THE SCOT IN ULSTER

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being let to any tenant;" [1] so that "the more careful and industrious the tenant, the more liable to oppression of all kinds--the more likely to be turned out of his holding." [2] In fact, the chief might deprive the clansman of his holding, just as the clansman might pass from one chief to another. [3] Rent was paid to the chief mainly in kind--in oats, oatmeal, butter, hogs, and mutton; partly in money, the amount of cash paid depending on the number of cattle fed. [4] Nor was the civic rule more satisfactory than the land tenure. The different clans of Ulster recognised the chief of the great O'Neill family as King of Ulster, when "The O'Neill" of the time was strong enough to enforce his claims. The chiefs of all the clans and septs of clans seem to have been elected from the families of the chiefs--all the sons, legitimate and illegitimate, and the brothers of the deceased being eligible. [5] A vacancy was therefore the signal for fierce contention, which frequently ended in faction-fight, and almost certainly in one party intriguing with the English authorities, to whom he promised faithful allegiance--a promise surely broken when the end of the assistance was attained. In addition, as was the fact in our Scottish Highlands, clan hatred and war between the clans was common; for each chief had his body-guard of...continue reading »

[1] Calendar of State Papers, Ireland, 1608-10, p. 534.

[2] Ibid., Carew, 1603-24, p. xiv.

[3] Ibid., Ireland, 1608-10, p. 534.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Ibid., Carew, 1603-24, p. xx. Also Sir Henry Maine's Early Law and Custom, p. 136.

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Page 32

The Scot in Ulster:
Sketch of the History of the Scottish Population of Ulster

by John Harrison

1888