Explore Irish Maps within our Primary Source Series

Discover the geography, fortifications, and townships of Ireland during the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I through a Primary Source Series brought to you by The Social History Archive. This collection showcases over sixty maps from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, offering crucial insights into this transformative period in Irish history.

Irish Maps and their Strategic Importance

The Ireland, Maps and Surveys 1558-1610 Primary Source Series grants access to 68 early Irish maps from The National Archives' ‘State Papers Ireland’ series. Created during the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods, these maps document the conquest of Ireland and the mass confiscation of Irish lands by the English Crown. This process of colonisation was called a ‘plantation’, which involved the creation of a loyal community through settlement from England and Scotland, and social engineering by changing the agricultural and economic landscape, the law and culture. These lands, once owned by Gaelic lords across much of Ireland (especially in the provinces of Munster and Ulster), were redistributed to English and Scottish ‘planters’ or settler colonists.

Maps were far more than simple navigational aids during the English conquest of Ireland, they were powerful tools of imperial control. By recording key features such as rivers, bogs, fortifications, and harbours, these maps provided essential information for military commanders and settlers. In fact, cartography played a critical role in the expansion process, functioning not only as a record of land but also as a blueprint for colonisation. Many of the mapmakers were directly employed by the Crown, tasked with supporting the government’s goal of transferring land from native Irish ownership to English and Scottish hands. (1)

Ireland Represented

The maps in this series are among the earliest cartographic representations of Ireland. The majority depict specific areas, from provinces and baronies to towns and forts, while a number of them cover the entirety of Ireland. One notable example is the famous map of ‘Hibernia’ (the Latin name for Ireland) drawn by John Goghe in 1567.

This map, like many others from the period, contains curiosities that reflect the early stage of professional mapmaking. North is not placed at the top, and the maps preserve historical names for geographical features and seas, such as the ‘Spanish Sea’ (now known as the Celtic Sea). In addition, the map features decorative details, including illustrations of mythical sea creatures, visible in the close-up image below.

Cartography: A Dangerous Business

Mapmaking could be a dangerous career during this period, as cartographers frequently worked in hostile territory where local populations actively resisted English colonisation. One notable example is Richard Bartlett, an Elizabethan mapmaker whose work can be found within this collection (2). Bartlett was beheaded in 1603 by locals in Tyrconnell, modern County Donegal, who opposed the English conquest and the mapping of their lands. One of his surviving works, a hand-drawn map of Ulster from 1603, has undergone scientific analysis at The National Archives. This study has revealed previously unknown details about its creation. For example, the vibrant purple framing was likely painted with dyes derived from lichens or orchids, while the yellow areas are thought to have come from unripe buckthorn berries (3).

Conclusion

The Ireland, Maps and Surveys 1558-1610 series, a product of our long-term collaboration with The National Archives, offers an invaluable resource for scholars of Irish and British history, as well as for cartographers. These maps not only chart Ireland's physical landscape during the 16th and 17th centuries but also provide a rich visual account of a complex and often violent chapter in its history. This Primary Source Series is an essential resource for understanding how geography, cartography, and imperial ambitions intersected during the early modern period.

Footnotes

(1) ‘Irish maps c.1558-c.1610’, The National Archives, https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/irish-maps-c1558-c1610 (accessed: 22 October 2024).

(2) Eileen Battersby, ‘The cartographer as witness’, Irish Times (2009), https://www.irishtimes.com/news/the-cartographer-as-witness-1.711673 (accessed: 24 October 2024).

(3) ‘MPF 1/35: Richard Bartlett's map of Ulster, 1605’, The National Archives, https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/families/celebrating-british-science-week/how-to-make-berry-ink/mpf-1-35-richard-bartletts-map-of-ulster-1605 (accessed: 24 October 2024).