Reasons for the war’s duration and England’s eventual success Flashcards
The battle of kinsale 1601 - arrival of spanish support
3300 men highly trained and brought siege guns with them in 1601
Arrived too late as Carew has succeeded in suppressing most of the unrest in Munster
Cut off from Tyrone who was surrounded in Ulster
English response to the arrival of spanish support at Kinsale
Mountjoy feared the press of the Spanish would encourage former rebels in Munster to rise again and he need to stop Tyrone from joining the Spanish so decided to defeat the Spanish at Kinsale as soon as possible
Mountjoy reached Kinsale and was besieging it with 7000 men
Arrival of the Irish at Kinsale and England’s difficult position
Tyrone and O’Donnel eventually arrived in Kinsale with an army of 6500
English in a desperate position: trapped between the Spanish and Irish armies, they lacked proper differences, were cold and exhausted and supplies were running low; disease and desertion also reduced their numbers to 6600
How did the English win at Kinsale?
Whilst Tyrone prepared for battle (hoping that the Irishmen in the English army would desert and join him instead), Mountjoy launched a surprise attack on the Irish (over quickly)
The Spanish did not join as they were waiting for the Irish to appear at a pre-arranged meeting point but the Irish never got there
What happened after the Battle of Kinsale?
Took another 15 months for the rebellion to finally
come to an end
Tyrone retreated to Ulster
O’Donnell fled to Spain
Spanish troops who were still in Kinsale surrendered to the English
What was the seige of Dunboy Castle in 1602?
Bloody battle to eliminate the resr of rebel resistance
Castle besieged - held by Irish rebel Donnell O’Sullivan
Carew decided to organise the seige and offered MacGeohegan the chance to surrender (Constable of Dunboy)
What mistake did MacGeohegan make at the seige of Dunboy Castle in 1602?
He mentioned that if his soldiers tried to land on the beach they would be trapped so Carew surrounded the castle and found an undefended beach
How did the English seige Dunboy Castle?
Used canons to break down the walls, many died, many surrendered, all executed
Carew’s determination was increased as he he wanted to take the castle before the Spanish could get there and reinforce it
Significance of the siege of Dunboy?
After the siege, Dunboy was destroyed to make sure it could not be used to resist the english in the future
The siege of Dunboy ended the last of irish resistance in Munster
How did the rebellion end?
Mountjoy pursued Tyrone into Ulster with 3000 men - Tyrone did not fight back and his followers submitted to the english
Negotiated with Tyrone - pardoned and reconised him as
Why did Mountjoy give in to Tyrone?
Elizabeth had died
Mountjoy keen to get back to court to secure his position under the new king James VI
How much income did England recieve and how much was spent on the Netherlands?
£300,000 p/a
£100,000 p/a on Netherlands
How much did the rebellion cost?
£5000 per month
In total spent £300,000 by 1597
English financial weaknesses
The 1590s were a period of poor harvests, faminine and epidemics of disease which led to social and economic harship
Finacial pressures meant the english armies sent to fight were not enough, poorly equipped and trained
Financing troops to send to Ireland
By 1596, the war in Ireland had become the largest single expense for the english government as the government had to keep sending troops
30,600 soldiers were sent to ireland but england ever managed to send enough at one time to make a significant difference
