Week 6: Ireland Flashcards
Who was Sir. John Davies?
Attorney General of Ireland during the reign of James I
He was optimistic that the next generation of Irishmen were to become English
What was the English fear of Ireland?
- Could Ireland be used as an invasion point for foreign nations?
- Ex. the Spanish sent troops to Ireland in the 1590s
Which 2 Irish cities were founded by Vikings?
- Dublin and Wexford
Which Irish surnames are testament to the Anglo-Norman conquest in Ireland?
Fitz
(ex. Fitzpatrick - Son of Patrick)
Which English king gave himself the title of “Lord of Ireland”
Henry II
What was Ireland divided into?
Lordships (family clan territories, similar to Scotland)
What dominates the Irish economy?
Cattle
(even more so than agriculture)
What is Brehon Law?
- Irish Civil Code (NOT criminal code) in which money is given to the victim’s family by the perpetrator as punishment
What was the Pale?
- The only part of Ireland that was fully controlled by the English
- Dublin was there
- Demarcated with ditches
What things did the English look down upon the Irish as Barbarians for?
- Drinking the blood of their cattle
- Moustaches
- Mullets
- The absence of wheat in their bread
Why is the Tudor conquest of Ireland often seen as more of a RE-conquest?
- Because the Anglo-Norman elite left behind from the Anglo-Norman conquest had by then largely blended in to their Irish surroundings
- This was called “Gallicization”
Which English king switches his title from Lord of Ireland to King of Ireland?
Henry VIII
What were the Irish officially deemed as before Henry VIII became King of Ireland?
Enemies
Why did Reformation fail in Ireland? (5)
- England didn’t have the money or resources to enforce it everywhere in Ireland
- Few people spoke English in Ireland
- Most Irish were loyal to their Gallic Lords/Clans NOT the King
- English government in Dublin is too weak
- English missionaries are seen as colonialists and are thus hated
What famous school did the English establish in order to have a Protestant institution in Ireland?
Trinity College Dublin
What was the concept of Surrender and Regrant, and why was it important?
- The most successful thing the Tudors did in Ireland
- They made Gallic nobles give their lands in paper to the King
- The King then promised to re-grant their lands and give them proper English noble titles
- This tricked the Irish into accepting the King as ruler of their lands
- It shakes the foundations of the Irish loyalty to their lords/clans
In what year was Trinity College Dublin founded?
1592
When was the Tudor Conquest of Ireland?
1540-1603
What was England’s first colony?
Ireland
What are Plantations in Ireland?
- Basically Protestant English colonies in Ireland
- It solved overpopulation in England as well
When was the Nine Years War?
1594-1603
What was the Nine Years War, and why was it important?
- It was an Irish reaction to English extensions of control and incursions in Ireland (like Plantations)
- Seen as a Catholic rebellion against the English
- Led by Hugh O’Neil (former Earl of Tyrone)
- Spanish troops intervene and land in Ireland to help the rebels
- Costs the English 2 million £ to put down
Why is it important? –> The Irish lose, and it permits the full English military control of Ireland (but at a huge cost)
Why is Spanish help futile in the Nine Years War?
- Because the Irish army is in the North
- And the Spaniards land in the South
- They are uncoordinated and distant
How much money does it take Elizabeth to put down the Nine Years War?
2 million pounds
What was the main battle of the Nine Years War?
Battle of Kinsale 1601
What are the 4 traditional provinces of Ireland?
Ulster
Leinster
Connaught
Munster
Which Irish province now constitutes most of modern day Northern Ireland?
Ulster
What was the Flight of the Earls, 1607?
- When a bunch of Northern Irish Catholic nobles flee Ulster and go to the continent (i.e. Rome)
Why did the Earls of Ulster leave for the continent in 1607?
- For fear that the English will further undermine their power and influence in Ireland
How do the English take advantage of the flight of the Earls of Ulster?
- They confiscate the lands of the fleeing nobles and repopulate Ulster with Protestant plantations
What was traditionally the most anti-English and Catholic part of Ireland?
Ulster
Why is the Flight of the Earls important?
- It gives the English full control over the previously most anti-English and Catholic region of Ireland
- Ulster becomes the most loyal region to England after the Flight of the Earls
What event is seen as the root cause for the tensions between the Northern and Southern Irish today?
Flight of the Earls, 1607
What are the Penal Laws in Ireland? Why is it so important?
- Laws taking rights away from Irish Catholics
- Ex. If a family had all Catholic sons, their land is divided equally among them
- BUT, if even ONE of the sons becomes Protestant, he inherits ALL the land
- This caused inter-familial divide in Irish Catholic families and enticed some people towards Protestantism in Ireland
