Beginning of the SettlementThe time was 1603 and the Nine Years’ War has ended and the fate of Ireland is about to change forever. The King of Scotland James VI has become James I King of England and Ireland, (1566–1625) after the union of the Scottish and English crowns March 23rd of the same year. His reign continued until his death in 1625. James heritage, being the son of Mary Queen of Scots, as well as the great-great-grandson of Henry VII (King of England and Lord of Ireland), positioned him to accede all three thrones. The period of his twenty-two year reign is referred to as the Jacobean era. James was a Protestant convert, and was distrusted by Scottish Calvinists. He was lenient toward Catholicism. Considered to be an open thinker James later in his life studied witchcraft, which he considered as part of theology. He at one point became somewhat obsessed with it, personally overseeing the torture of women condemned as witches. After 1599, he became more skeptical of their threat. He was also the first monarch of the House of Stuart to rule all three countries. One of his greatest contributions to England was the Authorised King James’s Version of the bible in 1611. He was also a major advocate of the “Ulster Plantation”. Who Were the Ulster ScotsWhile the lands were divided into counties and given to Scottish lairds, the likes of Ludovic Stewart, Duke of Lennox and James Hamilton, Earl fo Abercorn, many of the original aristocrats sold their positions and never ventured to Ireland. Others took on th responsibility, building estates and populating their land. Most of the migrators in the early 17th century were ordinary folk hoping for a better life abroad. They came from Ayrshire, Dumfries and Galloway, and Lanarkshire. Others like my Bell family, came from the Borders area of south-east Scotland also including the Armstrongs, Beattys, Elliotts, Grahams and Johnstons The Plantation of UlsterA large number of followers left Ireland in 1607 when two of the most important Gaelic chieftains left the country. At this time the lands were confiscated and parcelled out to new landowners of Scottish and English origin. These migrators were know as “undertakers”. Six Irish counties were affected in the plantation: Armagh, Cavan, Coleraine (Londonderry), Donegal Fermanagh and Tyrone. The lands were to be colonised by settling ten families or ten men for every 1000 acres of land. Three other counties were added later, those being Antrim, down and Monaghan. By 1630 Ulster was widely settled and a demarcation between the Anglos and the Scots was apparent. The Scots settled mainly in th north Antrim, northeast Down, east Donegal and northwest Tyrone. The English settled more in Londonderry, south Antrim and north Armagh. The more mountainous areas, far from the main British settlements, remained almost exclusively Irish. Most of the Ulster settlers were of the Protestant faith and the Church of Ireland following Episcopalian lines was considered the state church, however the Presbyterian faith was also prevalent. By 1630 the government began to oppress the Presbyterian ministers and those who did not renounce their Presbyterianism were excommunicated. This resulted was an exodus of some of these men and their followers in the year 1636. Others returned to Scotland. By 1638, Scotland declared Presbyterianism as the only true form of church government and many in Ulster followed suit by signing the Covenant.
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Stephanie Bell-Boissonneault"When researching Family never leave a stone unturned, not even a pebble." Archives
July 2023
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