 The Pale was a small area around Dublin controlled by the English  Plantations extended English control over Ireland. Irish people were driven from their lands and replaced by English and Scottish planters.  The English used plantations to prevent Irish rebellions, to civilise the Irish and to enrich themselves by renting land to planters.

 It took place under Queen Mary  The lands of the O’Mores and O’Connors were confiscated, made into counties and given to settlers loyal to England. The plantation failed because of the lack of settlers.

 This took place under Elizabeth I  This took place after the defeat of the Desmond Rebellion. Half a million acres were given to protestant undertakers. They promised to pay rent, to defend their estates and to bring in English farmers to work on them. Not enough undertakers or farmers came to make the Plantation work. But plantation towns were built and English farming methods adopted.

 This took place under King James I  It took place after the defeat of the O’Neill and O’Donnell clans in the Nine years war and the Flight of the Earls in  Four million acres were planted. Estates of 2000, 1500 and 1000 acres were given to undertakers, to servitors (soldiers who were loyal to England) and some trusted Irish gentlemen.

 London craft guilds were given Co. Londonderry. The Anglican Church and Trinity College received land.  Many planters came to Ulster. English farming methods, industry and trade brought prosperity. Well laid out plantation towns were built.  Long term results include political, religious and cultural divisions in Ulster which persist to the present day.

 Under Oliver Cromwell’s Plantation of 1652 many Catholic landowners were driven west of the Shannon ‘to Hell or to Connacht’. This plantation failed to destroy the Catholic religion in Ireland, but it caused large-scale transfer of land to Protestants.  Plantations in general caused a change of land ownership in Ireland. They also led to the rule of the Protestant Ascendancy, which later supported Penal Laws against Catholics.

 John Smith – received land in the Ulster Plantation in received land in Co. Tyrone – one of the 6 counties planted.  The plantation was made possible when Hugh O’Neill and Red Hugh O’Donnell were defeated in the Nine Years War and left the country without permission in this was called the Flight of The Earls

 These chieftans were considered traitors and their land was confiscated by King James I.  Undertaker – an English gentlemen who promises (undertakes) to be loyal to the King and to practise the Protestant religion.  I pay an annual rent of £5 for 20,000 acres, it is very low but I am not allowed to rent land to Irish tenants, I must bring English tenants over to Ulster at my own expense.

 I have to build a stone castle surrounded by a walled area called a bawn. This is protect us from tories or woodkerne. Tories are Irish clansmen who were driven from their lands and attack us and steal our cattle.  My tenant farmers and I will introduce English Farming Methods in my estate. We have to cut down forests which isn’t easy as this is a hiding place for the tories.

 The government is building plantation towns, they will be places of English civilisation and order.  WE hope the King will grant a Charter to Tyrone – then we will be able to elect a corporation to run the town,

 My name is Sean O’Neill, a clansman of the great Hugh O’Neill. I was driven from my land because of the Ulster Plantation.  Before the English interfered we raised cattle on our land. Hugh O’Neill was the leader of our clan but it was the clan and not Hugh O’Neill who owned the land.

 A planter named John Smith now grows crops on 2,000 acres of our land, he was granted the land by King James I. According to the English law he now owns the land.  In 1607, Hugh was forced by the English to leave Ireland, the Flight of the Earls gave King James the excuse to declare Hugh as a traitor and plant all his land.  The land was given to 3 types of planter: undertakers, servitors and trusted Irish gentlemen.

 John Smith is an undertaker, this means he has promised to keep the land safe for the King and to practise the Protestant religion. He is not allowed to take Irish tenants.  Smith built a stone castle and a walled enclosure called a bawn. My clansmen and I are now hiding in the woods and mountains and we attack the foreigners. The English call us Tories or woodkerne.

 Life is hard for us. According to English law, we are outlaws and can be legally killed. Hopefully the Pope or the King of Spain will help O’Neill to come back and drive out the planters from our land.

 Land ownership changed greatly in Ireland. Before the plantations only the Pale was under English control and after the plantations Ireland was firmly under English control and most of the land belonged to the English.  The Protestant Ascendancy – who were a wealthy ruling class that controlled Ireland for more than 200 years.

 The Protestants feared the Catholic majority and encouraged the government to pass the Penal Laws against Catholics.