Henry Sidney

Sir Henry Sidney, 1573

Sir Henry Sidney , KG (* 1529 - † May 5, 1586 in Ludlow Castle , England ) was an English politician and Lord Deputy of Ireland .

Origin and family

Henry Sidney was born in 1529 to Sir Wiliam Sidney (1482–1553) and his wife Anne Pakenham (1511–1544). He grew up as a companion to the later Edward VI. on.

In 1551 he married Mary Dudley , the eldest daughter of John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland . Together they had three sons and four daughters. His eldest son was Sir Philip Sidney , his second son Robert Sidney, 1st Earl of Leicester . Sidney's daughter Mary married Henry Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke , was a writer and was considered one of the most learned women of her time.

Life

First trip to Ireland

In 1556 Sidney served in Ireland with the Lord Deputy, Thomas Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Sussex, who had married Sidney's sister Frances the previous year. Both served Queen Mary until her death in 1558. Sidney played a major role in expanding the English administration in Ireland, which for centuries had concentrated on the Pale , the area around Dublin . He was also involved in the civil and military measures his brother-in-law had taken to get the Irish clan leaders to submit to the English crown. This was known as "Surrender and Regrant". Sidney devastated Rathlin Island during an expedition to Ulster in 1557 . During Sussex's absence the following year, Sidney had sole responsibility for the Government of Ireland, proving himself capable. When Sussex was absent again due to Elizabeth I's accession to the throne , Sidney had to cope with the unrest caused by Shane O'Neill as his representative, and he managed to gain time until Sussex reluctantly returned in August 1559. At about the same time Sidney resigned from his position as Vice Treasurer of Ireland, as he was appointed President of the Council of the Marches in Wales, resided for the next few years at Ludlow Castle and visited the court in London frequently.

Henry Sidney leaves Dublin Castle . Detail of a panel from The Image of Irelande by John Derrick (London, 1581).

Lord Deputy of Ireland

In 1565 Sidney was named Lord Deputy of Ireland, succeeding Sir Nicholas Arnold, who had replaced the Earl of Sussex. He found the Pale in a more impoverished and troubled state than when he left and said he had found the cause of the unrest at Shane O'Neill in Ulster. He succeeded in convincing Elisabeth to take violent measures against O'Neill and although O'Neill avoided a face-to-face meeting, Sidney put O'Neill's rival Calvagh O'Donnell back into his rights and set up an English garrison in Derry around the Prevent O'Neill's influence from expanding.

O'Neill was murdered in 1567 and Sidney turned his attention to the south, where he settled the dispute between Gerald FitzGerald, 15th Earl of Desmond, and Thomas Butler, 10th Earl of Ormond. He also had people who he believed were disturbing the peace executed or captured. When he returned to Ulster, he forced Turlough Luineach O'Neill, Shane O'Neill's successor, to submit and set up garrisons in Belfast and Carrickfergus to intimidate Tír Eoghain and the Glynns.

Sidney's time as Lord Deputy is controversial as the government not only fought against Gaelic military opponents on the battlefield, but also against the normal, predominantly rural, population.

Desmond rebellions

In the autumn of 1567 Sidney returned to England and was absent from Ireland for a total of 10 months. On his return, he urged Cecil to take steps to fully exploit Ireland's economic potential, develop the land through the construction of roads and bridges, replace the local institutions in Ulster with a landed property system, and respect Irish customs suppress. In 1569 he oversaw the opening of the Parliament in Dublin, the first to be held in 10 years. He proposed the establishment of the Court of Castle Chamber - an Irish version of the Star Chamber - which was actually later established.

Sidney also proposed the appointment of a military governor (Lord President) in the provinces of Munster and Connacht . This provoked the first of the Desmond Rebellions , led by James Fitzmaurice Fitzgerald. Sidney turned against the Butlers in Ormond and Kilkenny , who had rebelled against the opportunistic claims on their land by Sir Peter Carew , a Devon adventurer whose claim was approved by the Dublin government. In 1570, many followers of Sir Edmund Butler were hanged and three brothers of Thomas Butler, 3rd Earl of Ormonde, were deprived of their rights by a law of the Irish Parliament.

Sidney left Ireland in 1571, depressed by the low recognition of his rule by Queen Elizabeth. In September 1575 he returned with greater royal authority to find Ireland's condition worse than ever. In Antrim, the MacQuillans and Sorley Boy MacDonnell were the leading instigators of the disturbance, and after Sidney pacified this northern area, Sidney went south, where he was just as successful in asserting his authority. Sidney also changed the island's administrative units by drawing county boundaries based on the English model.

Sidney also suppressed a rebellion led by the Earl of Clanricarde and his sons in 1576, and chased Rory O'More until his death two years later. Sidney was also involved in the Mullaghmast massacre , where 1578 members of seven Irish clans were executed.

The tax controversy

Meanwhile, Sidney's annual tax, which was intended to fund a central government militia, had caused dissatisfaction in the gentry of the Pale, who sent an embassy of eminent lawyers to London to personally bring their complaint to Queen Elizabeth. They were supported by leaders of the Irish government, including the Lord Chancellor of Ireland , Sir William Gerard. Gerard's breach of loyalty was a severe blow to Sidney, who had considered him a close ally for the past five years. The argument between the two men weakened Sidney's position. The arguments that the tax policy was wrong would ultimately work: To Sidney's chagrin, the Queen reprimanded his behavior. In September 1578 he was called back to England and received coldly by Elizabeth.

Sir Henry Sidney Coat of Arms

Later years

Through his post in the Privy Council in London, Sidney used his influence in the bloody suppression of the second Desmond rebellion, which should cause many deaths in Munster.

Sidney spent most of the rest of his life at Ludlow Castle, where he performed his duties as President of the Welsh Marches. He died there on May 5, 1586.

progeny

From his marriage to Mary Dudley, Henry Sidney had seven children:

• Philip (1554–1586), poet ⚭ Frances Walsingham (1567–1633)
• Mary Margaret (around 1556–1558)
• Elizabeth (* 1560), died as a child
• Mary (1561–1621), poet ⚭ Henry Herbert (1538–1601)
• Robert, 1st Earl of Leicester (1563-1626) ⚭ 1. Barbara Gamage (1563-1621), ⚭ 2. Sarah Blount
• Ambrosia (around 1566–1575), died at the age of nine
• Thomas

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d} Sidney, Sir Henry . In: Encyclopædia Britannica . 11th edition. tape 25 . Cambridge University Press, pp. 42-43 .
2. ^ Alfred Webb: A Compendium of Irish Biography . Dublin 1878.
3. ↑ Turtle Bunbury: The Massacre of Mullaghmast. June 2019, accessed on May 7, 2020 .