BBC Host: Here is some background information on tonight's topic: The Plantation of Ulster began in the 17th century when English and Scottish Protestants settled on land confiscated from the Gaelic Irish.

Gaelic Ireland was a patchwork of independent kingdoms each ruled by a chieftain and bound by a common set of legal, social and religious traditions.

King James I believed that colonising Ulster would quell rebellion and win over the 'rude and barbarous Irish' to 'civility' and Protestantism.

The legacy of the Plantation has haunted Irish political, cultural and social life ever since.

Dr John McCavitt is a teacher at Abbey Grammar School in Newry, Co.Down and has contributed to the BBCi Ulster Plantation website. He has recently published a book entitled 'Flight of the Earls'.

Sharon asks: Do we know whose idea the Plantation was?

Dr John McCavitt: It is often believed that the Plantation of Ulster was the brain child of Sir Arthur Chichester, Lord Deputy of Ireland at the time. In reality, if Chichester had been responsible for the scheme, it would have taken on a substantial different complexion.

Often compared unfavourably to Oliver Cromwell in the eyes of Irish nationalists it is ironic that Chichester's scheme, if implemented would have left quite a bit more land inthe hands of Ulster Catholics.

The main person in actual fact responsible for the Plantation was a man called Sir John Davies, poet and jurist. It was Davies who advocated a policy of wholesale Plantation by Protestants in Ulster.

Davies was supported by King James I who approached the Plantation of Ulster with a "missionary zeal" believing that he was taking part in a grand social experiment, as indeed he was.

Malward asks: How can we determine if our ancestors are original Irish or Scottish planters? Is there a registrar of names?

Dr John McCavitt:This is a difficult question to answer. Basically for a family search to take place a professional genealogist would be required to answer specific questions of this nature.

But just in general terms, it could be pointed out that although surnames are often a guide to our ancestors, they should not always be taken as such.

For example, it is often stated that Ken Magennis' surname is closer to original Irish than Martin McGuinness.

Another good example is Terence O'Neill former Prime Minister of NI who is descended from the famous O'Neill clan in Ulster. There is more cross breeding in Ulster's history than people imagined.

Jason: What effects did the plantation have on the Irish population at the time?

Dr John McCavitt: There is some dispute whether the Plantation of Ulster had a benign or a malign effect on the Irish population of Ulster.

Following the Flight of the Earls in 1607, Lord Deputy Chichester proposed to give the Catholic populace of Ulster a substantial stake in the new settlement, hoping that support for the exiled Lords would evaporate.

In reality, somewhere between a quarter and fifth of the confiscated land in Ulster was returned to local inhabitants.

This deeply embittered them. Added to this, was religious persecution and profound cultural change.

For example, people were often forced to drop the "O" and "Mac" from surnames. Thus, we think of the surname Murphy as an "Irish" surname when in fact people were known as MacMurphy at the time.

Joe asks: Would you say that the Plantation was a success from a British point of view?

Dr John McCavitt: The intention of the Ulster Plantation was to neuter the menace of revolt in Ulster forever. The hope was that so many Protestants would settle in Ulster that a rebellion by the "native" population would never again occur.

The Plantation was allocated 3 years for fulfillment. By that yardstick, the Plantation was a failure in it's early years. Subsequent experience until 1640 demonstrated that the Plantation took a much firmer route.

The Plantation was unable to prevent the 1641 rebellion in Ulster but it was sufficiently strong to withstand it.

Therefore Ulster, and Ireland remained under English control at a time when English hegemony was seriously threatened.

Perhaps it could be said that the answer to this question is a very mixed one from a British point of view.

Sean asks: Was the plantation the cause of the 1641 rebellion?

Dr John McCavitt: Like so many other questions in Irish history the issue of the 1641 rebellion is a very complex one.

Many historians emphasise the short term causes of the rebellion, the economic difficulties of the "native" Irish in Ulster, the prospects of more severe persecution at the hands of an ascendant Parliamentarian party in England.

Indeed, a case has been advanced that the so called "rebels" of 1641 were rising in support of the King Charles I in Ulster.

Many of the English Protestant settlers in Ulster were believed to be supporters of Cromwell and Parliament.

However, it is my own view that the vicious nature of the violence in 1641 which resulted in thousands of Protestants being massacred in cold blood is more linked to lingering bitterness with the Plantation of Ulster.

Dr John McCavitt: A generation of the manhood of Catholic Ulster had been lost owing to a policy of transportation instituted in 1609 which resulted in some six thousand men being transported to Sweden.

There had also been a dearth of weapons in Ulster as a result of the "de-commissiong" policy in Ulster which had been implemented in 1605. With the Flight of the Earls in 1607, many of the leaders of Catholic Ulster had fled to exile.

By 1640, there was a new pool of manhood new weapons available as well as a new leadership, led by Owen Roe O'Neill who returned from the Continent. Owen Roe was the nephew of Hugh O'Neill Earl of Tyrone.

Shai asks: Is there any evidence of the Ulster Plantation today?

Dr John McCavitt: The Ulster Plantation encompassed six of the historic nine counties in Ulster - Armagh, Tyrone, Londonderry, Fermanagh, Cavan, Donegal. The unofficial Plantation of Ulster comprised the counties of Antrim and Down.

"Private" settlement had been occuring here from 1603. As experience would have it, Protestant settlement was most dense in the East. Gradually becoming less dense the further West.

Thus at the time of Partition in 1921, it was the western counties such as Donegal that was not included in the new Northern Ireland because it's population was predominantly Catholic.

Within NI, there are also settlement patterns which reflect the mould of the Plantation of Ulster.

In areas that were known as precincts granted to English and Scottish settlers, it was stipulated in the conditions of the Ulster Plantation that the Catholic Irish popuulation was to be totally removed.

This did not always happen in practice, but the fact that north Armagh is predominantly Protestant reflects the fact that a certain degree of "segregation" has resulted.

Kate asks: Why was the Ulster plantation the one that survived?

Dr John McCavitt: It is one of the great ironies of Irish history that Ulster, the last bastion of Gaelic Ireland has turned out to become the most "British" part of Ireland.

To some extent this is a testimony to the fact that the Ulster Irish proved the toughest nut to crack for the English. Ulster was known as the "fountain head" of rebellion.

Owing to the fact that the military strength of the Ulster clan had proven to be so powerful the English government wished to ensure that it's military potential was suppressed forever.

Therefore Ulster was to be the area chosen for the most ambitious Plantation project undertaken in Ireland.

Plantations were also implemented in other areas such as County Wexford, but these were much smaller scale affairs, influenced not least by the practical difficulties of the establishing such a large scale project in Ulster.

Evelyn asks: Why were the Scots such a major part of it?

Dr John McCavitt: Scots and English settlers were granted almost an identical share of the land in the Ulster Plantation. This resulted from the fact that James VI of Scotland became James I of England on the death of Queen Elizabeth I in 1603. James I was under pressure from Scottish suitors for a share in the rich pickings on offer. The fact that so much land was granted to the Scots was the source of great bitterness to Englishmen. It was the English who had lost thousands and thousands of men suppressing the great rebellion of Hugh O'Neill and his allies in the north (the 9 years war 1594-1603) English officers had hoped that they would have been the primary beneficiaries of any Plantation in Ulster. The Scots just happened to have their King in London at just the right time.

For more information on the Ulster Plantation visit:-

http://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/education/history/index.shtml


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