The Protestants of Ulster are an ethnic or ethnonational group in the province of Ulster, Ireland.^[1] They make up almost half the population of Ulster. Some Ulster Protestants are descendants of the Protestant settlers involved in the early 17th century Ulster Plantation, which introduced the first significant numbers of Protestants into the west and centre of the province. These settlers were mostly Lowland Scottish and Northern English people and predominantly from Galloway, the Scottish Borders and Northumberland.^[2] Begun privately in 1606, the Plantation became government-sponsored in 1609. Colonising Ulster with loyal British settlers, the vast majority of whom were Protestant, was seen by London as a way to prevent further rebellion in the province, as it had been the region most resistant to English control during the preceding century. There was a total settler population of about 19,000 by 1622,^[3] and possibly as many as 80,000 in the 1630s.

Ulster Protestants descend from a variety of lineages, including Scottish people (some of whose descendants consider themselves Ulster Scots people), English people, Irish people, and Huguenots.^[4][5] Another influx of an estimated 20,000 Scottish Protestants was a result of the seven ill years in the 1690s.^[6] While Presbyterians of Scottish descent and origin had already become the majority of Ulster Protestants by the 1660s (when Protestants still only made up a third of the population), they became an absolute majority in the province by the 1720s.^[7]

Divisions between Ulster's Protestants and Irish Catholics have played a major role in the history of Ulster from the 17th century to the present day, especially during the Plantation, the Cromwellian conquest, the Williamite War, the revolutionary period, and the Troubles. Most Ulster Protestants are Presbyterian or Anglican. Scottish colonists were mostly Presbyterian^[8] and the English mostly members of the Church of England. Repression of Presbyterians by Anglicans (who followed the Church of Ireland state religion) intensified after the Glorious Revolution (especially after the 1703 Test Act) and was one reason for heavy emigration to North America by Ulster Presbyterians during the 18th century (see Scotch-Irish American).^[9] Between 1717 and 1775, an estimated 200,000 migrated to what became the United States of America.^[10] Some Presbyterians also returned to Scotland during this period. This repression largely ended after the Irish Rebellion of 1798 and the relaxation of the Penal Laws.^[11] As Belfast industrialised in the 19th century, it attracted yet more Protestant immigrants from Scotland.^[12] After the 1920-22 partition of Ireland, the new government of Northern Ireland launched a campaign to entice Protestants from the rest of Ireland to relocate to the new polity with inducements of state jobs and housing, and "large numbers" accepted.^[13] Because of these migrations, Ulster has a lower proportion of Catholics than the other provinces of Ireland.

Most Ulster Protestants speak Ulster English, and some speak one of the Ulster Scots dialects.^[14][15][16] The vast majority live in Northern Ireland and tend to support its Union with the rest of the United Kingdom,^[17] and are known as unionists. Unionism is a term that has been divided by some into two camps; "Ulster British" who are attached to the United Kingdom and primarily adhere to British values; and "Ulster loyalism", whose attachment is primarily ethnic, prioritising Ulster Protestantism above British identity.^[18][19][20] The Loyal Orders, which include the Orange Order, Royal Black Institution and Apprentice Boys of Derry, are fraternal organisations which originated in Ulster and still have most of their membership there.

About 2% of Ulster Protestants reside in the rest of Ulster in the Republic of Ireland (formed after the breakup of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland).^[21] Some still retain a sense of Britishness, and a small number have difficulty identifying with the independent Irish state.^[22][23][24]

See also

• British nationalism
• Protestantism in Ireland
• Unionism in Ireland

References

External links

• Amity and enmity: variety in Ulster Protestant culture
• Ulster Protestants - Blood & Belonging