"James Charles Roy invariably takes an original, challenging and creatively oblique view of Irish history, and his study of the Elizabethan regime's attempts to subdue the country is no exception. The Elizabethan Conquest of Ireland surveys and explores not only the catalogue of war, conquest and attempted settlement, and the campaign of Elizabethan soldiers and statesmen to create (or suborn) a local aristocracy; the book also focuses on the intellectual efforts of Englishmen to come to terms with a country which they ...
Read More
"James Charles Roy invariably takes an original, challenging and creatively oblique view of Irish history, and his study of the Elizabethan regime's attempts to subdue the country is no exception. The Elizabethan Conquest of Ireland surveys and explores not only the catalogue of war, conquest and attempted settlement, and the campaign of Elizabethan soldiers and statesmen to create (or suborn) a local aristocracy; the book also focuses on the intellectual efforts of Englishmen to come to terms with a country which they variously depicted as exotic, seductive, savage, irreconcilable and religiously subversive. Roy's book both delineates the tortuous and often brutal story of English rule in Ireland during this transformative era; it also traces out themes (religious, intellectual and psychological) which would characterize the tangled relationship between the two countries for the ensuing centuries. It is a richly-textured, impressively researched and powerfully involving story, written with a full realization of its tragic and haunting relevance for future times". -Roy Foster, author of Modern Ireland, 1600-1972, among several titles. "Excellent at creating atmosphere while developing a fast narrative. The author is up-to-date with the most recent scholarship, and quotes extensively from primary sources. A pleasure". -Nicholas Canny, author of Making Ireland British: 1580-1650, among other titles. "James Charles Roy is remarkable for his wide intellectual range, erudition, penetrating analysis, capacity for sustained research, and deep familiarity with sources relating to Elizabethan Ireland. His book will add significantly to scholarship in a field already served by so many outstanding scholars". - David Fitzpatrick, author of The Two Irelands, and other titles. "This narrative exposes not only the ineptitude of the people behind negotiating and treaty-making, but also on a queen unable to focus her mind. Whereas many histories emphasize one side of Elizabeth as a canny and masterful monarch, The Elizabethan Conquest of Ireland presents her as a woman whose romantic misadventures interfere with her duties and whose lack of interest in-and commitment to-Ireland leads to extremes of vio lence on both sides. This reader was riveted". - Dr. Laurie Kaplan, Academic Director, George Washington University's London Center. The relationship between England and Ireland has been marked by turmoil ever since the 5th century, when Irish raiders kidnapped St. Patrick. Perhaps the most consequential chapter in this saga was the subjugation of the island during the 16th century, and particularly efforts associated with the long reign of Queen Elizabeth I, the reverberations of which remain unsettled even today. This is the story of that 'First British Empire'. The saga of the Elizabethan conquest has rarely received the attention it deserves, long overshadowed by more 'glamorous' events that challenged the queen, most especially those involving Catholic Spain and France, superpowers with vastly more resources than Protestant England. Ireland was viewed as a peripheral theatre, a haven for Catholic heretics and a potential 'back door' for foreign invasions. Lord deputies sent by the queen were tormented by such fears, and reacted with an iron hand. Their cadres of subordinates, including poets and writers as gifted as Philip Sidney, Edmund Spenser, and Walter Raleigh, were all corrupted in the process, their humanist values disfigured by the realities of Irish life as they encountered them through the lens of conquest and appropriation. These men considered the future of Ireland to be an extension of the British state, as seen in the 'salon' at Bryskett's Cottage, outside Dublin, where guests met to pore over the 'Irish Question'. But such deliberations were rewarded by no final triumph, only debilitating warfare that stretched the entire length of Elizabeth's rule. This is the story of revolt, suppression, atrocities and genocide, and ends w
Read Less
Add this copy of The Elizabethan Conquest of Ireland to cart. $41.39, like new condition, Sold by GreatBookPrices rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Columbia, MD, UNITED STATES, published 2021 by Pen & Sword Military.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Fine. Contains: Unspecified. Includes unspecified. In Stock. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Brand New, Perfect Condition, allow 4-14 business days for standard shipping. To Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. protectorate, P.O. box, and APO/FPO addresses allow 4-28 business days for Standard shipping. No expedited shipping. All orders placed with expedited shipping will be cancelled. Over 3, 000, 000 happy customers.
Add this copy of The Elizabethan Conquest of Ireland to cart. $41.40, good condition, Sold by BGV Books LLC rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Murray, KY, UNITED STATES, published 2021 by Pen & Sword Military.
The has been in recent years an upswing in publications dealing with the conquest of Ireland by the Tudor state at the end of the sixteenth century. A note suggesting this had incorporated much of that work had me hoping this was a new narrative based on new research. I was sorely disappointed to find this is a retread of Cyril Falls' strongly biased work from 71 years ago. Indeed, there are many line in this book that would have made Falls blush. The Irish come in hordes and are rooted in the iron age. Their leaders 'rogues', 'petty despots' and the land is under native control 'primordial'. The irish are savage, untrustworthy and stubbornly intransigent to the 'civilising' influences of their English masters. Moreover, where massacres and atrocities occur, it was because the Irish refused to stand still and be run over by english horse. In other words atrocities were blamed on the victims.
Here's a few direct quotes so you know what to expect:
'Ulick opted for personal advancement. He felt no sense of shame or remorse in that his behaviour undercut ancient Celtic traditions, which in fact emphasized in practice the idea of betrayal and sibling murder' p.47
When referring to massacres of civilians in Munster '[Humfrey] Gilbert was ahead of his time in recognising the beneficial effects of such sanguinary behaviour' p. 98
'Perhaps the rebels saw Gilbert, as through the looking glass (a favorite Elizabethan metaphor) some reflection of their own innate cruelty' p. 99
Hugh [O'Neill] took his fourth wife, Catherine, just a few months later, a proper Irish harridan of the Magennis clan' p. 252
I'll not labour the point, each turn of the page was a fresh hell and if anything this work should stand as an example of how not to write a modern history of Irish/English affairs in the Sixteenth Century, or any century for that matter.
