Tyrone's rebellion- 1594-1603
Background
Earl of Tyrone- Hugh O'Neill- saw himself as protestant and had education in England
Accepted the title Earl of Tyrone in 1585 to strengthen his own power
by 1590s, relations between England and Ireland began to sour as Elizabeth had restarted the plantation policy in Ulster
Tyrone wanted to rule Ulster independently but Elizabeth favoured the promotion of English officials and this triggered Tyrone to rebel
Long term causes
Munster rebellion of 1579-83 was brutally suppressed and 1/3 of the population of Munster died through war, plague and famine
The system of tanistry (giving the most able person the right to rule after you, not following bloodlines)
Support for Tyrone
Within Ireland, the army was large and well-organised
Used English and Spanish captains to train his men and he imported weapons and ammunition
1595- Tyrone led an army of 1,000 cavalry, 4,000 musket men and 1,000 pikemen
Encouraged other chieftains outside of Ulster to join the rebellion
Had support from Irish chiefs O'Donnells and Maguires
Battle of Kinsale- 1601
Spanish support- Phillip II saw it as his duty to help fellow Catholics against Protestant forces & Spanish monarchs saw it as an opportunity to destabilise the English war effort
Irish- Spanish contact began as early as 1593 and negotiations in 1595 for money & men
In 96, Phillip agreed to send a second Armada, to Ireland and the fleet intended to have 100 ships but the fleet was dispersed by winds and 32 ships were lost
Counter arguments- Irish & Spanish never met- not a linking force and lost their momentum
Protestantism wasn't a big threat in Ireland
Large support in Ireland was spread out- heard to control & coordinate
Soldiers who deserted Elizabeth may still be loyal to her
Spanish troops arrived and were highly trained
But the rebellion had been suppressed by Sir George Carew and they were cut off from Tyrone
English leader- Mountjoy- wanted to stop Irish & Spanish linking ap gathered 7,000 men and besieged Kinsale
Tyrone moved south too with 6,500 soldiers and trapped Mountjoy
Mountjoy then launched a surprise attack and split the Irish army and the Spanish never met with them
Spanish troops surrendered to English without realising more support was on the way
Siege of Dunboy- 1602
The English found out that the beach near the castle was impossible to land on so Carew found another beach
The defenders surrendered after English attacks and Carew executed 58 defenders
Battle of Clontibret 1595
English outnumbered- only 1,100 men
rebels captured Enniskillen and besieged Monaghan castle. Baganel led 1750 troops but were ambushed
Tyrone agreed to accept English Sovereignty and stop demanding religious freedom
Elizabeth agreed to remove their garrisons and tyrone would keep control in Ulster
truce only lasted a few months as Tyrone began gaining more land and adopting aggressive tactics to gain support and override the English by giving people Irish titles himself.
Why significant? Showed the Irish strength, they captured multiple castles and succeeded with ambushing tactics on the English
Battle of Yellow Ford- 1598
New Lord Deputy Burgh had suddenly died after building new fortifications along the Blackwater river. Former leader Henry Norris had also died- England without Lord Deputy or Leader of the Army
Blackwater fortifications were extremely weak as Spanish threatened another armada
Tyrone broke a truce and attacked and encouraged Irish across Ireland to rebel
Consequences- the Munster Plantations were overthrown after 14 years. English sent 8000 men to protect the Pale but rebels still dominant
Significance- England was weak without a military leader, Blackwater fortifications were weak and more rebellions destroyed munster plantations- reduced English control in Ireland
Battle of Curlew Pass- 1599
Only Irish supporter of England, O'Connor was under siege at Collooney castle. Devereux ordered an army to rescue O'Connor
Clifford had around 1,500 footmen and 2,000 cavalry but were ambushed by Tyrone
Devereux (Earl of Essex) realised it was impossible to attack Tyrone- English army were weak and Devereux negotiated with Tyrone with led to him being dismissed
highlights the English weakness throughout the nine year war
Tyrone's advantages- will unite Irish clans, understands the landscape, has a cause
How he was eventually defeated
Mountjoy pursued Tyrone into Ulster and destroyed his supply lines and burnt crops
Tyrone's followers surrendered and Elizabeth allowed negotiations between Mountjoy and Tyrone
Tyrone was pardoned and recognised as Chief Lord of Ulster
English conciliation policy introduced English settlers, an English lord deputy and made Irish chieftains rent land from the crown they previously owned
After the break from Rome, Ireland remained Catholic and England tried to Anglicise Ireland
Method of composition- paying sums to just English authorities rather than both Irish & English if they accepted English laws
Irish culture and society was discriminated against by the English