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BEL
according to some writers, the appellation of Beala-
farsad, which has been supposed to signify” Hurdles-
ford town,” and according to others that of Bela-fearsad,
“the town at the mouth of the river;” which latter is
accurately descriptive of its situation on the river Lagan,
near its influx into the lough or bay of Belfast. But,
perhaps, a still more probable conjecture is that which
ascribes its etymology to the Irish Ball-Fosaght, signify-
ing “the town with a ditch, or foss,” which, from its
low situation, were anciently constructed round the
town, to protect it from the tide. Previously to the
English conquests in the province of Ulster, it appears
to have been a fortified station commanding the passage
of the river, which is here fordable at low water, and
important also from its position on the line between the
ancient stations of Carrickfergus and Ardes, respectively
in the counties of Antrim and Down, between which the
Lagan has ever been regarded as the boundary. The
original fort, of which the site is now occupied by St.
George’s church, was taken and destroyed about the
year 1178, by John de Gourcy, who soon after erected
a noble castle on a more eligible spot. King John
marched his army to this place, in 1210; but no notice
of any town occurs till the year 1316, when the destruc-
tion of the town and castle by Edward Bruce is re-
corded. The Irish chieftains, having by his aid reco-
vered their ancient possessions, rebuilt the castle, of
which, through the intestine divisions in England and
their union with the English settlers in Ulster, they
kept uninterrupted possession for nearly two centuries,
till the reign of Hen. VII., when the Earl of Kildare, at
the head of a large army, in 1503, took and destroyed
the town and castle; but the latter was soon afterwards
repaired by the native chieftains, from which, however,
their forces were again driven by the earl, in 1512, and
compelled to retire to the mountains. From this period
Belfast remained in a ruined and neglected state, till the
year 1552, when Sir James Crofts, lord-deputy, repaired
and garrisoned the castle 5 and during the same year the
Irish of Ulster again appeared in arms, under the com-
mand of Hugh Mae Nial Oge, but the English govern-
ment offered terms of accommodation which that chief-
tain accepted, and, swearing allegiance to Hen. VIII.,
he obtained a grant of the castle and town of Belfast,
with other extensive possessions. After the death of
Hugh, who was killed in 1555 by a party of Scottish
marauders, his possessions passed to other branches of
his family, with the exception of the castle, which was
placed in the custody of Randolph Lane, an English
governor; in the 13th of Elizabeth it was granted, with
its extensive dependencies, to Sir Thomas Smythe and
his son, on condition of their keeping a certain number
of horse and foot in readiness to meet at Antrim after
a brief notice, to attend upon the lord-deputy. In 1573
the Earl of Essex visited the fortress, which the Irish
had previously, on different occasions, frequently at-
tempted to take by surprise 5 and in 1575 the Lord-
Deputy Sydney encountered the Irish forces at the ford
of this place. About that period, Belfast is said to have
had a forest and woods, of which all traces have long
since disappeared. After the death of Elizabeth, the
garrison, influenced by Hugh O’Nial, Earl of Tyrone,
refused submission to the English crown; but, on the
defeat of that powerful leader and his adherents, the
English gained the ascendency, and Sir Arthur Chich-
192
BEL
ester, lord-deputy in the reign of Jas. I., issued his
summons requiring the supplies of horse and foot, ac-
cording to the tenure by which the castle was held; and
no one appearing in answer to this requisition, the
castle and demesne became forfeited to the crown, and
were given to Sir Arthur in 1612.
Prior to the civil war in 1641, the town had attained
a considerable degree of commercial importance, and
was the residence of many merchants and men of note;
but the inhabitants, being chiefly Presbyterians, suffered
severely for refusing to conform to the Established
Church 5 many of them left the kingdom, and those
who remained embraced the parliamentarian interest.
The immediate local effect of this rebellion was the
suspension of all improvements, but the town was saved
from assault by the defeat of the rebels near Lisburn;
and, while the insurgents were overpowering nearly all
the surrounding country, Belfast was maintained in
security by the judicious arrangements of Sir Arthur
Tyringham, who, according to the records of the cor-
poration, cleared the water-courses, opened the sluices,
erected a draw-bridge, and mustered the inhabitants in
military array. In 1643 Chas. I. appointed Col. Chich-
ester governor of the castle, and granted £1000 for the
better fortification of the town, which, while the people
of the surrounding country were joining the Scottish
covenanters, alone retained its firm adherence to the
royal interest. The royalists in Ulster, anticipating an.
order from the parliament for a forcible imposition of
the Scottish covenant, assembled here to deliberate upon
the answer to be returned to Gen. Monroe, commander
of the Scottish forces in Ireland, when required to
submit to that demand; but the latter, being treacher-
ously informed of their purpose, and favoured by the
darkness of the night, marched to Belfast with 20OO
men, surprised the town, and compelled them to retire
to Lisburn. The inhabitants were now reduced to the
greatest distress 5 Col. Hume, who was made governor
of the castle for the parliament, imposed upon them
heavy and grievous taxes, and the most daring of the
Irish insurgents were constantly harassing them from
without. After the decapitation of Chas. I., the presby-
tery of this place, having strongly expressed their ab-
horrence of that atrocity, were reproachfully answered
by the poet Milton; and the Scottish forces of Ulster
having, in common with the covenanters of their native
country, embraced the royal cause, the garrison kept,
possession of it for the king. But Gen. Monk, in 1648,
seized their commander, Gen. Monroe, whom he sent
prisoner to England, and having assaulted Belfast, soon
reduced it under- the control of the parliament, who
appointed Col. Maxwell governor. In 1649, the town
was taken by a manoeuvre of Lord Montgomery; but
Cromwell, on his arrival in Ireland, despatched Col.
Venables, after the massacre of Drogheda, to reduce it,
in which enterprise he succeeded.
On the abdication of Jas. II., the inhabitants fitted
out a vessel, and despatched a congratulatory address
to the Prince of Orange, whom they afterwards pro-
claimed king; but, within a few days, James’s troops
having obtained possession of the place, many of the
inhabitants fled to Scotland and elsewhere for safety,
and several of the principal families were placed under
attainder. On the landing of Duke Schomberg at Ban-
gor, on Oct. 13th, 1689, with an army of 10,000 men,