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Which maps are available?These maps are among the best known and most frequently consulted maps in The National Archives. You can search and download more than 60 different maps depicting plantations, fortifications and townships in Ireland during the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I. They are among the earliest cartographic representations of Ireland and include the famous map of Hibernia drawn by John Goghe in 1567 (catalogue reference MPF 1/68). These maps come from the ‘State Papers Ireland’, the main record of government business in the early modern period. The maps were originally bound with papers in a specific map series, SP 64, which runs parallel to the main series of State Papers Ireland in SP 63, among which maps can also be found. These maps have been extracted from SP 64, and now bear the map extract references MPF 1/35 to MPF 1/102. The table below shows which papers remain at each SP 64 reference, and you can download these state papers free of charge using the links in the table. The table also shows the original references, and which map extract references the maps are now held under.
Searching the mapsYou can search by:
Some important points to note when searching:
Why were the maps made?These maps were drawn at a time when the English were colonising or ‘planting’ Ireland. By transferring land ownership from the native Irish to English settlers, the English were trying to increase the loyalty of Ireland to the English crown. The maps were usually made in response to a particular threat, to show a siege or battle, or to help inform defence strategy against a background of ongoing clashes with Irish chieftains. Maps were one of the English colonists’ tools, along with the written survey and the gun. What do the maps show?The maps are mostly drawn on parchment, some brightly coloured and decorated, and were originally bound in vellum covers embossed with coats of arms. Most of the maps show areas of Ireland from provinces and baronies to towns and forts. There are also a number of maps showing the whole of Ireland, one showing the west coast of Great Britain (MPF 1/65) and one of the Mediterranean (MPF 1/66). The maps show information useful for defence, such as the location of castles and forts, difficult terrain for armies such as mountains and lakes, and strategic islands and river crossings. Since sea was the main means of transport, some maps show coasts, harbours and rivers, with drawings of ships and boats. Some maps show actual sieges of towns and military engagements with firing canons. The maps also show features such as churches, forests and bogs. They often name the local chiefs and the family dominant in particular areas. We do not know who made all of the maps, but some of them are signed by well-known mapmakers of the day, such as Robert Lythe, Francis Jobson, Richard Bartlett and John Norden. Some of the maps bear annotations and endorsements in the hand of Sir William Cecil, who became Lord Burghley, one of Queen Elizabeth I’s most influential ministers. To get an idea of what these maps look like, you can download
a map Tullyhaw, County Cavan (MPF 1/58) If you have problems with the handwriting of the documents or maps, our palaeography tutorial can help. Further researchSome of the state papers and calendars are available online, for a fee, on the Gale Cengage and British History Online websites. To order high resolution images of the maps for commercial purposes, please contact the image library. Research guidanceThe National Archives’ research guide State Papers Ireland, 1509-1782. Visit our Maps page to learn more about The National Archives’ extensive collection of maps. BooksThe History of Cartography, volume 3 part 2, edited by David Woodward (University of Chicago, 2007). This book contains a relevant chapter entitled ‘Colonial Cartography in a European Setting: The Case of Tudor Ireland’ by J. H. Andrews. Shapes of Ireland, maps and their makers 1564-1839, J. H. Andrews, (Geography Publications, Dublin, 1997). |
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