Adventurers Act
Encyclopedia
The Adventurers' Act is an Act
of the Parliament of England
, with the long title "An Act for the speedy and effectual reducing of the rebels in His Majesty's Kingdom of Ireland
".
on 19 March 1642 as a way of raising funds to suppress the Irish Rebellion of 1641
. The Act invited members of the public to invest £200 for which they would receive 1,000 acres (4 km²) of lands that would be confiscated from rebels in Ireland
. 2,500,000 acres (10,000 km²) of Irish land were set aside by the English Government for this purpose. Ireland's size is about 20 million acres (80,937.2 km²).
in the summer of 1642, just before the start of the English Civil War
, but are usually referred to as 1640 acts—the year the Long Parliament started to sit—and as that year was the 16th year of Charles I's reign are formally known as 16 Cha. I c.33 etc.
On July 1643, Parliament passed the Doubling Ordinance which doubled the allocation of land to anyone who increased their original investment by 25%. The purpose of the Act was twofold, firstly to raise money for Parliament to help suppress the rebellion in Ireland, and secondly to deprive the King
of the lands seized from rebels that would be his by prerogative
.
was launched in 1649. In 1653, Ireland was declared subdued and the lands were allocated to the subscribers in what became known as the Cromwellian Settlement.
.
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
of the Parliament of England
Parliament of England
The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England. In 1066, William of Normandy introduced a feudal system, by which he sought the advice of a council of tenants-in-chief and ecclesiastics before making laws...
, with the long title "An Act for the speedy and effectual reducing of the rebels in His Majesty's Kingdom of Ireland
Kingdom of Ireland
The Kingdom of Ireland refers to the country of Ireland in the period between the proclamation of Henry VIII as King of Ireland by the Crown of Ireland Act 1542 and the Act of Union in 1800. It replaced the Lordship of Ireland, which had been created in 1171...
".
The main Act
It was passed by the Long ParliamentLong Parliament
The Long Parliament was made on 3 November 1640, following the Bishops' Wars. It received its name from the fact that through an Act of Parliament, it could only be dissolved with the agreement of the members, and those members did not agree to its dissolution until after the English Civil War and...
on 19 March 1642 as a way of raising funds to suppress the Irish Rebellion of 1641
Irish Rebellion of 1641
The Irish Rebellion of 1641 began as an attempted coup d'état by Irish Catholic gentry, who tried to seize control of the English administration in Ireland to force concessions for the Catholics living under English rule...
. The Act invited members of the public to invest £200 for which they would receive 1,000 acres (4 km²) of lands that would be confiscated from rebels in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. 2,500,000 acres (10,000 km²) of Irish land were set aside by the English Government for this purpose. Ireland's size is about 20 million acres (80,937.2 km²).
Auxiliary Acts
The Adventurers' Act was extended and amended by three other acts the Lands of Irish Rebels; Adventurers' Subscriptions Act 1640 (c. 34), Lands of Irish Rebels; Adventurers' Subscriptions Act 1640 (c. 35), and Irish Rebels Act 1640 (c. 37). All four received Royal AssentRoyal Assent
The granting of royal assent refers to the method by which any constitutional monarch formally approves and promulgates an act of his or her nation's parliament, thus making it a law...
in the summer of 1642, just before the start of the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
, but are usually referred to as 1640 acts—the year the Long Parliament started to sit—and as that year was the 16th year of Charles I's reign are formally known as 16 Cha. I c.33 etc.
On July 1643, Parliament passed the Doubling Ordinance which doubled the allocation of land to anyone who increased their original investment by 25%. The purpose of the Act was twofold, firstly to raise money for Parliament to help suppress the rebellion in Ireland, and secondly to deprive the King
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
of the lands seized from rebels that would be his by prerogative
Prerogative
In law, a prerogative is an exclusive right given from a government or state and invested in an individual or group, the content of which is separate from the body of rights enjoyed under the general law of the normative state...
.
Enforcement
To enforce the Acts the Cromwellian conquest of IrelandCromwellian conquest of Ireland
The Cromwellian conquest of Ireland refers to the conquest of Ireland by the forces of the English Parliament, led by Oliver Cromwell during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. Cromwell landed in Ireland with his New Model Army on behalf of England's Rump Parliament in 1649...
was launched in 1649. In 1653, Ireland was declared subdued and the lands were allocated to the subscribers in what became known as the Cromwellian Settlement.
Repeal
The Adventurers Act, and the other three statutes (c.33 to 35, and 37), were repealed by the Statute Law Revision Act of 1950Statute Law Revision Act
Statute Law Revision Act is a stock short title which was formerly used, in the United Kingdom and Canada, and is still used in Australia and in the Republic of Ireland, for legislation whose sole purpose was to repeal obsolete enactments...
.
See also
- Act for the Settlement of Ireland 1652Act for the Settlement of Ireland 1652The Act for the Settlement of Ireland imposed penalties including death and land confiscation against participants and bystanders of the Irish Rebellion of 1641 and subsequent unrest.-Background:...
- Act of Settlement 1657Act of Settlement 1657The Act of Settlement 1657 was an Act of the Cromwellian Parliament for the Assuring, Confirming and Settling of lands and estates in Ireland. The Act received its Third Reading on June 8, 1657 and received the assent of the Lord Protector the following day...
- Act of Settlement 1662Act of Settlement 1662The Act of Settlement 1662 passed by the Irish Parliament in Dublin. It was a partial reversal of the Cromwellian Act of Settlement 1652, which punished Irish Catholics and Royalists for fighting against the English Parliament in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms by the wholesale confiscation of their...
- Confederate IrelandConfederate IrelandConfederate Ireland refers to the period of Irish self-government between the Rebellion of 1641 and the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland in 1649. During this time, two-thirds of Ireland was governed by the Irish Catholic Confederation, also known as the "Confederation of Kilkenny"...