Making Ireland British, 1580-1650

Nicholas Canny

Language: English

Publisher: OUP Oxford

Published: May 3, 2001

Description:

This is the first comprehensive study of plantations in Ireland during the years 1580-1650. It examines the arguments advanced by successive political figures for a plantation policy, and the responses that this policy elicited from different segments of the population in Ireland.

**

Review

`An assured and very readable account that traces English policies towards and settlement in Ireland, drawing on and evaluating the work of other historians of Ireland and Europe, as well as offering fresh insights into this complex period. One of the particular strengths of Nicholas Canny's book is that it deals with plantation and settlement over some seventy years rather than as a series of episodes, covering a period that is rarely dealt with as a whole in Irish historiography.' Renaissance Studies

`Offers a comprehensive examination of the ideology and practice of Anglicising Ireland, from the plantation of Munster to the Cromwellian confiscation, and is the culmination of over thirty-five years of scholarship in early modern Irish history by the author. Through an innovative interpretation of a wide range of source material, Nicholas Canny allows us an insight into the mindsets of those who sought to create a new order, and probes the reactions of those targeted under their schemes.' The History Review

`The heart of the book is its ingenious and heroic sifting of the Trinity College Depositions, collected in the months following the "rebellion" which began in October 1641 ... No previous scholar has made such profitable use of these materials.' Sixteenth Century Journal

`His comprehensive research on the extremely difficult and highly contentious 1641 depositions is especially noteworthy.' History Ireland

`It is especially to be commended for its innovative use of a wide range of sources, both literary and documentary.' History Ireland, vol. 9, no. 4

`With Prof Canny, an expert captain, at the helm, the journey, if long, is smooth, enjoyable, enlightening and crowded with memorable incidents ... No one interested in being guided through the choppy waters of 17th-century Ireland can do without this craft.' Toby Barnard, Irish Times (Dublin), 16 June 2001

`a substantial achievement. It extends Nicholas Canny's particular contribution to Irish history, providing a whole series of new evidence and readings of familiar events, as well as stimulating fresh controversy and debate.' Andrew Hadfield, Times Literary Supplement

About the Author

Nicholas Canny is at National University of Ireland, Galway.