Vanderplas Cork Deeds

Context

Creator(s): Unknown, possibly the Gould or Meagh family

• Administrative History ↴

  By the end of the 16th century, the area and the population of Cork City was not much greater than that of medieval times. The City was largely in the hands of a merchant patriciate of Old English descent. Despite some advances by the Reformation, by the early 17th century, the merchant rulers were once again predominantly Roman Catholic. This was in contrast to the recent Munster plantation settlers who were of the Anglican tradition. The English authorities regarded Cork’s merchant oligarchy with suspicion due to its Catholicism and it was thought to be in league with Gaelic and Catholic forces outside the city. On the death of Queen Elizabeth I in 1603, the leading Catholic families in Cork refused to proclaim James I as king. Lord Mountjoy soon put down what was termed the ‘Recusant Revolt’, which was mirrored in other Irish cities. The 17th century was a momentous and turbulent century in the history of both Cork and Ireland. It saw the re-establishment of the power of the crown over Ireland; a power that was now aligned with the Protestantism of the Reformation. It also witnessed the beginnings of the decline of the old Gaelic civilisation. Most historians regard the defeat of the Irish and Spanish forces at the Battle of Kinsale in 1601 and the flight of the Earls in 1607 as watersheds in the history of Ireland. While the civic government of Cork City remained in the hands of the merchant patriciate, the tensions between it and the officials of the crown continued to simmer. Members of the leading Catholic families, such as Meades, Tirrys, Goolds and others were fined for non-attendance at formal religious ceremonies conducted according to the Anglican rite. The James 1 Charter of 1608, while it created the County of the City of Cork which covered a much larger area than the old medieval walled city and suburbs, also retained for the crown the right to poundage, tonnage and customs in the port of Cork. This was a severe financial blow to the merchants of the city. Matters came to a head in 1644, following the 1641 rebellion. In that year it was discovered that some of the leading citizens of Cork had been conspiring with Lord Muskerry, a military commander loyal to the Catholic Confederacy. Lord Inchiquin, in June 1644, then decreed the expulsion of the Irish and Catholic population of Cork from the city. The power of the Old Catholic merchant families, which had dominated the civic life of Cork for centuries, was broken. The forces of the Catholic Confederacy continued to struggle against the English forces, which were themselves riven by the conflict between parliament and the crown in the prelude to the English Civil War. The dispossessed merchants of Cork City were briefly reinstated in 1648 when English forces in Cork declared for the Royalist side. Their reinstatement was short-lived, as they were expelled again in 1649 on the arrival of Oliver Cromwell’s forces. Cork City was under military governance from 1644 to 1656 when Cromwell granted a new municipal charter to the Protestants of Cork City. Further orders expelling the Irish from Cork City were made in 1651 and 1656. The municipal government of the city was to remain firmly in Protestant hands until the reform of the Corporation in the 1840s, apart from a brief period during the reign of Catholic James II (1685-1690) when the Old English rallied to the Jacobite cause and regained control of the City, which was then beseiged and taken by Williamite forces in September 1690. Some of the Old English had properties in Cork returned after the restoration of the monarchy in 1660, but the dominance of the City by the Old English merchant elite, which had lasted for centuries, was at an end. Despite the political turbulence, the economic fortunes of Cork began to improve in the first half of the 17 th century after two centuries of relative decline. Historians and geographers using evidence from maps, surveys and other sources estimate that the population of the city may have trebled from approximately 3,000 in 1600 to approximately 9,000 in 1640. The number of streets, lanes and buildings within the old walled city increased and similar developments took place in the suburbs. In the 17th century, Cork, a Staple port since 1291, had become a major centre for the import and export of goods. Among imported goods were wine, salt and other commodities. The export of hides, pipestaves, rugs and tallow was extensive. Trade with Bristol was especially important and trade with European ports, for example Bordeaux, began to flourish. The Irish Staple ports had been established to regulate trade in staple goods, such as wool and hides, which could only be sold to foreign merchants in designated staple towns, originally Cork, Dublin, Waterford and Drogheda. By the 17th century, the Staple was principally important in the regulation of debt. The staple officers, the mayor of the staple and two constables, had power to take recognisance of debts incurred within the staple. The recognisances were known as 'statute staple' and, when issued had the staple seal attached. If the debtor defaulted, the mayor of the staple had the power to imprison the debtor, take possession of his goods and use them to make restitution to the creditor. In Cork, a ‘Corporation of the Staple’ was set up by the James I. Charter of 1608, granting Cork the same privileges as those in Dublin and London.

• Archival History ↴

  The collection was purchased by the Archives in 2007. Given the large number of references within to the Gould and Meagh families, it is a possibility that the collection was brought to the European mainland by a family member or descendant of the Gould or Meagh families, who perhaps may have emigrated following the final loss of their lands and power after 1690.

• Immediate Source Acquisition ↴

  Purchase