Topic 3.7 Flashcards
the pale
the area that surrounded Dublin. Traditionally, English rule did not extend ‘beyond the Pale’. Lands beyond the Pale were known as the Irishry
summary of the 9 years war
In 1595, rebellion against English rule in Ireland broke out. The reasons for the revolt was a mixture of long-term and short-term problems. The English monarchy had long attempted to extend its control in Ireland; the need to do this was increased as a result of the break with Rome in the 1530s, which created additional religious tensions. Meanwhile, the Anglo-Irish lords, who traditionally ruled most of Ireland, felt increasingly alienated and threatened by English policy. The result was a rebellion that the English authorities struggled to contain, which was made worse by the wider context of England’s going to war with Spain and the threat of Spanish intervention in Ireland.
tanistry
-inheritance of lands and titles did not necessarily move from father to eldest son, as it did in england, the tanist (heir) could be a nephew, a cousin or a more distant relative from the same family.
why was ireland becoming threatening to england?
-because after the reformation Ireland remained Roman Catholic - this was threatening because if there was to be a Catholic crusade against England then Ireland would be supportive of it.
long-term causes of the rebellion
- in 1541, irish chieftains agreed to recognise Henry’s right to be king of ireland; the english gov also encouraged the anglo-irish nobility to surrender lands to the crown. these lands were then re-granted to the anglo-irish; the irish nobility were to be tenants-in-chief of the english crown and they were given english titles
- anglo-irish nobility continued however to remain semi-independent. in response, mary appointed an english lord deputy, earl of sussex. Sussex started a new trend in the english response to the problem in ireland. he fortified the pale and then encouraged english settlers to move into territory just outside the pale. the idea was to ‘civilse’ the irish by introducing english customs and practices; aka plantation
-the english aimed to convert the irish - they believed it was their duty
-the english viewed the irish as inferiors - they believed they were backward and superstitious
-English were protestants
what did QE do in order to avoid another rebellion which consisted of religion?
- she replaced the irish laws and traditions with those of England:
^ for example the English gov tried to establish councils to govern the regions of Connaught and Munster -> these councils modelled on the council of the north and wales and were led by a president
^ in a further attempt to anglicise the Irish gov, the traditional irish regions were subdivided into English-style counties, which were run under traditional english methods - using officials such as sheriffs
how was the rebellion in Munster in 1579-83 supressed?
-brutally - rebels were hunted down and executed and they had their lands taken -> used to encourage plantations by english settlers
^ as a result of that rebellion being supressed so brutally and the lands being taken away from the rebels - how many english settlers were then in munster in 1592?
775 - the settlers were in fact outnumbered by the indigenous irish in the region, nevertheless their presence caused resentment
how did the irish resentment grow and how were the two clans united against a common enemy?
- the irish resentment grew as a result of two english courtiers earl of essex and sir thomas smith aiming for plantation in the Ulster region - which had remained gaelic (limited of any english control)
^ the plantation failed -> plantations had been resisted by both clans O’Neills and O’Donnells - uniting them against a common enemy - since previous to this they were rivals as a result of the ruling of Ulster
^the english responded with violence - in 1574 200 members of the O’Neill clan were massacred at a feast to which they had been invited by the english -> in 1575 500 members of the O’Donnells were killed in a surprise raid
^ as a consequence QE called off the plantations. - but the damage had already been done
why was there resentment Among O’Neill and other ulster lords?
-because there were new attempts by the English to settle in ulster
- O’Donnell was kidnapped and imprisoned by the English to make his father obey English rule
^ he began to plot against the ENGS after escaping
- O’Donnell was kidnapped and imprisoned by the English to make his father obey English rule
-Maguire was also resentful about English intrusions to Fermanagh - where he previously controlled
^^ both Maguire and O’donell had links to earl of tyrone - they were his sons’ in law -> this exacerbated O’Neill stance against the ENGS
why was O’Neill willing to cooperate with the English at first? (hint: his title earl of tyrone)
-O’Neill wanted to assert his right to be Turlough L O’Neill’s heir -> so he accepted his title as he needed English support that would assist him
why did O’Neill’s cooperation with the Engs stop?
-the English were sought to assert their power more directly in Ulster.
what created personal enmity between tyrone and Henry bagenal?
tyrone’s elopement with Bagenal’s sister
English mismanagement of anglo-irish chieftains
-in 1593 Maguire launched an attack on English officials in Sligo -> Tyrone was ordered to arrest Maguire, as the leading lord of the region, but he refused
-Maguire then attacked English garrison -> Tyrone was forced to cooperate with sir Henry bagenal - and helped capture Maguire
^ tyrone was not happy by the fact that he wasn’t acknowledged by Bagenal and retired to his estates
^ he felt under threat from engs
what did tyrone really want in order to adopt the English style gov, such as sheriffs and Eng court laws?
overall charge of Ulster
tyrone was not the only one who felt overlooked in favour of Englishmen with connections to Elizabeth’s court…
Appointments to office in Ireland were dominated by minor English officials
^ this situation increased the resentment of the Anglo-Irish
what pushed tyrone to rebel?
-in 1593 O’Donnell had been in touch with Philip II of Spain to ask for support (it was denied due to Spain dealing with trouble in the Netherlands)
-in 1594 O’Donnell and Maguire besieged English held Enniskillen Castle -> ambushed an English relief force heading for Enniskillen, killing 56 English soldiers
-in 1594 Tyrone presented himself to the new Lord deputy, Russell, and promised to restore peace in Ulster and cooperate with the ENG gov in return for complete control of ulster
-Russell was prepared to believe tyrone, as he was inexperienced, and did not arrest him - he was even allowed to keep his private army
^ QE’s gov was not prepared to give tyrone control as they distrusted his intentions
^ this led him to ultimately rebel.
why was tyrone so successful in his rebellion?
-his rebel army was large and well-organised
- he used english and spanish captains to train his men and imported weapons and ammunition
- he led an army of 1000 cavalry, 4000 musketmen and 1000 pikemen (total 6000)
- had the support of ulster chieftains (his sons in law)
- traditional feuds were forgotten and they were all united to a common enemy.
- they used modern equipment: muskets and pikes (the ENGS used spears and axes)
- his force was supplemented by deserters from the ENG army - they were irishmen recruited by the ENGS, however they remained loyal to their irish roots and joined tyrone
- his cavalry was better-trained than the ENG horsemen
where did the rebellion first spread to?
Connaught , Leinster and Munster
who were key supporters of Tyrone’s?
-MacCarthy and Fitzthomas
how great was tyrone’s army?
6000 foot soldiers and 1200 cavalry - the ENGs had 5700 and 620 (much less)
what happened to the Spanish fleet? Philip II
it was dispersed after they intended to send 100 ships
why was the spanish support so threatening even though at last it didn’t materialise?
the spanish and the ENGS had been enemies (they had been at war ever since the spanish armada) + they were catholics
what happened to the other spanish fleet? Philip III
it encountered problems on their voyage -> some of the ships became separated during the storm. these included the ones which carried the weapons and ammunition.
-> when they reached ireland only 3400/6000 men were left
why was the support from spain not sufficient?
the spanish were hitherto fighting in the netherlands against the ENGs
^ this limited their ability to fully support the Irish
what happened at the battle of clontibret 1595?
- the english fort at black water was attacked by the rebels and the english commander surrendered
- 1700 english troops led by Henry Bagenal were ambushed by a larger Gaelic Irish army led by Tyrone c.4000 strong
significance of the battle of clontibret?
- english suffered heavy losses -> the irish victory shocked the english and was their first severe setback during the war
what happened at the battle of Yellow Ford 1598?
- tyrone began to besiege Blackwater Fort.
- ^ Bagenal was sent to relieve Blackwater with an extra 4200 men
- ^ his troops were attacked by tyrone at yellow ford
- bagenal was killed along with c.830 of his men
- 400 of his men were wounded and 300 deserted .
- only 2000 of his troops made it back to armagh
- Tyrone succeded
what was the significance of the battle of yellow ford?
-tyrone greatly succeeded
^ QE felt greatly threatened so she sent 1900 troops to protect dublin and backed these up with 6300 more men
who was lord deputy during the battle of clontibret?
Lord Deputy Russell
who was lord deputy during the battle of yellow ford?
Thomas Burgh
since Lord Deputy was scrapped, who became Lord Lieutenant of Ireland during the battle of curlew pass 1599?
earl of Essex - Robert Devereux
what happened in the battle of curlew pass 1599?
-an Irish attack on sir O’Connor at Collooney castle
^one of the few English chieftains to support the English gov during the tyrone rebellion
-Clifford, president of Connaught, was to rescue O’Connor with 1500 footmen and 205 cavalry
^ ambushed by an Irish force -> 1/3 of the army and Clifford killed
significance of curlew pass battle
-really significant - the English lost
^ QE was made furious > as a result ordered Essex to march north to Ulster
- Essex obeyed and marched -> found that tyrone’s army was exceptionally large
^Essex and tyrone agreed on a truce - during which the rebels were to be allowed to occupy all lands and fortresses they possessed or had captured
why was tyrone overly successful?
-there were no good maps at all of the interior of Ireland
-25% of the entire country was bog
-the highland areas were thickly covered in forest throughout
-there were no important towns or ports in ulster - it was then the most remote part of the country and hard for the ENGs to penetrate
-tyrone also had an income of £80,000 per annum, his lands were valuable
reasons for success (argument)
-his rebellion was the longest-lasting of the period - longer than Warbeck’s and a lot more intensive
-when Essex was sent with a royal army and unprecedented powers as victory, tyrone outmanoeuvred him and Essex was forced to make unconditional peace when funds ran low - tyrone was able to exhaust ENG resources
-the war provoked the English into major atrocities
reasons for failure (argument)
-he failed to obtain significant support from overseas
-he had tacit support from other Irish families, but most hesitated to back him militarily
-the English had superior financial resources - QE spent £2 mil on quashing this rebellion
who was Henry bagenal?
-member of the English gentry
-a Marshall from 1591
-had a military role
what did HB do?
-he was interested in expanding his estates in ulster - conflict with tyrone
-represents the corruption of English gov at the time
-gets into conflict with ENG authorities
-causes resentment among himself and tyrone
how significant was HB’s role to the war?
-greedy and unscrupulous
-bad military tactics + made mistakes
-very significant -> made many mistakes which alienated tyrone against the ENGs
who was Florence maccarthy?
-his family had a relationship with the engs
-family was dominant in west cork and Kerry in munster
how significant was FM’s role to the war?
-he wanted to become the MacCarthy Mor- led him into direct conflict with Donal MacCarthy whom the brits were to support
-tyrone recognised him as the Mor
^ MacCarthy wasn’t convinced
-he played tyrone off against the engs by trying to negotiate with both sides
how significant was FM’s role in the war?
-his military role was relatively limited and was not significant
who was the earl of Essex?
-one of QE’s court favourites
-lord lieutenant of Ireland, at the head of a large force
what did E do?
-he had poor organisations- did not have equipment
-made poor strategic decisions - decided to send half of his large army to bolster English garrisons across Ireland
^ he wasted his army
-he decided to campaign in munster - unwise it wore out his troops and created unnecessary expense
-listened to QE and was outnumbered by tyrone
how significant was E’s role in the war?
-very
-QE held him responsible for these disasters and his lack of progress in engaging tyrone in battle
who was lord mountjoy?
-an English courtier with considerable experience fighting in the Netherlands and France
what did LM do?
-managed to succeed in suppressing tyrone’s revolt
-a decisive and imaginative military leader
-had 13,000 men and used his resources well
how significant was LM’s role in the war?
-very
-most successful but with help from outside factors (the president of munster)
how many deaths were there approximately?
100,000 including deaths as a result of famine
irish strengths and battle tactics
-knowledge of terrain + geography- allowed irish to ambush and siege the ENGs
-tyrone had developed an efficient financial system that allowed him to fund a well-trained and equipped army
-he reorganised the ulster economy to increase his income - as a result he had an income of £80,000 per annum
-modern weapons - muskets and pikes + horses
english financial weaknesses
-QE’s gov had an income of c.£300,000 per annum, which was not enough to deal with the heavy financial demands of war
^ QE also had to pay c.£100,000 to maintain english forces in the netherlands
-QE had spent £300,000 on campaigns in ulster - all of these had to be borne by ENG parliament and tax payers
-about 30,000 troops were sent in total in ireland - some were untrained and undisciplined new recruits
-the english were in such a bad predicament that they were forced to send members of the trained bands to ireland
-the war happened during periods of bad harvests, epidemics of disease, and famine -> social and economic hardship
