Pender's Census, or Petty's Census, was undertaken by the English economist
William Petty
Sir William Petty (26 May 1623 – 16 December 1687) was an English economist, physician, scientist and philosopher. He first became prominent serving Oliver Cromwell and the Commonwealth of England, Commonwealth in Cromwellian conquest of I ...
between December 1654 and 1659. This 'census' was completed on behalf of the Commonwealth government probably as part of the
Down Survey.
Content
The census provides returns of the inhabitants of most of the country, arranged in counties, baronies, parishes and townlands. The counties of Cavan, Galway, Wicklow, Mayo, Tyrone and most of Meath are not included. The number of English, Irish and Scotch in each townland was also noted. These designations of nationality are vague; 'Irish' may refer to those who speak
the language and English may refer to only the newest settlers. The 'Scotch' are found widespread in Ulster, with the exception of Co. Monaghan and Co. Antrim. This census gives no Scotch settlers in the provinces of Munster and Connacht, where the Irish outnumber the English by a ten to one ratio.
In addition to this, the 'census' also recorded the names of those with titles to land and are referred to as 'Tituladoes'. A Titulado may have been a land-owner, but did not necessarily own land.
The census also recorded the principal Irish surnames in each barony.
Discovery
The original papers were discovered amongst the
Lansdowne manuscripts in
Bowood House
Bowood is a Grade I listed Georgian era, Georgian English country houses, country house in Wiltshire, England, that has been owned for more than 250 years by the Fitzmaurice family. The house, with interiors by Robert Adam, stands in extensive g ...
,
Wiltshire
Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...
by W. H. Hardinge. He announced his discovery in a paper read before the
Royal Irish Academy
The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the natural sciences, arts, literature, and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier List of Irish learned societies, learned society and one of its le ...
in 1864. The papers were edited by Séamus Pender and were published by the Manuscripts Commission in 1939.
Significance
Although it is not a true census and lacks information for some key counties, Pender's Census is important for historians and genealogists alike as almost no other records survive for the Ireland of this period. The census also allowed a population estimate for this period; Hardinge gave a figure of around 500,000 at the time.
When published in 1939, Pender considered it to be a count of the whole population and, therefore, a census. More recent opinion, however, considers it to essentially be a
poll tax
A poll tax, also known as head tax or capitation, is a tax levied as a fixed sum on every liable individual (typically every adult), without reference to income or resources. ''Poll'' is an archaic term for "head" or "top of the head". The sen ...
, levied on every head of household counted.
[Familia No. 8: Conference Essays, Vol. 2, Issue 8, Kenneth Darwin (1998)]
See also
*
Down Survey
*
Civil Survey
References
{{Reflist
*Pender, Séamus. A Census of Ireland, circa 1659 (1939)
External links
Digital version of the 1939 Edition
Censuses in the United Kingdom
1650s in Ireland