. The Irish hoped James would treat them more kindly but he was deposed in 1688 and fled to France. The Dutchman William of Orange and his English wife Mary were invited to come and rule in James's place.
However James was not willing to give up his crown so easily. The Lord-Deputy of Ireland, the Early of Tyrconnell was still loyal to him. So were most of the Irish. In March 1689 James landed at Kinsale and quickly took most of Ireland.
Londonderry was one of the few places that stood by William. In December 1688 Catholic troops attempted to enter but 13 apprentice boys shut the gates against them. In April 1689 James laid siege to Londonderry and his men laid a boom across the River Foyle to prevent supplies reaching it by water. However in July a ship called the Mountjoy broke the boom and relieved the town.
William's army landed in Ireland in August 1689 and on 1 July 1690 the two armies met at the battle of the Boyne near Drogheda. James was decisively defeated. William entered Dublin on 6 July 1690. The next year his army lay siege to Limerick. That town surrendered in October 1691. The treaty of Limerick ended the war in Ireland.