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Ulster Scots
Ulster Scots is a term used primarily in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It
refers to the Scots who migrated to the northern province of Ireland
(Ulster) beginning about 1605. Although sometimes in North America they are
referred to as ‘Scotch-Irish’ or ‘Ulster-Irish‘. All these terms most
commonly refer to those Lowland and Border Scots who settled in the northern
counties of Ireland during the Plantation scheme. However, there were Scots
in Ireland as early as the l400s, such as the McDonalds of County Antrim.
There was also a steady stream of Highland Scots migrating to the north of
Ireland in the early 1800s as a result of the highland clearances in
Scotland. It can therefore be considered that anyone whose ancestors
migrated from Scotland to Ulster from 1400 onward is of Ulster-Scot descent.
THE ULSTER PLANTATION
The majority of Scots who migrated to the north of Ireland came as part of
this organized settlement scheme of 1605-1697. Plantation settlements were
confined to the Province of Ulster, in the counties of Antrim, Down, Armagh,
Tyrone, Donegal, Cavan, Fermanagh and Derry. As many as 200,000 Lowland
Scots crossed the North Channel to settle in Ulster in this approximately 90
year period. The Plantation of Ulster took place in two stages. The first
stage was confined to the eastern counties of Antrim and Down. The
initiative was taken by Scottish fortune seekers. Although the British Crown
encouraged and co-operated with those responsible, it was fully a private
venture. The second stage of settlement was far broader in scope. It was a
project of state, conceived, planned, and closely supervised by the British
governments of England and Ireland. The plantations included settlers from
England and Scotland, although Scots outnumbered those from England by a
ratio of 20 to 1. The primary purpose of the plantation scheme was to
populate the northern counties of Ireland with loyal British subjects, to
counterbalance the native Irish. Scotland was only too willing to
participate. It was seen
as a way to eradicate Scotland of the hordes of Lowland and Border Scots,
many of whom in their desperate poverty felt compelled to turn to a life of
marauding and horse thievery, which had become an occupation in itself in
the Scottish countryside. Many were hardscrabble, subsistence farmers barely
able to support their families. Hence in the early years of the Plantation,
the majority of the settlers were Lowland and Border Scots seeking a better
life.
DENIZATION
Prior to l707, Scotland was a distinct Kingdom from England, governed by its
own laws, with its own manners and customs. To ensure that the arriving
Scots could be kept under control from rising up in Ireland in support of
their brothers in Scotland, they were required to take an oath of loyalty to
the British Crown, as ’denizens’ in Ireland. For Scots to become English
subjects in Ireland, it was necessary to obtain letters patent of Denization,
pay a fine and take the Oath of allegiance.
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