Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex

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Portrait of Walter Devereux, unknown painter, 1572

Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex KG (born September 16, 1539 in Carmarthen Castle , Wales , † September 22, 1576 in Dublin ) was an English nobleman and holder of the Order of the Garter . In addition to the title of 1st Earl of Essex , he also held the nobility titles of 2nd Viscount Hereford , 11th Baron Ferrers of Chartley and 8th Baron Bourchier .

Family and political career

He was born the eldest son of Sir Richard Devereux and Dorothy Hastings . His maternal grandparents were George Hastings , 1st Earl of Huntingdon and Anne Stafford , Countess of Huntingdon. His father was the son of Walter Devereux, 1st Viscount Hereford and the niece of Henry Bourchiers , the former 2nd Earl of Essex (bestowed in 1461).

Devereux came to Queen Elizabeth's court at a young age . There he met Lettice Knollys , whom he married in 1561. From the marriage the daughters Penelope (* around 1562; † 1607) ⚭ Lord Rich and Dorothy (* 1564), as well as the sons Robert (* 1565) and Walter (* 1570).

Since his father died before his grandfather, he inherited the nobility titles Viscount Hereford and Lord Ferrers including the family estates from the latter on September 27, 1558 . When his great-aunt 2nd degree died in 1571, he also inherited her title Baron Bourchier . On May 4, 1572 he was bestowed the title of Earl of Essex .

By 1561 he had returned to Chartley , Staffordshire to raise a family. In 1568 he set up a cavalry division to prevent the rescue of Mary Queen of Scots, who was being held at Tutbury Castle , near Chartley. In the uprisings in the north he served as high marshal in 1569 and helped defeat the Catholic Counts Thomas Percy of Northumberland and Charles Neville of Westmorland . In the same year he was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Staffordshire.

Working in Ireland

In May 1573 he submitted his plans to occupy and colonize the area of Clandeboye in north-east Ireland with a force of 1200 men. The Queen agreed to appoint him captain general of her armed forces for seven years for this purpose. He was also promised a twelve-year duty-free trade monopoly for this region, as well as the exemption from tax duties. He was given extensive sovereign powers for seven years. The costs were to be divided evenly between the Earl of Essex and the Queen for the first two years, so that the new colony should become financially independent. In return, Devereux promised that Clandeboye would later bring in £ 5,000 a year for the Queen. To finance his share he sought the support of wealthy English landowners, whose soldiers he needed for his project. He also took out a £ 10,000 loan from the Queen which was to be repaid within three years. As a guarantee, he offered around a third of his entire property.

But his project ran into difficulties even before he left for Ireland, because in the summer of 1573 Sir Henry Sidney , the former governor of Ireland, had come to believe that it would be far too costly to colonize Ireland. It would also provoke uprisings in the population. Sidney worked with Robert Dudley to ensure that Devereux's discretion was restricted. In addition, protests came from Dublin from Lord Deputy William Fitzwilliam , who saw Devereux's intentions as an affront to his authority. The Earl of Essex did not succeed in gaining 600 men for his armed forces, as he had hoped; ultimately 200 men were missing. This was only a third of the 1200 mercenaries he had actually planned.

The project targeted the rebellious province of Ulster in particular. There the Celtic O'Neill family ruled an uncivilized population. He met the bitter resistance of the O'Neill clan under their clan leader Turlough O'Neill , as well as his recruited mercenaries of the Scottish McDonnell clan under Sorley Boy McDonnell . In 1574, he lured one of the leaders, Brian Mac Phelim, into a trap, had him captured and executed. After the O'Neills resistance was weakened and he was recalled by the Queen, he devastated the Ulster region of his retreat. Subsequently, Devereux turned against the Scots in 1575. These kept the island of Rathlin Island between the Northern Irish and Scottish coasts occupied. Sorley Boy McDonnel's supporters saw the island as a safe haven for their families and had sent women and children there to keep the British out of their reach.

The Earl of Essex wanted to make an example. For this purpose he had recruited the mercenary leader John Norreys , who was to command the military operations. Devereux also recruited Francis Drake , who was responsible for transporting the troops to Rathlin Island. With his help, John Norreys brought 300 foot soldiers and 80 cavalry soldiers as well as siege equipment to Rathlin Island. The operation went smoothly. Preparations began on May 1, 1575. The landing on Rathlin Island followed on July 22, and the Scottish defenders surrendered after a short time. An unworthy and cruel slaughter ensued, in which more than 600 people were cruelly killed, with the exception of the sons of some Scottish nobles who were held hostage. Most of them were women and children. The massacre itself was by no means criticized at the time, on the contrary. Elizabeth I congratulated the Earl of Essex and it is safe to say that the company was intended as a “chilling example” for potential rebels.

In autumn 1576 Devereux died of the Ruhr . Previously there were rumors that he had been poisoned by the Earl of Leicester.

Documents (selection)

  • A prayer of Earl of Essex death 'The Prayer of the Earl of Essex'
  • Robert Devereux Essex, Walter Devereux Essex: The Devereux papers, 1512–1647? Micro Methods, Wakefield, Yorks 1969, OCLC 222052341 (correspondence).

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c d Terry Clavin: Devereux, Walter . In: JI McGuire, James Quinn (eds.): Dictionary of Irish biography: from the earliest times to the year 2002 . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2009, ISBN 978-0-521-63331-4 ( dib.cambridge.org ).
  2. ↑ XXV. The Earl of Essex's Prayer . In: Ludwig Lemcke (Hrsg.): Yearbook for Romance and English language and literature . New episode band 2 . BG Teubner, Leipzig 1875, p. 225-227 ( Text Archive - Internet Archive ).
  3. ↑ Horace Walpole: Walter Devereux Earl of Essex . In: A Catalog of the Royal and Noble Authors of England, Scotland, and Ireland: With Lists of Their Works . J. Scott, 1806, pp. 18-21 ( books.google.de ).
predecessor Office successor
Walter Devereux Viscount Hereford
Baron Ferrers of Chartley
1558-1576 		Robert Devereux
Anne Bourchier Baron Bourchier
1571–1576 		Robert Devereux
New title created Earl of Essex
1572-1576 		Robert Devereux
personal data
SURNAME Devereux, Walter, 1st Earl of Essex
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Essex, Walter Devereux 1st Earl of
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British nobleman, 1st Earl of Essex, 2nd Viscount Hereford and 10th Baron Ferrers of Chartley
DATE OF BIRTH September 16, 1539
PLACE OF BIRTH Carmarthen Castle , Wales
DATE OF DEATH September 22, 1576
Place of death Dublin