The Treaty of Mellifont (Irish: Conradh na Mainistreach Móire), also known as the Articles of Mellifont, was signed in 1603 and ended the Nine Years' War which took place in the Kingdom of Ireland from 1594 to 1603.
During the spring of 1603, Lord Mountjoy concentrated his campaign in the northern counties and the province of Leinster. He ordered all land be scorched. Harvests and stock were destroyed and famine soon prevailed. Mountjoy and the English Privy Council had long urged Queen Elizabeth I of England to make peace. The war was costing three quarters of the Exchequer's annual revenue, and the aged Queen had been obliged to maintain an army of 20,000 men for several years past.[2]
By contrast, the English army assisting the Dutch during the Eighty Years' War was never more than 12,000 strong [3] Horrified by the cost of the war, Elizabeth now dropped her insistence on unconditional surrender and authorised Mountjoy to treat with The O'Neill upon honourable terms.[citation needed]
The agents employed by the Lord Deputy in the negotiations were Sir William Godolphin and Sir Garrett Moore, an ancestor of the Marquesses of Drogheda. Moore, a personal friend of O Neill, found him in early March at his retreat near Lough Neagh and persuaded him that he should negotiate peace terms, and would travel under a safe conduct.
On 27 March 1603, Mountjoy received news that the Queen had died in London three days earlier, but he kept that information from the other parties until 5 April. Delaying the news had no legal effect, because of the principle of the demise of the Crown and the lack of an interregnum, but it might have caused a further delay if the new King James had wanted to appoint different negotiators.
TermsEdit
On 30 March, Tyrone submitted to the Crown.[4] The pardon and the terms were considered to be very generous at the time:[5][6][7]
In return for renouncing the Gaelic title, Uí Néill (in English: The O'Neill), the attainder that had stripped him of the title of Earl of Tyrone was reversed, allowing him a seat in the Irish House of Lords.
He retained his traditional core territory, apart from any Church lands, which was held in freehold title under English property law.
The Earl of Tyrone swore to be loyal to the Crown and not to seek further assistance from foreign power. In return, he received a pardon.
Brehon law was to be replaced in his lands with English law.
The earls were no longer permitted to support the Gaelic bards.
English would be the official language.
Catholic colleges could not be built on his property.
The terms were similar in policy to many previous "surrender and regrant" agreements conducted after 1537 between the Crown and many autonomous Irish chieftains, but unusually, the earl was not obliged to convert to the Church of Ireland.
AftermathEdit
By the terms of the Treaty of London, the kings of England and Spain committed each side to the cessation of "all hostility and enmity" from April 24, 1603, forward.[8] The terms further provided that neither side would furnish "soldiers, provision, money [sic], arms ammunition or any other kind of assistance to forment [sic] war with the enemies and rebels of the other party". By that, the Irish rebels understood that no more aid could be expected from Spain.
On 2 June 1603 Mountjoy left Ireland in company with Hugh O'Neill and the new lord of Tír Conaill, Rory O'Donnell, to see King James in London.
In 1604, an Act of Oblivion declared that all "offences against the Crown" committed before the King's accession were to be "pardoned, remitted, and utterly extinguished". O'Neill returned to Ulster and appeared to have become a model subject of the Crown. Mountjoy, now a Privy Counsellor remained a champion of the terms of the Treaty and it seems he had become quite taken with his former adversary. The elderly Sir George Carey, who took over as Lord Deputy, made no attempt to clip Tyrone's wings.
That state of affairs was reversed when Sir Arthur Chichester was sworn in as Lord Deputy in February 1605. Lord Deputy Chichester saw Irish Catholicism as a major threat to the crown after the Gunpowder Plot was revealed in October 1605. Though no Irish were involved in the plot, he oversaw a widespread persecution of Catholics, and he ordered the execution of two bishops. He led the campaign by royal officials, acting on the complaints of the "servitors" (tenants) to undermine the authority of Tyrone and Tyrconnell and to erode their economic base. When Hugh O'Neill and other rebel chieftains left Ireland in the Flight of the Earls (1607) to seek Spanish help for a new rebellion, Chichester became entitled to seize their lands under the law of forfeiture. The Plantation of Ulster followed within a decade.[9]
Some of the loyal Gaelic lords were unhappy with the restoration of lands to the rebel leaders, and that was one factor that drove one of them, Sir Cahir O'Doherty, to launch O'Doherty's Rebellion, which he began with the Burning of Derry in 1608.
^ Thomas D'Arcy McGee, "A popular history of Ireland: from the earliest period to the Emancipation of the Catholics", Volume 1, CHAPTER XI , p.68, GLASGOW CAMERON AND FERGUSO , 1869.
^Colm Lennon, Sixteenth Century Ireland, the Incomplete Conquest, p301-302
^Lyons, Prof. Marian, The historiography of the Treaty of Mellifont (Seanchas Ard Mhacha / Historical Society, Armagh, 2003)
^O'Connor, Thomas. Irish Voices from the Spanish Inquisition Migrants, Converts and Brokers in Early Modern Iberia. (2016) Palgrave Macmillan UK. ISBN9781137465900
^O'Neill and his party were obliged to obtain permission to leave the kingdom, and since they had not done so, their lands and titles became forfeit.
External linksEdit
Text of the Treaty of London in English (complete) pg 131 - 135.
October 17, 2023
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The Treaty of Mellifont Irish Conradh na Mainistreach Moire also known as the Articles of Mellifont was signed in 1603 and ended the Nine Years War which took place in the Kingdom of Ireland from 1594 to 1603 Contents 1 End of war 2 Negotiations 3 Terms 4 Aftermath 5 References 6 External linksEnd of war EditFollowing the English victory in the Battle of Kinsale the leaders fighting in Cork returned to protect their homelands The Lord Deputy of Ireland Charles Blount 8th Baron Mountjoy had succeeded where his predecessor Robert Devereux 2nd Earl of Essex had failed However Mountjoy knew that as long as Hugh O Neill was still in hiding O Neill was still a threat Although most of the lesser chiefs allied with him had been compelled to submit Rory O Donnell Brian Oge O Rourke Cuchonnacht Maguire brother of Hugh Maguire and Donal Cam O Sullivan Beare remained loyal to The Great Earl 1 During the spring of 1603 Lord Mountjoy concentrated his campaign in the northern counties and the province of Leinster He ordered all land be scorched Harvests and stock were destroyed and famine soon prevailed Mountjoy and the English Privy Council had long urged Queen Elizabeth I of England to make peace The war was costing three quarters of the Exchequer s annual revenue and the aged Queen had been obliged to maintain an army of 20 000 men for several years past 2 By contrast the English army assisting the Dutch during the Eighty Years War was never more than 12 000 strong 3 Horrified by the cost of the war Elizabeth now dropped her insistence on unconditional surrender and authorised Mountjoy to treat with The O Neill upon honourable terms citation needed Negotiations EditThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Treaty of Mellifont news newspapers books scholar JSTOR December 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message The agents employed by the Lord Deputy in the negotiations were Sir William Godolphin and Sir Garrett Moore an ancestor of the Marquesses of Drogheda Moore a personal friend of O Neill found him in early March at his retreat near Lough Neagh and persuaded him that he should negotiate peace terms and would travel under a safe conduct Negotiations were conducted at Mellifont near Drogheda in County Louth This was Sir Garret s seat which had been sold to his family following the dissolution of the Cistercian abbey On 27 March 1603 Mountjoy received news that the Queen had died in London three days earlier but he kept that information from the other parties until 5 April Delaying the news had no legal effect because of the principle of the demise of the Crown and the lack of an interregnum but it might have caused a further delay if the new King James had wanted to appoint different negotiators Terms EditOn 30 March Tyrone submitted to the Crown 4 The pardon and the terms were considered to be very generous at the time 5 6 7 In return for renouncing the Gaelic title Ui Neill in English The O Neill the attainder that had stripped him of the title of Earl of Tyrone was reversed allowing him a seat in the Irish House of Lords He retained his traditional core territory apart from any Church lands which was held in freehold title under English property law The Earl of Tyrone swore to be loyal to the Crown and not to seek further assistance from foreign power In return he received a pardon Brehon law was to be replaced in his lands with English law The earls were no longer permitted to support the Gaelic bards English would be the official language Catholic colleges could not be built on his property The terms were similar in policy to many previous surrender and regrant agreements conducted after 1537 between the Crown and many autonomous Irish chieftains but unusually the earl was not obliged to convert to the Church of Ireland Aftermath EditThis section needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Treaty of Mellifont news newspapers books scholar JSTOR January 2023 Learn how and when to remove this template message By the terms of the Treaty of London the kings of England and Spain committed each side to the cessation of all hostility and enmity from April 24 1603 forward 8 The terms further provided that neither side would furnish soldiers provision money sic arms ammunition or any other kind of assistance to forment sic war with the enemies and rebels of the other party By that the Irish rebels understood that no more aid could be expected from Spain On 2 June 1603 Mountjoy left Ireland in company with Hugh O Neill and the new lord of Tir Conaill Rory O Donnell to see King James in London In 1604 an Act of Oblivion declared that all offences against the Crown committed before the King s accession were to be pardoned remitted and utterly extinguished O Neill returned to Ulster and appeared to have become a model subject of the Crown Mountjoy now a Privy Counsellor remained a champion of the terms of the Treaty and it seems he had become quite taken with his former adversary The elderly Sir George Carey who took over as Lord Deputy made no attempt to clip Tyrone s wings That state of affairs was reversed when Sir Arthur Chichester was sworn in as Lord Deputy in February 1605 Lord Deputy Chichester saw Irish Catholicism as a major threat to the crown after the Gunpowder Plot was revealed in October 1605 Though no Irish were involved in the plot he oversaw a widespread persecution of Catholics and he ordered the execution of two bishops He led the campaign by royal officials acting on the complaints of the servitors tenants to undermine the authority of Tyrone and Tyrconnell and to erode their economic base When Hugh O Neill and other rebel chieftains left Ireland in the Flight of the Earls 1607 to seek Spanish help for a new rebellion Chichester became entitled to seize their lands under the law of forfeiture The Plantation of Ulster followed within a decade 9 Some of the loyal Gaelic lords were unhappy with the restoration of lands to the rebel leaders and that was one factor that drove one of them Sir Cahir O Doherty to launch O Doherty s Rebellion which he began with the Burning of Derry in 1608 References Edit Sullivan A M Story of Ireland Chapter LI Thomas D Arcy McGee A popular history of Ireland from the earliest period to the Emancipation of the Catholics Volume 1 CHAPTER XI p 68 GLASGOW CAMERON AND FERGUSO 1869 Falls Elizabeth s Irish Wars pg 49 James O Neill The Nine Years War 1593 1603 O Neill Mountjoy and the Military Revolution p 192 Sullivan AM 1900 Colm Lennon Sixteenth Century Ireland the Incomplete Conquest p301 302 Lyons Prof Marian The historiography of the Treaty of Mellifont Seanchas Ard Mhacha Historical Society Armagh 2003 O Connor Thomas Irish Voices from the Spanish Inquisition Migrants Converts and Brokers in Early Modern Iberia 2016 Palgrave Macmillan UK ISBN 9781137465900 O Neill and his party were obliged to obtain permission to leave the kingdom and since they had not done so their lands and titles became forfeit External links EditText of the Treaty of London in English complete pg 131 135 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Treaty of Mellifont amp oldid 1134348436, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
