ABSTRACT
Towards the end of the sixteenth century, trade with Ireland had become crucial to Scotland’s western ports. With the surrender of Tyrone the trade in war contraband ceased, but between 1603 and the beginning of the plantation the general Scottish trade with Ireland continued. From the beginning, Scots must have participated in the new trade that developed with Ulster. The extent and nature of the trade which grew up between Scotland and Ulster as a result of the plantation can best be seen by an examination of the Londonderry customs records. The Scots naturally continued to wear the dress to which they were accustomed. Trade not only drew merchants over to handle it, but changed agriculture in Ulster from a mere matter of subsistence to an opportunity for profit, offering those pondering a departure for a new home in a dangerous land a tangible prospect of a better life.
