What do the 1641 Depositions tell us about plantation in Ireland?
Material in the depositions vividly recaptures these land transfers and the settlement patterns of the newcomers as they built fortified mansions, villages, schools, and churches; cut down woods and drained and enclosed land; and nurtured the development of urban settlements and proto-industry (tanning, iron-making, glass-making, cloth-making and so on).
Image taken from James Cranford, Teares of Ireland (London, 1642), produced by the courtesy of the Board of Trinity College, Dublin.
Image taken from John Speed, The theatre of the empire of Great Britain (London, 1676), produced by the courtesy of the Board of Trinity College, Dublin.