The Irish military campaign of Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, took place in 1599, against the confederacy of Irish lords during the Nine Years' War (1593–1603). Essex served as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland; despite his commission representing the largest English army ever dispatched to Ireland, the campaign ended in failure and Essex was removed from his post.
Essex was a charismatic courtier who became Queen Elizabeth I's royal favourite around 1587. He advocated for military intervention on behalf of Protestant forces in continental Europe and Ireland, which brought him into conflict with the queen's principal adviser, Lord Burghley, and his son, statesman Robert Cecil. Essex's insolent behaviour during disputes over military policy in Ireland damaged his special relationship with the queen. The Irish confederacy's victory at the Battle of the Yellow Ford in August 1598 left no clear leadership of the English-led Irish administration. In December, Elizabeth selected Essex as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland; he reluctantly accepted and saw this as an opportunity to restore his reputation.
Essex landed in Ireland on 15 April 1599. The queen had ordered him to confront confederate leader Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, in Ulster, but Essex instead led his army into southern Ireland where he fought skirmishes of little consequence. The Battle of Deputy's Pass and the Battle of Curlew Pass, fought on 29 May and 15 August respectively, inflicted heavy casualties on the royal forces despite their superior numbers. Many royal soldiers died from sickness and in battle.
In late August, Essex marched northwards to confront Tyrone, having been heavily berated by Elizabeth. He was now outnumbered by Tyrone's army and accepted an informal six week truce in a parley with Tyrone on 7 September. Essex returned to England later that month, hoping to strengthen his rapport with Elizabeth in person, despite her explicit orders that he should remain in Ireland. Essex was quickly placed under house arrest and removed from his post. His distress at his failed campaign and tarnished reputation led to a complete emotional collapse. In February 1601, Essex led a failed coup against the Crown and was arrested, tried for treason, and executed by beheading at the Tower of London.
Background
The Tudor conquest of Ireland began in 1542 when the Kingdom of Ireland was established as an English client state. Various Irish clans accepted English sovereignty under the procedure "surrender and regrant". From 1573, English nobleman Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex, was involved in a scheme to colonise Ireland's northern province of Ulster. One of his key allies was prominent Irish lord Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, who supported the English Crown. Walter died in September 1576; his ten-year-old son Robert Devereux succeeded him as 2nd Earl of Essex. Essex inherited claims to lands at Farney, County Monaghan and at Islandmagee, County Antrim, as well as to fishing rights on the River Bann, but these went unexploited as he did not take much interest in Ireland. Essex's stepfather, the Earl of Leicester, imbued in him a feeling of common cause with Protestants in continental Europe.
Essex visited the English royal court in 1585. Known for his looks and charisma, by May 1587 he had become Queen Elizabeth I's royal favourite. Throughout the entire summer they were observed riding and walking together. Despite his privileged position, Essex was ambivalent about his career as a courtier. He considered military service the highest form of royal service and consistently angled for these opportunities, hoping this would merit him further reward from the queen. From 1588 to 1597 he sporadically served in the Anglo-Spanish War against Catholic Spain, often against the queen's will. He pushed an offensive strategy, supporting the Dutch rebels and French Huguenots against their Catholic adversaries.
By the early 1590s, widespread resentment against English rule developed amongst the Gaelic nobility, due to the execution of Gaelic lords, the pillaging of settlements by appointed sheriffs and Catholic persecution. From 1593, Tyrone supported a confederacy of Irish lords in militarily resisting English incursions on their territory. The Nine Years' War was one of Elizabethan England's most significant conflicts. Essex supported William Russell's appointment as Lord Deputy of Ireland in 1594, and he may have supported Thomas Burgh's appointment in 1597.
Appointment of Essex
In early 1598, Essex's advisor Francis Bacon advised him to advocate for a leadership role in the Irish government. Essex subsequently took interest in Ireland's political situation but he clearly did not want any involvement with the country's politics, as there were few accolades he could earn from service in Ireland. Burgh died in October 1597, and Essex confined himself in his capacity as Earl Marshall of England to merely suggesting individuals to the vacant post of Lord Deputy. Many potential candidates for the post saw it as a poor career move; Walter Raleigh, Robert Sidney and Christopher Blount reportedly turned it down.
Essex sought to establish himself as the queen's foremost councillor and assume leadership of the political faction which favoured military assistance to the Dutch Republic and the French Huguenots. In doing so, he began a rivalry at court with a peace-seeking faction led by the queen's principal adviser, Lord Burghley, and his son, statesman Robert Cecil. Burghley confronted Essex in the Council chamber in April 1598; according to chronicler William Camden, Essex denounced peace as "dishonourable and treacherous", but Burghley responded that Essex "breathed forth nothing but war, slaughter and blood."
The subject of the new Lord Deputy sparked one of the most infamous arguments between Essex and Elizabeth, which occurred on 30 June/1 July 1598. The queen wanted to appoint William Knollys, Essex's uncle, but Essex tried to persuade her to send Cecil's friend George Carew instead, so as to rid him from court. During the argument, Essex contemptuously turned his back on the queen. In response she cuffed him on the ear, prompting him to lay his hand on his sword. Before leaving the chamber Essex reportedly stated that "he neither could nor would put up so great an affront and indignity, neither would he have taken it at King Henry the Eighth his hands". He may have also described the queen "as crooked in her disposition as in her carcass". This outburst was the culmination of years of mounting frustration over his belief that the queen was unjustly rewarding his rivals. Elizabeth sought Essex's return and sent messengers to his country estate at Wanstead to encourage a reconciliation. Essex refused to submit, questioning the limits of royal authority in a letter that was circulated among his friends. He refused to return to council meetings until the queen gave him a private audience to air his grievances.
Burghley died on 4 August. Only ten days later, the Irish confederacy's greatest victory came at the Battle of the Yellow Ford, which ignited further rebellion throughout all of Ireland. The military situation was highly distressing to Elizabeth and the Privy Council of England. There was no clear leader of the English-led Irish administration, as Marshal Henry Bagenal was killed at the Yellow Ford. The death of Philip II of Spain in September made Essex's participation in the Privy Council even more necessary. Though willing to advise the queen in writing, he refused to rejoin his colleagues in person. Efforts were made to arrange Essex's return to court, and he eventually attended a council meeting on 10 September after recovering from a short illness. He met the queen two days later.
Essex had damaged his standing at court, which was made obvious to observers when the queen unexpectedly did not grant him Burghley's office of Master of the Court of Wards. The faction fight resumed; Essex and Cecil tried to diminish each other's influence by proposing the Irish appointment (and therefore removal from court) of members of the opposing faction. Essex constantly belittled previous Irish campaigns as well as fellow military men. He opposed the suggestion that his friend Charles Blount, 8th Baron Mountjoy, should take the post, as he believed the viceroy could only be "some prime man of the nobility" and "someone strong in power, honour and wealth, in favour with the military men and which had been before general of an army". This ultimately placed Essex in a difficult position: either he could accept the role of Lord Deputy himself, or stand down and let another man lead what was to become England's largest military effort since 1588. He admitted to his friends: "I am tied by my own reputation". He still aspired to military glory and the political rewards he felt this would bring, and also saw the appointment as his only chance to reclaim political influence. By November 1598, Elizabeth's courtiers generally believed that Essex would be leading an Irish campaign that following spring. On 10 December, Cecil wrote to Irish officials that he believed Elizabeth "is now resolved of her General to be [Essex]". Essex's rivals welcomed this development as it would physically remove him from Elizabeth's court.
On 30 December, the queen formally selected Essex as her new viceroy in Ireland. With great reluctance, and out of his sense of duty, he accepted the post. On Twelfth Night in January 1599, the queen danced with Essex at a party held for the Danish ambassador. Her decision to dance with him at this sensitive political moment signalled to the court that he retained her support. Essex boasted to his supporter John Harington: "I have beaten Knollys and Mountjoy in the Council, and by God, I will beat Tyrone in the field; for nothing worthy of her Majesty's honour hath yet been achieved". However his most pressing concern was to strengthen his standing with the queen rather than prepare for the task awaiting him in Ireland.
Commission
Discussion of the viceroy's commission had begun in August 1598, prior to Essex's formal appointment. The details remained in dispute almost until his departure from London. On 8 December, Sir John Chamberlain wrote to English officials in the Netherlands that "Essex's journey is uncertain, because the proportions for his enterprise are daily diminished. The number of troops was at first set down to be 14,000 with full allowance of victual and money, but these rates are diminished and Essex is displeased." Cecil stated two days later that Essex "shall have there a good army of 12,000 to 14,000 foot and 1,000 horse." On 20 December, Chamberlain reported the rumour that Elizabeth had promised to forgive Essex his father's £12,000 debt "and she says she meant forbearance of it during his absence". By 3 January, Elizabeth had apparently agreed to discharge Essex of £10,000 worth of debt so he could turn his full attention towards the new campaign. His full commission was agreed upon by 31 January and signed on 12 March.