sequence of events Flashcards
Simnel
1487
Simnel emerged in Oxford age 12, student of Symonds Ox priest who saw his similarities with Richard 3
Jan 1487 Simnel taken to Dublin with Lincoln’s help. Earl of Kildare made crowned him de facto ruler of Dublin as Edward 6
Feb 1487 H7 meeting in Great Council
rebels landed in eng, raised 4000-5000 rebels but failed to advance beyond Nottinghamshire. Marched through eng for 2 weeks
Earl of Northumberland led H7 troops against forces in Yorkist areas
June 1487 Battle at East Stoke 3 hours close
Yorkshire
1489
Henry VII had sheltered at the court of the Duke of Brittany during the reign of Richard III. In 1489, when Brittany was threatened by France, he decided to send aid and parliament voted a £100,000 subsidy to fund an expedition.
Henry called on his lords to help enforce the subsidy, but the scale of opposition to the tax nationally can be gauged by the fact that only £27,000 was raised. This increased pressure to collect from areas that had yet to contribute.
Earl of Northumberland, who supported the tax, was placed in charge of leading a commission to decide on its collection in the north.
He was confronted at Cock Lodge in north Yorkshire by a group of rebels led by Robert Chamber. There was a scuffle and Northumberland was killed – the only person to die in the course of the rebellion.
The rebels wrote asking for a royal pardon but this was denied.
Henry VII sent an army of 8,000, led by the Earl of Surrey. The rebels dispersed as it approached.
Chamber was tried and hanged, but there was no general retribution against those who had protested.
Cornish
1497
January 1497 parliament voted £60,000 to fund war against Scots - (only would be granted if war broke out, it didn’t) - Henry needed money to deal with threat of Warbeck and Scotland
rebels persuaded by lawyer, Thomas Flamank, to direct efforts at Henry’s “evil advisors” - Cardinal Morton and Sir Reginald Bray
an orderly army of commons marched north to Wells in Somerset, where an impoverished and embittered local noble named Lord Audley, seized the chance for greatness by agreeing to become their leader.
15,000 they reached London, 250 miles from home, and their army was probably the largest raised by rebels in this period – and took Henry (who was in the north) by surprise.
But they raised no support. Devon was traditionally hostile to the Cornish (which makes the two counties’ coming together in 1549 more impressive).
King alarmed at hearing rebels had moved through Devon, Somerset, Wiltshire and Hampshire without any resistance
Moved from London to Woodstock and then to Wallingford
King raised troops at Henley, well out of range of the revels
King recalled Daubeny from going to Scotland
King wrote to Rhys ap Thomas in South Wales and Earl of Oxford in Norfolk to raise as many men as possible
Defeated Daubeny’s royal force of 500 men at Guildford
Many Cornish rebels has marched up to 250 miles to London
Kent failed to rise in support despite the Cornish symbolically making camp at Blackheath outside London chosen by Jack Cade’s Kentish rebels in 1450. This was a major disappointment to Cornish hopes, and the Londoners refused to open their gates to them.
Henry marched hastily south with an army of about 8,000, gathering more men on the way until he had 20,000+.
Some rebels wanted to surrender - but Audely wouldn’t let with happen
At least a third of the Cornishmen deserted on hearing of his approach - leaving 10,000 vs Henry’s 25,000
Battle of Black Heath that followed was very short, compared to East Stoke, and the Cornish quickly fled. About 1,000 were killed - Earl of Oxford and Norfolk main job in defeating rebels
Warbeck
sequence of events
1491 - Warbeck appeared in Cork, 17 year old working for a Breton silk merchant.
1491 - Warbeck trained as pretender by John Taylor - Claimed to be Richard, Duke of York – one of the Princes in the Tower supposedly murdered by Richard III.
started his campaign in Ireland, but Irish nobles decided they would gain more from aligning with H7 than against him
1492 Warbeck travelled to France. Welcomed by Charles Vlll who saw opportunity to put pressure on H7 as king as he was in conflict with him at the time over the future of Brittany.
1492 Treaty of Etaples signed between Eng and France.
Warbeck and Taylor forced to flee to Netherlands. Warwick’s arrival at court of Margaret of Burgundy provided much needed boost. Margaret supported
Meanwhile Henry was unleashing a sophisticated intelligence operation
•Agents in England identified possible allies and he required bonds of allegiance (cash deposits) from these men
•His spies in Flanders were able to show who Warbeck really was – that he was the son of a boatman from Tournai
•He uncovered a cell of English supporters at court. Sir William Stanley, the former Yorkist who had won Bosworth for Henry with his intervention, was executed
Holy Roman Emperor, Maximilian provided Warbeck with military support
July 1495 Warwick’s force of 15 ships set sail from Netherlands. Poor weather, rebels cam ashore on Kent coastline instead of East Anglia as planned.
Trapped by H7. 150 rebels killed
Warbeck and commanders fled . Ships driven by winds to Ireland
Jan 1496 James lV Scotland proclaimed Warbeck as Prince and married him to one of his relatives. Provided Warbeck with 1500 troops.
Sept 1496 Warbeck invaded England for second time
no support from English when they crossed the border and soon retrated
Henry had a spy in the Scottish camp, and he confidently reported that the Scots’ war effort could last no more than a week - accurate assessment – small Scottish army crossed the border, ran short on supplies and as soon as it was clear the locals were hostile
July 1497 - hearing that Henry had spent £60,000 equipping an army to invade Scotland, James expelled Warbeck from country.
July 1497 Truce of Ayton signed by James lV and H7
Warbeck forced to leave Scotland. Returned to Waterford for 2 months
Sept 1497 Warbeck and Taylor planned to capitalised of Cornish resentment –> gained support of approx. 6000 aggrieved Cornish largely miners and farmers
tried to capture heavily defended towns of Exeter and Taunton
finally abandoned and called sanctuary at Beaulieu Abbey
persuaded to give himself up
brought before H7 beginning of Oct 1497
1499 - After attempting to escape from the Tower of London, Warbeck was hanged
Chrimes argues that Warbeck was the tool of Charles VIII of France and Margaret of Burgundy, who sought to destabilise Henry VII… Warbeck was a pawn in Charles VIII’s attempts to absorb the duchy of Brittany – a distraction to prevent Henry from aiding the Bretons.
Amicable grant sequence of events
1525
Protestors in many counties, mainly Suffolk
Wolsey received reports in first weeks of April 1525 that a small number of people were refusing to pay Amicable Grant
Protestors planned to march 50 miles from Lavenham to London to confront Wolsey
Appear to have been stopped from doing this by someone removing the clapper from the church bell, which removed the signal for them to leave
By April 25th clear that Wolsey’s bullying tactics not working - discontent rising in London
Henry Vlll informed Lord Major and Alderman that Amicable Grant would be halved –> No commissioners outside London informed
gatherings in Essex, Kent, Warwickshire, Norfolk, Suffolk
King sent Dukes of Norfolk and Suffolk to disperse 4000 rebels that had gathered at Lavenham - Suffolks army smaller than no. rebels and unsure how reliable his men were
while waiting for Duke of Norfolk to join him with more troops he tried to contain rebellion by destroying bridges
Since 1497, the state had significantly increased its efforts to raise tax revenues in order to fund a growing administration and a much more ambitious foreign policy.
From 1515: Increased assessments on land, income and private assets Wolsey would collect from each individual on the basis of whichever of these would yield the largest sum; a fundamentally unfair process that was widely resented
A further hike in the 1520s – to catch the French at a moment of weakness after a severe defeat in Italy – saw Wolsey demand up to a sixth from the laity and a third from the clergy
It is notable that protests were their strongest not in poor north but the prosperous south – this was because most of the tax was collected from the relatively well off.
Resentment at the tax was the product of 5 main factors.
• It was not a one-off. It followed several earlier large demands.
• A huge loan of £250,000 had been raised in 1522-3
• Four subsidies across four years had been granted by parliament in 1523 – the Amicable Grant was on top of all these
• Despite promises, no loan had been repaid
• It was non-parliamentary – a forced loan ordered by Wolsey. There was resentment that the commons had not had a chance to have a say on whether or not the tax should be granted
The scale of the protest and the unwillingness of the local nobles and gentry to force payment meant collection of the tax had to be first scaled back, then abandoned.
By the 1540s, 15 years later, taxation was at the highest it had been for more than two centuries. What had changed was that Henry took care to collect much more of it from the wealthy, not the peasants.
Silken Thomas
1534
Ireland ruled by Anglo-Irish for hundreds of years - Fitzgerald’s = most powerful family, were Earls of Kildare - power base at Ulster
Thomas Cromwell’s policies seemed to threaten position of Fitzgerald’s.
Cromwell sought to impose uniformity of practice and control of royal patronage that previously the Kildares had been able to control, guaranteeing their supremacy in Ireland.
From 1532 Cromwell began to favour Kildare’s rivals for government offices - Earl of Kildare began to resent his declining influence in court circles in London and Dublin
1534 - Earl of Kildare replaced as Deputy by a rival, Lord Skeffintgon. Cromwell intended this more as a way of ensuring no one Irish lord became too powerful rather than as a direct attack on the Kildares – but that was how it was taken.
Kildare resigned from the Privy Council and denounced Tudor rule. In previous years these would have been taken as they were intended – political manoeuvres designed eventually to reach a compromise. In the more dangerous atmosphere of the 1530 – with the Reformation in full swing – the move was seen as more hostile.
September 1933 - Henry ordered Kildare to visit him as he doubted he could enforce the break with Rome and Act in Restraint of Appeals - also in response to his resignation from Privy Council
Earl replied by sending his wife and in meantime began to transfer weapons and gunpowder from Dublin castle to his own estates
Further demand by King brought Kildare to London - arrested and locked in ToL - never left - died there 1534
Silken Thomas (his son) started revolt after found out about King’s treatment of his father
Henry later ordered Silken Thomas to go to London –> Silken Thomas refused
Silken Thomas proclaimed a Catholic crusade - must have been inspired by fear of the reformation, so religious motives were significant in this rebellion
Silken Thomas and his 5 uncles raised 1000 men in Munster
Demanded Irish take an oath of loyalty to the Pope and himself, not Henry –> a transfer of allegiance from the Tudors to the Kildares
Invaded Pale (English controlled area of Ireland)
Rebels called on Catholic Church for support and condemned Henry’s religious reforms –> Although Thomas sought support from the Pope and Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor, he was seeking support rather than mounting a genuinely religious campaign.
The royal response was to send an army of 2,300 – the largest despatched to Ireland in 150 years. As it moved through Ireland, most other local nobles submitted rather than fight
Thomas kept in Maynooth Castle expecting mercy over the winter
Campaign resumed in spring
Maynooth castle fell to English in 6 day siege - Kildare escaped, but garrison of 340 executed
No aid coming to help them - Thomas surrendered on promise of his life
Thomas and 5 uncles beheaded in February 1535
70 other ringleaders also executed
outcome is ironically known as the Pardon of Maynooth.
POG sequence of events
1536
The impact of the Reformation was increasingly being felt at a local level
Henry’s Ten Articles (1536) changes:
•Cut the number of sacraments from 7 to 3 (baptism, penance, Eucharist)
•Banned worship of images
•Denied that it was possible for prayers to save souls from purgatory
Articles were accompanied by a ban on the celebration of many Catholic holy days, moves to dissolve not only the few great religious houses, but also the many lesser monasteries, which provided most of what social “safety net” there was, especially in the north:
•Charity for the destitute
•Accommodation for men travelling in search of work
4 government commissions enforcing Act of 10 Articles and dissolving lesser monasteries
common people of Louth, Lincolnshire, thought that their church’s treasure was to be seized along with their weapons
4 gov commissioners seized
Rising spread - clergy spread the word - rumour also important in raising support
Gentry assumed leadership after a week or so - seen as ‘natural leaders’
September 1536 - first set of rebel demands - Louth Manifesto - mixed demands inc.
End to peacetime taxation
End to dissolution of monasteries (16/50 Northern monasteries already destroyed)
Restoration of ancient church liberties
Pardon for all rebels
10,000 men marched on Lincoln - aristocracy fled - people of Horncastle produced the first banner with the five wounds of christ - persuaded to go homes by a Lancaster Herald
Yorkshire
Similar fears to that in Lincolnshire emerged in Yorkshire - people were alarmed by arrival of two ecclesiastical commissioners who were investigating the quality of the parish clergy and closing small monasteries - over 100 monasteries scheduled to be closed
Yorkshire rising led by Robert Aske
first had been authorised by the Bishop of Lincoln to investigate the condition of the parish clergy, the second authorised the the government to close down smaller monasteries - each caused resentment
concern over illegal enclosures - rioting since 1535 - over 300 people in Giggleswick in Yorkshire pulled down hedges and dykes
September 1536 - four monasteries closed in Lancashire - monks encouraged the common people to rise up and protest the government’s religious policy - suspected that some people in Lancashire were buying up arms
Aske had marched over 100 miles with rebels to Doncaster
Pontefract articles produced by rebels identifies:
threatening to march south if their demands were ignored.
Henry sent the Duke of Norfolk to treat with them and there was a meeting at Doncaster - Aske found him willing to listen - agreed truce
The rebel army disbanded and Aske convened a council at Pontefract (December 1536) to issue a new manifesto.
•3 economic demands – including an end to enclosure
•6 legal/administrative – including a parliament to be held in the north
•6 political demands – including the removal of Cromwell and Cranmer and restoration of Mary to the line of succession
•9 were religious – including restoration of Papal authority
Henry wanted to refuse all demands, Norfolk warned this might cause march on London - general pardon for the rebels and promised a parliament convened in York would consider grievances.
Before this happened - second outbreak of rebellion - led by a protestant minor landowner called Sir Francis Bigod (January 1537) - He had a number of very local grievances over landholding - also feared the king’s pardon was just a ruse to get the rebels to disperse so that they could be punished.
Bigod’s rising gave Henry excuse to crush rebels by force and compel the local gentry & nobility to back him or face the consequences.
Western sequence of events
Cornwall and Devon were among the poorest areas of England and, being peripheral and conservative, strongholds of Catholic feeling.
Edward’s reformation - implemented in Somerset by Earl of Somerset who were more extreme protestant than HVlll - changes inc. destruction of images and chantries - people thought all church and chantry goods would be confiscated
Rumours that the government planned to introduce a new tax on every sheep – major threat to farmers, especially in Devon.
Announcement that new prayer book would be used uniformly for Whitsunday 1547
1547 - hostile demonstration against Body and the commissioners
1548 - Body murdered by a mob in parish of St Keverne, Helston, when he was there to oversee the destruction of church images - 10 of ringleaders hanged
Spring 1549 - New Prayer Book introduced - protests across Cornwall under leadership of Arundell and Bodmin
Discontent exacerbated by difficult economic conditions - especially poor harvest 1548
Citizens of Sampford Courtney rebelled when new service used in their church on Whitsun - member of gentry who intervened was killed
marched to Crediton where Arundell and Bodmin had force of approx. 6000
gov sent small force under Peter Carew with instructions from Duke of Somerset to show leniency with rebels - but didn’t meet rebels and accidentally burnt Crediton barns - increased social tension
William Hellyons cut down at Sampford Courtenay when he tried to buy of rebel host with a cartload of provisions
Cornish rebels marched 50 miles to Exeter
Arudnell decided to capture Exeter - those there who supported joined them - reduced pressure on food supply - made Exeter able to hold out for longer - town officials let by Mayor Jon Blackaller became fearful of committing treason - six week seize which swung back and forth
11 July percolation threatened by Somerset to forfeit their land and property with the intention of creating, ‘a terror and division among the rebels themselves’ - it had no effect
12 July - Somerset pardoned anyone guilty of ‘riotous assembly’ if they made a ‘humble submission’ - none did
16 July - percolation threatened future offenders with martial law - no reaction
In time of Exeter siege, Duke of Somerset replaced Carew with Lord John Russell - based himself at Honiton July 1549 - force less than 100
3 August 1949 - arrival of forced under Lord Grey enabled royal army to march on Exeter - rebels defeated in clashes at Fenny bridge, Clyst St Mary and Clyst Heath
6 August 1949 - Russel relived Exeter as more forces under William Herbert arrived
16 August 1949 - Russell led army of 8000 men vs rebels who had reformed at Stamford Courtnay - three pronged attack of Russell, Grey and Herbert - approx 4000 rebels dies in battle
Lord Protector Somerset was slow to respond. He promised to redress grievances but the rebels failed to disperse and it was only after 7 weeks that he sent in troops.
Kett sequence of events
Enclosures becoming increasingly common in East of England during the period
Rumours of disorder in other areas spread widely and perhaps encouraged disgruntled commons to consider acts of rebellion.
Rebellion triggered between 2 local rivals, Robert Kett and John Flowerdew - both enclosed their land
What agitated rebels - accusations that Flowerdew and Kett were obstructing government commission that was investigating illegal enclosure in the area
rebels believed they would have central government backing if they took the law into their own hands and started tearing down enclosures
While rioting broke out on Flowerdew’s estates, Kett had the foresight to dismantle his - then offered himself as a spokes person for the rebels
Robert Kett took position as leader, led rioters ten miles from Wymondham to Norwich
Kett joined by other rioters in country
Kett soon had 16,000 in him camp at Mousehold Heath outside Norwich
Sir Rodger Wodehouse tried to persuade rebels on Mousehold Heath to disperse by bringing them three carts of food and drink, but they chased and imprisoned him, while taking the carts for themselves
Mass uprisings swept through East Anglia and South East, several rebel camps set up
22nd July - rebels marched into Norwich
Suffolk rebel camp suppressed, but Kett’s organisation was excellent and popular
Lord lieutenant of Norfolk, Marquis of Northampton sent by Somerset to put Kett down - use of Italian mercenaries enraged rebels - only 20 accepted offer to surrender - M of N wasted time, allowed his Italian mercenaries to rest on cushions - was defeated by rebels in battle in streets of Norwich
Northampton fled Norwich - panic spread through gentry
Earl of Warwick sent with 12,000 men
eventually defeated Kett outside Norwich
killed 3,000 men - Kett had made fatal mistake of moving his force to a less well defended position at Dussindale
Kett and approx. 50,300 men hanged inc. Kett’s bro
Other riots and minor uprisings continued
1548, major riot in Hertfordshire over Sir William Cavendish’s success in obtaining a royal warrant allowing him to enclose a large area of common land where he planned to farm rabbits for fur.
2,000 of Cavendish’s rabbits were killed and their burrows blown up with gunpowder.
Hertfordshire riot caused Protector Somerset to create 3 royal commissions to travel through the midlands investigating cases of illegal enclosure.
News of this travelled throughout England and encouraged the commons in many areas to begin tearing down hedges and removing enclosures, on the impression that they had state backing for this.
Kett’s rebellion can be clearly seen as a loyal rebellion not intended to bring about (as it did) the fall of Somerset himself.
Northumberland sequence of events
1553 as Edward was dying he issues a “devise” - aimed to exclude Mary from succession in order to avoid passing throne to Catholic - This stipulated that Mary and Elizabeth were to be cut out of the line of succession, in line with the stipulations of Henry VIII’s Succession Acts of 1534 and 1536.
Northumberland saw this an an opportunity to get his daughter-in-law, Lady Jane Grey on the throne
Edward died in July 1553 and Northumberland acted quickly, sending his son and 300 men to seize Mary while placing Lady Jane on the throne.
Mary acted unexpectedly decisively, fleeing to East Anglia and beginning to assemble a force of her own.
18th July - Earl of Oxford defected
19th July - Privy Council declared for Mary, Lord Mayor and Alderman of London followed suit
Northumberland could still rely on some of his supporting nobles, but he knew his chance was gone
London commons supported Mary, and the Council quickly proclaimed her queen and ordered Northumberland’s arrest.
Sensing his support had withered almost to nothing, Northumberland proclaimed Mary queen and allowed himself to be arrested.
Mary responded by showing leniency to the rebels - only a handful were punished = Northumberland (tried and beheaded for treason), Sir John Gates and Sire Thomas Palmer executed
Jane later executed in Wyatt’s rebellion
Jane was also found guilty, but would probably have been spared had it not been for the outbreak of Wyatt’s Rebellion in February 1554.
Wyatt sequence of events
Wyatt issued a manifesto and his main demand was that Mary should receive “better counsel” – that is, listen to the nobility and gentry’s views.
Mary rejected commons petition against her marriage to Phillip ll in November 1553
The rising was timed for March 1554, to begin just before Philip was due to leave Spain for the royal wedding, but was put into operation earlier when word of the plot began to leak out.
Rising planned to take place in March 1554 with series of rising around country led by prominent gentry and French naval support
Secrecy of plot lost
January - Various uncoordinated uprising took place - led by Duke of Suffolk in Leicestershire, Carew in Devon, Croft didn’t try in Hertfordshire - only gathered maximum of 140 men
Wyatt got rebellion going in Kent - raised an army at Maidstone and his HQ in Rochester
Many gentry quietly sympathetic - did nothing to stop Wyatt
Royalist commander, Norfolk, had to flee back to London when his army (Whitecoats) deserted him to join the rebels
Whitecoats urged attack on London
Wyatt hesitated - Mary played for time - she promised to follow Parliament’s advice over her marriage, gaining her crucial support in London
Feb 6th - Wyatt finally marched his troops to London - fought vs. Government forces, caused panic in London - Ludgate gate stayed closed and Mary firm - London population did not join Wyatt
Wyatt surrendered after about 40 men were killed
Shane O’Neill sequence of events
Shane O’Neill was the eldest legitimate son of the Earl of Tyrone, but he had an older illegitimate brother named Matthew - Under Irish custom, only a legitimate son could inherit, but Shane’s father preferred Matthew and did a deal with the English Lord Deputy that would allow the bastard to succeed him.
Shane O’Neill resents loosing his Earldom of Tyrone in Ulster to his brother
Many of the O’Neills supported Shane and felt his father had betrayed their clan and Gaelic custom by using English law to get what he wanted rather than stick to Irish custom.
Being willing to kill his brother to get it stirred up resentment against him
Begged Elizabeth l for forgiveness
Elizabeth agreed to recognise him as Captain of Tyrone and the O’Neill head of the clan
O’Neill began plotting with Charles lX of France and Mary Queen of Scotland
O’Neil disregarded law, raided the land of rival clansmen, kidnapped hostages and dabbled in high treason
The uprising coincided with a difficult year for Elizabeth, who faced the threat of a French invasion at the time.
This meant she could not afford to send forces to deal with O’Neill immediately, and he made the most of a long delay, securing almost all of Ulster.
1556 - Elizabeth finally abandoned her attempts to reconcile with him - turned to military solution
1561 that Sussex marched against him
Elizabeth sent 700 troops to establish a garrison in Ulster
Defeat of O’Neill depended upon the support of other clans - 1,000 Scottish mercenaries
Finally defeated in 1567
O’Neill eventually murdered by rival Irish, perhaps paid by English.
Elizabeth attaints O’Neill lands in Ulster, seizing extensive possessions but storing up future trouble with the Earls of Tyrone
Northern Earls sequence of events
Fines for non attendance at Anglican churches and arrests of those secretly attending Mass
Interception of priests sent from Spain/by the Pope – these were often effectively “secret agents” sent to rouse the country against the queen. These men were often executed after show trials – seemed to presage
Many of the plotters confessed to Elizabeth
Earl of Westmoreland and Northumberland pressed on:
Westmoreland - bullied by his wife and in financial difficulties
Northumberland - 70, no longer a political force in the north and resented being his wardship of the middle march go to a local rival
Thomas Markenfeild and Nicholas Morton recently returned from the continent in anticipation of an armed pursuing - they warned hesitant rebels that there were ‘dangers touching our souls and the loss of our country’
14th November 1569 - rebels entered Durham cathedra, said mass and tore up the English Bible
Marched South to free Mary Queen of Scots and to restore Catholicism
Sussex penned in York with the royal forces until the rebel forces melted away as Hunsdon moved south from Newcastle
rumours of a huge royal force under Warwick spread
After minor skirmishes, earls fled to Scotland
Belated rising (almost bloodless) by Leonard Dacre was crushed by Hudson and North
Munster sequence of events
Fitzgerald returned to Ireland in 1579 at the head of a small army of Catholic mercenaries
As supporter of the Counter Reformation - proclaimed Holy War in support of a Papal bull (1570) that had excommunicated Elizabeth - Pope Gregory had given him letters to support the crusade.
600 man Spanish force landed to support him.
English fear of Spanish intervention was acute so no mercy was given - 600 were massacred.
Desmond was murdered by a rival Irish family in a dispute over cattle rustling in 1583, putting an end to trouble in the district. His head was sent to Elizabeth I as a gift.
Trouble lingered until 1573 thanks to Desmond’s general, his cousin, James Fitzgerald.
1573 - Fitzgerald fled to Spain. This is generally regarded as the end of the Munster Rebellion.
Geraldine sequence of events
Desmond ruled over Munster in south-west of Ireland - family been on bad terms with neighbouring Butler clan
The earl of Desmond, the head of the southern Geraldines, was a Catholic, and took the Irish side
the earl of Ormond, the leader of the Butlers, had conformed to the Protestant faith, and had taken the side of the English
Leaders of clans summoned to London to fix dispute - then detained there for 7 years on charges of plotting treason
English settlers from the west country were quick to take advantage of the power vacuum and seize lands in Munster to settle on.
The remaining Desmonds attempted to eject the incomers and unsuccessfully besieged the English garrisons at Cork and Kilkenny.
The English responded brutally. Sir Humphrey Gilbert committed atrocities – forcing Irishmen who came to his tent to walk between two rows of severed heads. 800 rebels were executed.
The initial rebellion was crushed in under a year.
Fitzmaurice, released from captivity in London, converted to Anglicanism to appease the English, but soon signalled his intention to rebel again, symbolically throwing off English dress to clad himself as a Gaelic chieftain.
