Description
Book SynopsisShows how the Welsh, as well as the English, were colonisers in Tudor and early Stuart Ireland. The colonial presence in early modern Ireland is usually viewed as being thoroughly English, and in places Scottish, with the Welsh hardly featuring at all. This book, based on extensive original research, demonstrates that therewas in fact a significant Welsh involvement in Ireland between 1558 and 1641. It explores how the Welsh established themselves as soldiers, government officials and planters in Ireland. It also discusses how the Welsh, although participating in the 'English' colonisation of Ireland, nevertheless remained a distinct community, settling together and maintaining strong kinship and social and economic networks to fellow countrymen, including in Wales. It provides a detailed picture of the Welsh settler communities and their networks, and discusses the nature of Welsh settler identity. Overall, the book demonstrates how an understanding of the role of the Welsh in the shaping of early modern Ireland can offer valuable new perspectives on the histories of both countries and on the making of early modern Britain. Rhys Morgan completed his doctorate in history at Cardiff University
Trade ReviewMorgan's study offers a new cultural dimesnion to the history of early modern Ireland by illuminating the multiple identities and religious affiliations existing within Ireland burgeoning New English population. * CANADIAN JOURNAL OF IRISH STUDIES *
Rhys Morgan's new study offers fascinating insight into the importance of Welsh involvement, as soldiers and colonizers, in Ireland. * AMERICAN HISTORICAL REVIEW *
Morgan argues convincingly that there was a sense of Welsh identity, a 'New Welsh' within the New English community, both among persons of Welsh origin or ancestry and among the non-Welsh, and that the perception of that identity changed over time. Recommended. * CHOICE *
Table of ContentsIntroduction: Locating the Welsh in Ireland and Britain during the early modern period 'Soldiers of Wales': the Welsh presence in the Irish army, 1558 - 1641 Servants and Soldiers: Welsh involvement in the Irish administration, 1558 - 1641 The Welsh Plantations, 1558 - 1641 A Colonial Community? Kinship and cooperation among the Welsh in Ireland, 1558 - 1641 A 'ragged Welch companie': difference and identity within the New English community Conclusion Appendices Bibliography
