PLANTATIONS

In the 1500s, about 750,000 people lived in Ireland. The King of England was also the King of Ireland, but he had very little control over it. The country was divided into three sections.

The Pale
•This was a small area to the north and south of Dublin.

•This was the only part of Ireland where the king’s officials had real power. Here, the people followed English law and customs and spoke the English language.

Gaelic clans often raided the Pale and took cattle.

The Anglo Irish Lordships
•These were areas controlled by Anglo-Irish Lords. These lords were descendents of the Normans who had invaded Ireland in the 1100’s. By the 1500’s many of these families had become ‘more Irish than the Irish themselves.’

•Examples: The Fitzgeralds,The Butlers of Ormond.

The Gaelic Irish

These were areas under the control of Irish (Gaelic) Lords. They followed Brehon Law. They did not recognise the King of England as the King at all. Each mini-kingdom (tuath) had its own chief.

•Eg. O’Neills of Tyrone, O’Donnells of Donegal.

Henry VIII and the later Tudor Monarchs wanted to conquer Ireland for the following Reasons:

•They wanted to protect England. They did not want other countries like France and Spain to use Ireland as a backdoor for invasion.

•They wanted to introduce the Protestant religion into Ireland.

They felt that English culture was superior to Gaelic culture and felt that it should be spread.

Surrender and Regrant

•Gaelic and Anglo-Irish lords were encouraged to give up their lands to the king.

•They then swore loyalty to the king and promised to use only English law, customs and language.

•In return for this, Henry ‘regranted’ them their land back to the lords and he gave them new titles.