Scottish Plantation of Ulster

The Scottish Plantation of Ulster By the start of the 16th century, Ulster (Ireland comprises of 4 provinces, with the province of Ulster situated in the north) was sparsely populated after more than 50 years of war.

Lowland Scotland at this time was unable to support its growing population, many of whom turned to cattle rustling, kidnapping and other thievery to support their families.

The border with England proved particularly hazardous with Scottish 'Border Reevers' repeatedly raiding across the border and making life miserable for the local English population.

The first organized movement of Scots to the north of Ireland was started by two enterprising Scottish lairds, Hugh Montgomery and James Hamilton. In 1605 they had aided the Irish chieftain Conn O'Neill in escape from his imprisonment in Carrickfergus castle and arranged for him to obtain a Royal Pardon. In return, O'Neill granted Montgomery and Hamilton substantial tracts of his land in the north Irish counties of Antrim and Down. Montgomery and Hamilton immediately began settling the land with Scottish Presbyterians from the Ayrshire and Galloway regions of Scotland.

The success of this enterprise did not escape the notice of the King, James I of England (James IV of Scotland). English attempts to pacify the north of Ireland had so far proved unsuccessful. His solution to the problem was to settle Scots in the area. This had the effect of putting in place a tough Scottish population who were Protestant (mainly Presbyterian) to counter the troublesome Irish Catholics. Many of those Scots living along the Scottish border who had previously terrorized the English were now forcibly repatriated throughout Ulster.

These Scots proved to be hardly frontiersmen and soon flourished where the English had previously failed. This second plantation saw the Scots assume the position of tenant farmer to English landowners

. An estimated 80% + of the Protestant settlers in Ulster were Scots, the rest being English along with smaller numbers of French Huguenot, Welsh, Manx, German, Dutch and Danish. These other planters were eventually absorbed into the Ulster-Scots ethnic mix.

While the Scottish in general did not intermarry with the native Irish Catholics, there were certainly some Irish converts to Presbyterianism. Often for an Irish convert to become 'Scottish' it was a simple matter of dropping the 'O' prefix from his surname and replacing it with a 'Mac'!

The religion of the Scots at this time was generally Presbyterian, while that of the English landowners was Episcopal (Church of England). The Episcopal Church of Ireland (the Church of England in Ireland) was the church of the establishment and the English administration persecuted the Scottish Presbyterians whom at times they regarded as more troublesome than the Irish Catholics.

Dissenter Presbyterian ministers were only allowed to preach within certain limits and could be fined or imprisoned. Marriages carried out by Presbyterian clergy were not legally binding and Presbyterians could not hold public office.

In addition, in 1639 the 'Black Oath' was introduced and required all Protestants living in Ulster to bind them selves to obey all Royal commands. The 'Black Oath' was designed to prevent the Presbyterian Scots in Ulster from aiding their kin in Scotland in any confrontation with England.

While a number of Scots converted to the Episcopal Church of Ireland and a number returned to Scotland, the vast majority remained in Ulster and maintained their Presbyterian faith.

In 1641 the Irish launched a rebellion against the Protestant population of Ireland. The Ulster-Scots were in a hopeless position, having been gradually disarmed by the English to prevent them from aiding their Covenanter kin in Scotland against England.

The Catholic clergy declared all Protestants to be devils and should therefore be destroyed. The outnumbered Ulster-Scots Presbyterians, including women and children suffered all manner of cruelties as they were murdered by the Catholic Irish hordes. Thousands of Protestants were slaughtered in this uprising. While the horrific stories told of torture, mutilation and murder are no doubt exaggerated to a certain degree, so great was the impact of these atrocities that they are still part of Ulster Protestant folklore today.

The Irish were led by Phelim O'Neill. P. O'Neill is the name still used by the IRA today to verify to the press when they are responsible for the murder of Ulster-Scots Protestants or members of the Security Forces.

General Monroe's 10,000 strong Scottish Presbyterian army arrived in Ulster in 1642 to supplement the Ulster-Scots Protestants and tip the balance back in their favour. Monroe's army introduced Highlanders to Ulster for the first time, many of whom chose to remain.

The 1680's saw renewed migration of Scottish Presbyterians to the north of Ireland to escape the 'Killing Times' in the south west of Scotland. The final large scale movement of Scots to Ulster happened in the 1690's following King William's victory in the Battle of the Boyne when whole new towns and villages sprang up as Scots moved across the Irish sea to avoid famine in Scotland.

There were no more wholesale plantations after this period as economic conditions in the north of Ireland were no better than Scotland, although there was still regular smaller scale movement between Ulster and Scotland.