Background
When the Rump Parliament in London passed the Act of Settlement 1652 after the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland, its purpose was two-fold. First, it was to provide for summary execution of the leaders and supporters of the Irish Rebellion of 1641. Second, it was to confiscate sufficient land in Ireland as was necessary to repay the loans advanced by the City of London under the Adventurers Acts of the 1640s to pay for the war, and to reward the soldiers who had engaged in the war, almost all of whom sold on their interests to third parties. By 1652 the policy was achieved by the confiscation of almost all Catholic-owned land in Ireland, something that also served to punish Irish Catholics for their rebellion and war against Parliament.
The Act of 1652 said (paragraphs VI, VII VIII) that anyone who fought against the parliament in Ireland during the civil wars would lose some lands.
- If they surrendered within the time allowed, they would be pardoned for their life, but lose up to two thirds of their estates.
- If they didn't surrender within the time allowed, they could stand to lose all their lands and even their lives.
- If they were "of the Popish religion" and had not taken any part in the wars, they would still lose a third of their lands unless they had actually fought for the parliament.
In practice, Protestant Royalists in Ireland could avoid confiscation by paying fines, while Catholics could not. Although some Parliamentarians talked about deporting all of the Irish to Connacht, in fact, they only ever got around to the land-owning class. The 1652 Act ordered that all confiscated lands east of the Shannon (Ulster, Leinster and Munster) be cleared and the inhabitants transplant themselves to the west (to Connacht and County Clare), to be replaced by English Puritans (who were later to be known as Dissenters). As a result of this Settlement, Irish Catholic landholding fell from 60% before the Irish Confederate Wars to 8-9% during the Cromwellian Commonwealth (mostly in Connacht).
A number of formerly Catholic landowners also saved their land by converting to the state religion.
Read more about this topic: Act Of Settlement 1662
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