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The Pale
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Historical map of Ireland showing regions under English control and colonization during the 16th and 17th centuries. The map uses color codes to distinguish the original English Pale, its later expansion, and areas of English plantations established under Mary I, Elizabeth I, and James I, as well as unplanted areas, exceptional native settlements, and regions settled by Scots immigrants. Major towns and new plantation towns are marked.
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The Pale

historical region, Ireland
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Historical map of Ireland showing regions under English control and colonization during the 16th and 17th centuries. The map uses color codes to distinguish the original English Pale, its later expansion, and areas of English plantations established under Mary I, Elizabeth I, and James I, as well as unplanted areas, exceptional native settlements, and regions settled by Scots immigrants. Major towns and new plantation towns are marked.
The English plantation of Ireland in the 16th and 17th centuries

The term "pale" refers to a district or territory with defined boundaries, often distinguished by a different administrative or legal system. This definition gives rise to the phrase "beyond the pale," meaning outside the bounds of acceptable behavior.12

Historically, "The Pale" in Ireland, established around the late 14th century, represented the territories under secure English control and settlement. Its area fluctuated but generally included parts of modern Dublin, Louth, Meath, and Kildare counties. This English enclave persisted until the entire region was subjugated under Elizabeth I.13

Another significant historical "pale" was the Pale of Settlement in imperial Russia. Created after the partitions of Poland, it restricted Jewish settlement to specific western territories of the Russian Empire. This area, which included much of Poland, Lithuania, Belarus, and parts of Ukraine, remained in effect until its abolition in 1917 during World War I.1

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