<P> The Plantations also had a major cultural influence . Gaelic Irish culture was sidelined and English replaced Irish as the official language of power and business . Although by 1700 Irish was still the majority language in Ireland, English was the dominant language for use in Parliament, the courts, and trade . In the next two centuries, the use of English advanced westwards across the country . After the decimation of society due to the Great Famine of the 1840s, and the emigration of nearly two million people, the use of Irish collapsed in much of the territory . </P> <P> Finally, the plantations and their related agricultural development radically altered Ireland's ecology and physical appearance . In 1600, most of Ireland was heavily wooded, apart from the bogs . Most of the population lived in small townlands, many migrating seasonally to fresh pastures for their cattle . By 1700, Ireland's native woodland had been decimated; it was intensively exploited by the new settlers for commercial ventures such as shipbuilding, as much of the English forests had been destroyed and the navy was becoming a great power . Several native species, such as the wolf, were hunted to extinction during this period . Most of the settler population was urbanized, living in permanent towns or villages . Some of the Irish peasantry continued their traditional practices . By the end of the plantation period, almost all of Ireland had become integrated into a market economy . But many of the poorer classes had no access to money, still paying their rents in kind or in service . </P>

A person who received land during the plantations in ireland