Irish Donation of 1676
The Irish Donation of 1676 is the name sometimes used to refer to a foreign aid consignment sent to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1676 from Ireland. A return donation 171 years later – from Massachusetts to Ireland – has been described as repayment for the original aid.
Background
File:Early_American_Conflict.jpg
In 1675, the King Philip's War erupted between the Wampanoag Confederacy and their allies, on the one hand, and the United Colonies of New England and their Mohegan and Pequot allies on the other.{{cite book|title=The Oxford Companion to United States History|date=2001|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=0195082095|pages=[https://archive.org/details/oxfordcompaniont00paul_0/page/421 421–422]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/oxfordcompaniont00paul_0/page/421}} The destructive conflict saw rapid Wampanoag gains and bloody losses by the United Colonies who were largely refused military assistance both by the Kingdom of England and by the neighboring Province of New York. By the spring of 1676 the frontier of Massachusetts had been overrun and lay "in shambles" with eleven towns – including Dartmouth and Springfield – entirely evacuated, and much of the population sheltered in a besieged Boston.{{cite book|last1=Tougias|first1=Michael|title=King Philip's War: The History and Legacy of America's Forgotten Conflict|date=2016|publisher=Countryman|isbn=1581574908|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I422DAAAQBAJ}}
The Donation
In 1676 Nathaniel Mather – a Lancashire-born, Harvard-educated, independent Protestant clergyman – was ministering in Dublin.{{cite book|title=The New England Historical & Genealogical Register, Volume 2|date=1848|publisher=Drake|page=[https://archive.org/details/newenglandhisto11unkngoog/page/n255 245]|url=https://archive.org/details/newenglandhisto11unkngoog}} Mather organized a fundraising drive among Dubliners to send foodstuffs and other goods to Massachusetts Bay Colony.{{cite news|last1=O'Brien|first1=M.J.|title=A Chance to Repay Her for Relieving Distress in New England|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9B0CE1D8113FE233A2575AC0A9609C946796D6CF&legacy=true|accessdate=September 12, 2017|work=New York Times|date=June 19, 1916}} The resulting donation was loaded onto the hired ship Katherine which sailed from Dublin, en route to Boston, on August 28, 1676.
Upon arrival, the consignment was to be given to a committee composed of William Tyng, James Oliver, and John Hull, "or as many of them as shall be alive".{{cite book|last1=Roberts|first1=Oliver|title=History of the Military Company of the Massachusetts, Now Called, the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts: 1637–1888|date=1895|publisher=A. Mudge & Son|page=[https://archive.org/details/historymilitary03robegoog/page/n290 244]|url=https://archive.org/details/historymilitary03robegoog}} The committee was instructed to sell the goods to pay the shipping charges and distribute the remainder to colonists and members of colonial-allied Native American tribes who had been made refugees.{{cite book|last1=Taylor|first1=William|title=The Story of the Irish in Boston|url=https://archive.org/details/storyofirishinbo00cull_1|date=1889|publisher=J.B. Cullen|page=[https://archive.org/details/storyofirishinbo00cull_1/page/80 80]}} Proceeds from the donation were ultimately divided among approximately 600 families.
Massachusetts Donation of 1847
In 1847, during the Great Famine, Massachusetts businessmen organized a fundraising drive for distressed Irish families which collected $150,000 in goods.{{cite web|last1=Klein|first1=Christopher|title=The Warship of Peace That Fed Famine-Stricken Ireland|url=http://www.history.com/news/the-warship-of-peace-that-fed-famine-stricken-ireland|website=history.com|publisher=History Channel|accessdate=September 12, 2017}} The donation, transported to Ireland aboard the U.S. Navy sloop-of-war {{USS|Jamestown|1844|6}} was, according to captain Robert Bennett Forbes, "for the payment of an old debt" – a reference to the Irish Donation of 1676.
A second planned donation shipment, to be collected from citizens of New York and transported aboard the U.S. Navy frigate {{USS|Macedonian|1836|6}}, saw less success; agitation by the ascendant, anti-Catholic Know Nothing movement had resulted in popular hostility to the idea of sending supplies to benefit the Irish.{{cite news|last1=Sarbaugh|first1=Timothy|title=‘Charity begins at Home’ The United States government & Irish Famine relief 1845–1849|url=http://www.historyireland.com/18th-19th-century-history/charity-begins-at-home-the-united-states-government-irish-famine-relief-1845-1849/|accessdate=September 12, 2017|work=History Ireland Magazine|date=Summer 1996}} The shortfall in New York was made-up by additional provisions offered by Bostonians which ultimately enabled USS Macedonian to put to sea with a full cargo.