English Imperialism In Ireland

1038 Words5 Pages
Time and time again, the English sought to complete the conquest of Ireland that their Anglo-Norman predecessors had begun. No more evident is the aspiration of total Irish conquest than in the plantation prescriptions. As the English entered the 15th century, the desire for domination over Ireland grew as the weak, decentralized English crown sought allyship. Similarly, moving into the 16th century, James I sought to quash all possibility of rebellion and establish Ireland as a tranquil and obedient extension of his power. The overarching issue prohibiting the success of such ambitions was the strength and resistance of traditional Irish culture. Strong xenophobia caused the English to resent all traces of Irish culture and aim to eliminate…show more content…
No different was the case of Ireland. In order to establish Ireland as a peaceful ally to the crown, the English adamantly supported the idea that Irish culture needed to be completely destroyed. And more importantly, any and all traces of Irish power had to be stripped. As The Oxford History of Ireland states, “. . . the continued existence of Catholic landowners in Ireland was a threat to the very security of England.” Thus, the English sought to oppress, exclude, and neglect the native Irish-Catholic population. Thereafter, the English hoped to Anglicize Ireland by establishing English settlements. The intended result of such actions was to accumulate crown power by creating loyal allies and to fulfil the supposed Anglo-Norman destiny of conquering Ireland. “The Revised Articles of the Ulster Plantation” set out a multi-tiered plan to accomplish this vision of the future of…show more content…
Starting from the beginning, the concept of granting free land to Englishmen and Scotsmen was the first step in planting English culture in Ireland. Thereafter, the proposed requirements only become more blatantly anti-Irish. For example, the rationale for undertakers to build protective houses was to keep out any native Irish living on the seized land. Similarly, the goal of bringing families to live on plantations was to further establish English culture. And the reason undertakers were supposed to oversee that their tenets build homes close together near the main house was yet another protective measure against the Irish. Furthermore, it was a method of building English-style villages that would hopefully continue to grow and bolster English culture in Ireland. Likewise, the need for weaponry was to further protect the English settlers from possible Irish attacks. And as previously argued, the clause regarding the Oath of Supremacy was perhaps most significant because few Irishman could take it. This was because the oath not only proclaimed loyalty to the crown, but it also denied papal legitimacy. Considering that most native Irish were Catholic, the inability to take the Oath of Supremacy denied them the chance of owning land and consequently prevented them from collecting political power and wealth. Each and every provision of “The Revised
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