Belfast is the capital of Northern Ireland, and throughout its modern history has been a major commercial and industrial centre. In the late 20th century manufacturing industries that had existed for several centuries declined, particularly shipbuilding. The city's history has occasionally seen conflict between different political factions who favour different political arrangements between Ireland and Great Britain. Since the Good Friday Agreement, the city has been relatively peaceful and major redevelopment has occurred, especially in the inner city and dock areas.
Prehistory
The first permanent settlements were built in the Iron Age. The Giant's Ring, a 5,000-year-old henge, is located near the city, and evidence of Bronze and Iron Age occupation has been found in the surrounding hills. For example, McArt's Fort, an Iron Age hill fort, sits atop Cavehill north of the city.
Middle Ages
The name Belfast comes from the Irish (), "mouth of the Farset", a river whose name comes from Irish fearsaid, meaning a sandbar or tidal ford. This was formed where the Farset flowed into the River Lagan, along what is now High Street, until culverted in the late 18th century. It was at this crossing that the early settlement developed.
sat on the border of two Gaelic territories in the province of Ulster: Dál Fiatach to the south, and Dál nAraide to the north. The Irish annals record a battle being fought at the ford in the 7th century, between the Ulaid of Dál Fiatach and the Cruthin of Dál Araide. Saint George's church is built on the site of an early medieval chapel used by pilgrims crossing the ford. The earliest mention of this Chapel of the Ford is in the papal taxation rolls of 1306.
In 1177, during the Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland, John de Courcy conquered land in eastern Ulster that included Belfast, soon founding the Earldom of Ulster. The Anglo-Normans are believed to have built a fort at Belfast to guard the river crossing, as well as nearby Carrickfergus Castle. This fort at Belfast was probably a wooden and earthen ringwork or motte-and-bailey, and the earliest surviving reference to it is in 1262. It was most likely built on the orders of de Courcy or his successor Hugh de Lacy. In 1263, the Earldom of Ulster passed to the House of Burgh.
The original Belfast Castle stood roughly where modern-day Castle Place and High Street meet in Belfast city centre. The castle was attacked, recovered, destroyed and rebuilt several times over the following centuries.The Old Castle – Story of Belfast. Mary Lowry. The Story of Belfast and Its Surroundings, 1913, LibraryIreland
As part of his campaign to establish himself as king of Scotland, Robert Bruce plotted with his brother Edward Bruce to invade Ulster in an attempt to divert English military resources there.The Bruce Invasion and County Louth, 1315-18. Brendan Smith, Journal of the County Louth Archaeological and Historical Society, Vol. 22, No. 1 (1989), pp. 7–15. County Louth Archaeological and History Society , During this Bruce campaign in Ireland, Edward Bruce landed at Carrickfergus with an army in 1315 and seized the town. Many of Ulster's Gaelic lords and chieftains welcomed the invasion, seeing it as a way to drive the English out of Ireland. Some paid homage to Edward, pledging their fealty to him and giving him the hollow title of King of Ireland. Edward laid siege to Belfast Castle that year and later destroyed it. Edward's bid to become King of Ireland slowly unravelled as a famine weakened his army. His campaign ultimately ended when he was killed in the Battle of Faughart in 1318. Following the murder of William Donn de Burgh, 3rd Earl of Ulster in 1333, there erupted a civil war among the de Burghs.
"Bruce's invasion and the death of William de Burgh led to the loss of English power for three centuries in this part of Ulster". By the mid 14th century, the ruined Belfast castle and its manor were taken over by the O'Neills, a powerful Gaelic Irish dynasty. It became part of the territory of Northern (or Lower) Clannaboy (Clann Aodha Buidhe). It then remained under Gaelic control for more than two centuries. The Irish annals indicate that Belfast castle was periodically slighted and rebuilt during this period.
The castle was briefly taken five times during these two centuries of Gaelic control before the Tudor conquest, all of them during a 36-year period. In 1476, Belfast Castle was taken and demolished by Éinri mac Eoghain O'Neill, king of Tír Eoghain; in 1489 by Hugh Roe O'Donnell, king of Tír Chonaill; in 1503 and again in 1512 by Gerald, 8th Earl of Kildare, the Lord Deputy of Ireland. Our own country, descriptive, historical, pictorial, Volumes 3-4, 1878. p. 111. Via Oxford sUniversity, Google Books. In 1523, his son and successor Gerald Óg wrote to Henry VIII that he had seized Belfast Castle. Archaeological excavations at Castle Place have found medieval pottery and timbers dated to the 16th century. This provided some of the first physical evidence for dating the medieval occupation of the town.
During the Tudor conquest of Ireland, which began in the 1530s, Belfast Castle "became of increasing interest to the English authorities in Ireland". The castle was fortified in 1552 by the English Lord Deputy of Ireland, Sir James Croft, during the reign of Edward VI. Croft put this castle under the command of Hugh Mac Neil Óg, who was loyal to the English Crown. Mac Neil Óg was killed by Scottish raiders in 1555, and Belfast Castle was given to Randolphus Lane.
Documents from 1568 relate to negotiations between Brian McPhelim O'Neill and the English Lord Deputy for building a bridge over the ford, following the surrender and regrant of the "castle and manor of Belfast". It seems that by 1571, McPhelim O'Neill jointly held Belfast Castle with the English. He wrote to Elizabeth I from Belfast in July 1571, suggesting that the Crown maintain a small garrison in Belfast together with his own forces. By the following year, however, O'Neill had learnt that the queen had approved a plantation (colonization) of his territory, including Belfast.
In 1571, during this Enterprise of Ulster, the Clannaboy O'Neill land was granted to Sir Thomas Smith by Elizabeth I. Smith would fail fulfill the requirements of his grant by not subduing the area and the land later reverted to the Crown under James I.
The Earl of Essex pledged to Elizabeth that he would conquer parts of Ulster at his own expense. In 1573, he set out on his expedition from Liverpool, only to have his convoy get caught in a storm off the coast of Ireland and disperse. Lord Essex was forced to spend the winter in Belfast. In October 1574, Essex lured Sir Brian McPhelim and his entourage (including his wife) under the pretense of negotiations and a feast in McPhelim's honour at Belfast Castle. Essex then had MacPhelim's retainers killed and took MacPhelim, his wife and his brother into custody, sending them to Dublin where they were later executed. In 1597, during the Nine Years' War, the English garrison posted at Belfast Castle was captured and killed by Ulster rebels. The castle, village and surrounding Lagan Valley were all devastated during the rebellion.
Plantation of Ulster In 1603, after the rebellion, Gaelic chieftain Conn O'Neill (son of Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone) was holding a Christmas feast at his stronghold of Castlereagh. After three days of revelry, he and his guests ran out of wine and he ordered his men into the village of Belfast to steal more drink. O'Neill's men got into a quarrel then skirmished with English soldiers en route, killing one of them. O'Neill was subsequently arrested for "making war against the Queen's soldiers" and thrown into a dungeon at Carrickfergus Castle. O'Neill was then sentenced to death for the wine incident. A secret agreement between O'Neill, Richard Hamilton and Hugh Montgomery, a Scottish lord, saw O'Neill escape from imprisonment. Hamilton seduced the daughter of O'Neill's jailer and Montgomery had Lady O'Neill smuggle in rope inside a large cheese wheel. O'Neill then used the rope to escape down the sea cliff side of the castle, where a boat was waiting. Impressed by his daring, the newly crowned James I offered O'Neill a pardon on condition he honour his terms with the Scottish lords who helped him escape and divide his lands in Ulster between himself, Montgomery and Hamilton. O'Neill kept the land Belfast was on. Montgomery, in turn, encouraged the migration of common people from Scotland to Ulster. When James I became aware of this popular movement, he officially involved the monarchy. James decided to make the already occurring human migration royal policy and escalated its pace and scale.
In 1605, Sir Arthur Chichester was appointed Lord Deputy of Ireland by James I. He was already serving as Governor of Carrickfergus in 1598 after his brother, Sir John Chichester, was killed in the Battle of Carrickfergus. Chichester was later granted lands that included Carrickfergus, Belfast and the Lagan Valley. Belfast was still a small village (with one inn) that had been affected by the Nine Years' War. At that time, Belfast consisted mostly of Scots, English and Manx who lived in timber houses. Chichester was determined to transform the village into a proper town and set about finding ways to develop the area. He brought masons and smiths over from Britain and ordered the firing of over a million bricks for new construction.
After the Flight of the Earls left Ulster without leadership in 1607, James saw an opportunity to finally Anglicise the last Gaelic province in Ireland. Ulster, up to this point, had accepted royal patrimony and trade but hitherto resisted British cultural influence. James granted Irish lands and titles to those who were loyal to him in Britain as well as to the loyal Gaelic lords he deemed "worthy" in Ireland. James encouraged the increase of migration from Britain to Ireland, promising his subjects work and a new life in what was later dubbed the Plantation of Ulster. Though many came from all over Britain, the largest response was from lowland Scotland. Scottish migrants came to Ulster in droves, honoring the king's conditions to develop existing towns, build roads and found new settlements. This mass migration during the Plantation saw the eventual emergence of the Ulster-Scots.
In 1611, Chichester replaced the old castle with one made of stone and timber, built on the same spot as the previous fortifications. This was the final version of Belfast Castle on the original site; the building was destroyed by fire on 25 April 1708. Instead of building yet another structure at this location, a new stone mansion was constructed on Cave Hill in north Belfast in 1870 and dubbed Belfast Castle. This modern, off-site version of the castle still stands today and is a popular tourist attraction. Belfast Castle is situated by the entrance to the Cave Hill hiking trails and is often used as a venue for weddings and other formal occasions. In recognition of his efforts, James I formally granted the town of Belfast and its castle, together with some large estates, to Chichester creating Baron Chichester by letters patent.