General Notes

1st Viscount of Ardes
HUGH, FIRST VISCOUNT OF GREAT ARDES (1560-1636), was educat
ed at Glasgow College. To complete his education he went t
o France and stayed for some time at the French court. He a
fterwards repaired to Holland. Like his father, he joine
d a Dutch regiment and got a commission as a captain.
After his father's death Montgomery returned to Scotland an
d was received into favour by James VI. Through his brother
, who was at that time Dean of Norwich, Montgomery was abl
e to keep the King informed about the attitude of the Engli
sh nobility and gentry towards his claim to the English thr
one. This source of information was of great value to the K
ing, who later on liberally rewarded Montgomery for his ser
vices.
In 1587 Montgomery married Elizabeth, daughter of Alexande
r Shaw, Laird of Sauchie. The families of Montgomery and Sh
aw were united by many bonds. Hugh Montgomery was appointe
d one of the squires of the body and attended the King on h
is journey to Westminster for the coronation in 11603. He w
as knighted in 1605, and by an Act of Parliament 20th Jul
y 1610 he and his sons Hugh and James were naturalized in E
ngland. On 3rd May 1622 he was raised to the peerage and cr
eated Viscount Montgomery of Great Ardes.
This was not a distinction conferred upon a court favourit
e but the reward of valuable services. Montgomery had acqui
red large estates in Northern Ireland and was the leader o
f the plantation of that country at the beginning of the se
venteenth century. In his letters patent stress was laid up
on his merits, especially in restoring peace and order in U
lster after the rebellion, spreading the Protestant faith a
nd turning the inhabitants of Ardes into the King's loyal c
itizens.
Montgomery's acquisition of big domains in Ulster had take
n place with the King's consent. It was, in fact, a link i
n the policy deliberately pursued by the English Governmen
t of placing reliable Scotsmen on the big estates and in ke
y-positions in Ulster in order to gain complete control o
f this territory. With Ulster securely in their hands the E
nglish Government could more easily master the situation i
n the rest of the country.
A better and more loyal representative for English interest
s than Montgomery could hardly be found. On his arrival i
n Ulster most of the country lay waste. The Irish rebellio
n 1595-1603 had been quelled by the English governors Mount
joy and Chichester with ruthless ferocity. Their policy wa
s to deprive the Irish patriots of all possible means of li
velihood. Towns, villages, farm buildings, woods and corn-f
ields were burnt, with the result that large portions of th
e population died of starvation. In the parishes of Donagha
dee and Newtown there were only about 30 houses in 1606. Th
e churches were stripped of their roofs and left to ruin. U
nder these horrible conditions many people turned cannibals
. Those who died from starvation were eaten up by survivin
g relations, and according to Captain Trevor's report wome
n in the Woods got hold of children, whom they killed and a
te. (Note from Mike Montgomery 1998: there are accounts o
f treachery by Irish story tellers that suggest women and c
hildren may have been killed in a very unpleasant manner th
roughout their history. Whether this known fact had alread
y begun by now is unknown by this author.)
Thus the country where Montgomery had settled was unhappy a
nd devastated, but he laid balm on the wounds and in a fe
w years he had founded economically sound industries and tu
rned large portions of Ulster into prosperous country. Fro
m Scotland he brought settlers of good quality, farmers, sm
iths, carpenters, bricklayers and other craftsmen. From Nor
way he imported timber for dwelling-houses and farm-buildin
gs. Fields that had been laid waste were again brought unde
r cultivation and gave big harvests. Mills, linen and woo
l factories were built, around which