CHAPTER CONTENTS A. How Do We Know about the Plantations in Ireland?
B. Ireland in the 1500s C. The Ulster Plantation Special Focus: Derry D. Cromwell’s Invasion
E. How SuccessfulWere the Plantations? Apply Your Learning
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A short history of the Plantations The Reformation in England had a big impact on Ireland from the 1550s onwards. It led to an increase in tension between the mainly Gaelic majority and the English who lived in an area around Dublin called the Pale. In 1541, King Henry VIII of England, decided to expand his kingdom and take control of all of Ireland, not just the Pale. These attempts were resisted by the Gaelic Irish and by the descendants of the Normans (known as the Old English) living in Ireland. Henry VIII encouraged new Protestant English settlers to move to Ireland and their arrival increased tensions among the populations. Several rebellions against the Protestant English occurred during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. These rebellions failed. After each failed uprising, the English Crown or government confiscated (seized, took away) the land owned by those who had rebelled. They then ‘planted’ loyal Protestant English and Scottish settlers in these lands. Understanding the history of the plantations of Ireland helps us to understand many other parts of the history of Ireland up until today.