Tyrone's rebellion 1594-1603 Flashcards
What was the ‘Irishry’
Lands beyond the Pale
What was the Lord Deputy
England controlled Dublin and the Pale through a Lord Deputy. Until Mary’s reign, this position was held by earls of Kildare.
How did Elizabeth ANGLICANISE Ireland
E1 began to pursue a more hard-line policy of trying to replace Irish traditions and laws with English ones. E.g. English tried to establish councils to govern regions of Connaught and Munster (modelled on Councils of North and Wales) as well as sub-dividing regions into English style counties using sheriffs.
What was plantation
Plantations were used to fortify lands surrounding the Pale and to encourage English settlers to move into territory just outside the Pale with the aim of civilising the Irish by introducing English customs and practices
What were the 2 issues that caused resentment to boil over into open rebellion
-The Reformation- the largely Catholic Irish wished to maintain their links to Rome
-The Plantations- especially of Munster and Ulster
Who was Hugh O’Neill opposed by
Sir Turlough Luineach O’Neill
Support for Hugh O’Neill and Hugh Roe O’Donell?
- Significant
- Their revolt became a national struggle for independence due to the charismatic and inspirational leadership of O’Neill
Foreign support (3)
- Obtained support from Spain- Phillip II was keen to have revenge on E1 for the Armada 1588
- helped the Irish rebels with financial and military aid
- Believed that Spanish aid would counter English support for the Dutch
How did O’Neill’s military leadership benefit the rebels? (4)
- O’Neill was able to raise and train men from within his lordship
- He encouraged English soldiers resident in Ireland to serve him
- He hired mercenaries from Scotland
- He purchased the latest military technology using his extensive funds
Causes of the rebellion (5)
- English plantations beyond the Pale
- Tyrone’s grievances
- Grievances of other Ulster lords
- Mistakes of the English government
- Religion
How did English plantations beyond the Pale cause rebellion
Hint: Ulster, 1570s
- During the 1570s, attempts to establish a settlement in Eastern Ulster, led by the Earl of Essex and Sir Thomas Smith, were put down by both the O’Neils and the O’Donnells.
- In response, the English government massacred 200 members of the O’Neil Clan at a feast that the English invited them to, in 1574.
- In 1575, the English killed 500 members of the O’Donnell clan in a surprise raid.
- Elizabeth called off the plantation in 1576, but the damage has already been done to Anglo-Irish relations.
How did Tyrone’s greivance contribute to the causes of the rebellion
Tyrone wanted control over Ulster but E1’s government refused- 1595 rebelled
How did the grievances of other Ulster lords cause rebellion
- Some were not willing to accept English style rule, e.g Hugh Roe MacMahon was executed and lands given to english settlers, i.e. Sir Henry Bagenal
- Hugh O’Donnell was imprisoned by the English, escaped in 1591
- Hugh Maguire resented English interference in Fermanagh. Launched an attack on English Officials in Silgo, May 1593
- Maguire and O’Donnell’s plots against the English in early 1590s made it harder for Tyrone to remain neutral as they were married to his daughters.
Mistakes of the English government that led to Tyrone’s Rebellion?
- Didn’t trust Tyrone and refused his request to have complete control over Ulster in exchange for acceptance of English-Style Government
- His friends in the English Court (Earl of Leicester and Elizabeth’s Spymaster) had died and been replaced with men with no connection to him.
- His feud with Sir Henry Bagenal (who had been promoted to lead the English Army in Ireland) deepened his disdain for Englishmen claiming titles in Ireland because of their connections to the English Court
What were the Religious causes of the Rebellion? (3)
- Religious customs and laws in Ireland were being replaced with English ones
- New English settlers arriving in Munster were radical Protestants
- Influx of Protestant settlers created an additional threat for those loyal to Catholicism
What were the 5 battles
- Battle of Clontibret 1595
- Battle of Yellow Ford 1598
- Battle of Curlew Pass 1599
- Battle of Kinsale 1601
- Siege of Dunboy
Who won the Battle of Clontibret ‘95
Truce was reached
BUT truce did not last. Irish encouraged by Spanish support to keep fighting
Why did Clontibret ‘95 outcome happen
-Rebels found their tactic of capturing small fortressess too expensive
-E1 keen to negotiate
-1596 negotiations broke down
1596 Spanish offered support
-Propaganda- Catholics to join the rebels
Spanish offering support 1596
Tyrone and O’Donnell offer crowns of Ireland to Archduke of Alba,
in return rebels get Spanish army, money and weapons
The Battle of Yellow Ford ‘98 result
- Tyrone victorious
- Encouraged discontented Irishmen in Munster to rebel
- Munster plantations were overthrown rapidly
Evidence for the support Tyrone had within Ireland
- Commanded a large rebel army which was well organised
- Used English and Spanish captains to train his men and imported weapons and ammunition
- Had the support of other Ulster chieftains (Hugh Roe O’Donnel and Hugh Maguire)
Tyrone rebel army figures 1595
1,000 cavalry
4,000 musket men
1,000 pikemen
Tyrone rebel army figures 1596
6,000 foot soldiers and 1,200 cavalry
1596 Spanish support
Sent 100 ships but 32 were dispersed by strong winds
Lord Deputy Russel outnumbered in the Battle of Clontibret
had only 1,100 men
What did the Irish capture in May 1595
Enniskillen Castle and besieged Monaghan Castle
What did Sir Henry Bagenal do in the Battle of Clontibret
Attempted to help the besiege the garrison
marched with 1750 men
What did Tyrone do to Sir Henry Bagenal in the Battle of Clontibret 95
-Ambushed by Tyrone
Bagenal’s army forced to fight and use up their supplies
2nd Clontibret Ambush
-suffered 31 deaths, 109 wounded
-Bagenal eventually rescued by sea
-battle showed that Irish were well organised and out numbered them
1596 settlement between the British and Tyrone
-Tyrone agreed to submit, pay damages, stop demanding freedom of worship and accept English sovereignty
-English agreed to remove their Garrisons and Tyrone would keep control of Ulster
Who did Thomas Lord Burgh replace
Replaced Lord Deputy Sir Russell and Sir Henry Norris
When was the Battle of Yellow Ford
1598
What was Burgh’s initial plan in 1597
March to Ulster and attack his estates in Dungannon but was outnumbered by Tyrone
What made it worse for the British in 1597
Burgh died suddenly and Sir Henry Norris also dies
-Burgh also made the crucial mistake of reverting to the use of small garrison forts
Strength of Tyrone’s army in 1597
5,000 men
English defeat at Yellow Ford
Aug 1598- 830 English killed including Bagenal
-Munster plantations were overthrown rapidly
(3,000 Munster settlers were faced with a sudden uprising by their tenants)
How did E1 react to the defeat at Yellow Ford
sent 1900 troops to protect Dublin
Between 1598-1599 sent 6,300 more men
Who did Elizabeth replace Burgh with in 1599
Robert Devereux second Earl of Essex as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
When was the battle of Curlew Pass
1599
Who did the Earl of Essex try to rescue in the battle of Curlew Pass
Sir Donough O’Conner at Collooney Castle
-one of the few Irish chieftains that continued to support the British
-ordered Sir Conyers Clifford to rescue O’Connor
How many men did Sir Conyers Clifford have to rescue O’Conner
1490 footmen and 205 cavalry
What happened to Clifford’s troops
On route was ambushed and lost 1/3 of the army
-O’Conner had to surrender to rebels and valuable ally lost
Outcome of Battle of Curlew Pass ‘99
O’COnner forced to surrender to rebels and valuable ally lost
-Temporary truce was negotiated with Tyrone by Essex
What was given in the truce of Curlew Pass ‘99
Rebels were allowed to continue to occupy the lands and fortresses they possessed or had captured
Sir Henry Bagenal as a military leader
-Not a good military tactician, unable to learn from his mistakes
-Clontibret and Yellow Ford humiliating defeats wherein he was killed
Robert Devereux Earl of Essex failings (3)
-Poor organisation meant that he did not have the equipment necessary to follow his planned attack on Ulster (fault of the English Privvy Council)
-Poor strategic decisions (e.g splitting up the army to bolster English garrisons)
-Decided to campaign in Munster- wore out his troops
Example of Earl of Essex’s mismanagement
By August 1599- he only had a force of 4,000 out of the 17,200 he arrived with
Charles Blount, Earl of Mountjoy personality
Had considerable fighting experience
-decisive and imaginative military leader
What did Mountjoy do in 1600
Marched South into Munster with a force of 2,000 men
had 13,200 men in his army
-Had the support of the new president of Munster- Sir George Carew
What weakened rebel control in Ulster
Hugh Maguire was killed in a Skirmish
What did Mountjoy successfully do
end the rebellion in Munster
What had Mounjoy done by October 1601
Mountjoy had reached Kinsale and besieged it with 7,000 men
Failure of Spanish support
Battle of Kinsale- English launched a surprise attack
-Spanish had been waiting for the Irish in a pre-arranged meeting spot but the Irish never got there
When was the siege of Dunboy
1602
What happened to the rebels in Dunboy
Although surrendered
-58 of the defenders were executed in the local market
How many died in the Dunboy garrison
143- ended the last of Irish resistance in Munster
What did Mountjoy do after the siege of Dunboy
Pursued Tyrone in Ulster with 3,000 men - rest of his followers submitted
Outcome of the siege of Dunboy
English victory- ended the rebellion in Ireland
Mountjoy offers generous terms to Tryone
What was Tyrone given by Mountjoy
Pardoned and recognised as Chief Lord of Ulster
Why were the English concessions so generous
Elizabeth had died 6 days earlier
-Mountjoy keen to return to England to integrate with James Vi
Where did the cost of providing the English armies fall to (+ example)
To the English Counties
- Cost taxpayers £3,300
How did the cost of Tyrone’s rebellion effect the English (3)
- Central government was levying to increase taxation
- 1590s period of economic and social hardship
- Result was increasing levels of complaint
Example of increasing levels of complaint concerning high taxes
1596- men of Middlesex refused to contribute to local payments for their munsters of men and equipment
What did this financial pressure mean for English armies
Not large enough, poorly equipped and trained
Tyrone’s financial situation in contrast to Englands
-Developed an efficient financial system which led him to fund a well-trained, well-equipped army
-Reorganised Ulster’s economy to increase his income
Tyrone’s income + cost of his army
-Income of £80,000 per annum
By 1598 his army cost £500 per day, but Tyrone was able to afford this expence
Why was the war so long?
- England’s financial crisis
- Fighting in unfamiliar territory (English at a disadvantage, Irish used guerrilla warfare)
- Further hampered by logistical problems (communication was slow)
