During the present century, "Ulster" has come to signify the six counties of present-day Northern Ireland. Historic Ulster, however, was one of the four provinces of Ireland embracing in addition the counties of Donegal, Cavan and Monaghan. This concise account traces the long and varied history of the region, from the pre-Norman Celtic period to the Anglo-Irish Agreement of 1986. While Ulster through the centuries has in many ways developed in accordance with general Irish social, political and economic trends, it has also been subject to a number of special factors - Scottish immigration, religious differences, the growth of its own distinctive industrial base - which have increasingly set it apart from the rest of the island. As a result, the history of the province is both intellectually problematic and politically controversial. Each chapter draws on the most up-to-date research to give a fresh and authoritative view of the period under consideration, highlighting the major themes and issues within a narrative framework.