Corpus of Electronic Texts Edition
Chapters towards a History of Ireland in the reign of Elizabeth (Author: Philip O'Sullivan Beare)
Chapter 29
Brief account of the General State of the Kingdom.
TO bring to light every instance of this tyranny would be tedious. Throughout the whole island this violent tyranny produced immense confusion. The Catholics struggling against the sway and orders of the ministers, shunning their doctrines, and avoiding their deadly rites; sometimes beating the ministers with cudgels, and terrifying them by night and day. On the other hand, the ministers bringing the matter before the magistrates, the Catholics were thrown in to prison and fined by the magistrates. The Queen and her councillors and magistrates directed all their zeal and plots to despoil the Irish of their goods, to gradually overthrow them and take away their lives. This they had often before tried, being of opinion that the Catholic religion could not be stamped out in any
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other way than by annihilating those in whose breasts it was deeply rooted, nor could the new errors be established as long as those flourished who ever hated them. Therefore many mulcted in heavy fines were reduced to poverty; many men of noble birth were put to death. All were required to produce the patents under which they held their properties, so that means might be found of despoiling them of their goods. This might be easily done, as most of the Irish had no patents and did not require them since they were owners of their countries before the time of the English rule.
And so the destruction and annihilation of the whole island and Catholic faith were imminent. This was the state of things when that great war began, which it is now time for us to relate.
On the Fifteen Years' War.
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I am about to write of the memorable war carried on for nearly fifteen years by many of the Irish against Elizabeth, Queen of England, for the liberty of the Catholic religion, from the beginning of the year 1588 to 1603, in which not only was the whole of Ireland utterly wasted and destroyed, but also the flower of the English nobility was cut off; in which great forces, but greater animosities encountered; and in which the conquerors were often conquered:—Which events are digested in several books.I will give in this book the resources and equipment of both parties for the campaign and a summary of the whole war.