The Settlement of Ireland was begun by Cromwell and extended following the Williamite Wars. This policy saw the plantation of Ireland by protestant landowners and the introduction of penal laws. This system had Ireland as a dependency of Britain from 1720 until becoming part of the United Kingdom in 1800. The penal laws forbade ownership of land by Roman Catholics. Many of the protestant settlers did not have the vote. It led to the bulk of the land being owned by a small number of Anglican elite. Ireland’s economy was used for the benefit of the empire, deforestation being one example, with much timber being used for the expansion of the fleet of the Royal Navy.
Cromwell and the origins of the Settlement of Ireland
The Settlement of Ireland, 1652-60 – BCW Project
Oliver Cromwell and the Cromwellian Settlement – JSTOR
Cromwellian Settlement – Clare County Library
Further Reading on the British Empire
Making of the United Kingdom
Making of the United Kingdom unit homepage – Glorious Revolution – The British in Ireland, 1688-1691 – Settlement of Ireland – Jacobite Opposition – Glencoe Massacre – Darien Scheme – Act of Union – Migration to the Americas
Economic Consequences of Empire
Economic Consequences of Empire – Unit homepage – Royal African Company – Triangular Trade – Lifting of the RAC monopoly – Plantations – The Slave Economy – Opposition to the Slave Trade in North America – Slave Resistance – East India Company – Expansion of trade in East India – Bank of England – South Sea Bubble Bursts
How did the Empire affect working lives and consumer habits in Britain?
Empire and consumerism – Involvement of the British population in the slave trade and the ‘slave ports’ – Emergence of consumerism
How did the Empire affect British politics and changing ideas?
Politics and changing ideas – Coffee houses and developing political activism – growth of ideas of a racial hierarchy and the impact on settled minority communities
Common questions about the British Empire
Questions about the British Empire – When did the British Empire start? – When did the British Empire end? – What countries were in the British Empire? – Why did Britain want an empire? – What was life like in the British Empire? – Was the British Empire a force for good or bad? – What is Is perfidious Albion? – How was the British Empire controlled?
The British Empire – Making of the United Kingdom – Economic Consequences of the British Empire– How did the Empire affect Great Britain? – Society changes: Political Thought and the British Empire – Questions about the British Empire – British Empire Teaching Resources
