The Chief Governors: The Rise And Fall Of Reform Government In Tudor Ireland 1536-1588 (cambridge Studies In Early Modern British History)

This book offers an extended reinterpretation of English policy in Ireland over the sixteenth century. It seeks to show that the major conflicts between Tudor governors and native lords which characterised the period were not the result of a deliberate Tudor strategy of confrontation, but arose from a failed experiment in legal reform and cultural assimilation which had been applied with remarkable success elsewhere in the Tudor dominions. The book identifies a distinct administrative style which evolved in Irish government in the mid-sixteenth century under a complex set of pressures acting on the would-be reformers both in Ireland and at the Tudor court, and argues that it was this highly centralised and intensely activist mode of government that undermined the aims of reform policy and provoked alienation and hostility. Cover......Page 1 Frontmatter......Page 2 Contents......Page 8 Dedication......Page 9 Preface......Page 10 Acknowledgements......Page 17 Abbreviations......Page 18 Prologue: Ireland in the wake of the Kildare rebellion, 1536......Page 20 Part 1 - The course of reform government, 1536--1578......Page 30 1 - Reform as process: the viceroyalties of Lord Leonard Grey and Sir Anthony St Leger, 1536--1547......Page 32 2 - Ireland and the mid-Tudor crisis, 1547--1556......Page 64 3 - Reform by programme: the viceroyalties of the earl of Sussex, 1556--1565......Page 91 4 - Reform on contract: the viceroyalties of Sir Henry Sidney, 1566--1578......Page 132 Interlude: Government in Ireland, 1536--1579......Page 178 Part 2 - The impact of reform government, 1556--1583......Page 186 5 - Reform government and the feudal magnates......Page 188 6 - Reform government and the community of the Pale......Page 228 7 - Reform government and Gaelic Ireland......Page 264 Epilogue: Reform in crisis: the viceroyalty of Sir John Perrot, 1584--1588......Page 310 Bibliography......Page 320 Index......Page 336 Cambridge Studies in Early Modern British History......Page 342 "This book offers an extended reinterpretation of English policy in Ireland over the sixteenth century. It seeks to show that the major conflicts between Tudor governors and native lords which characterised the period were not the result of a deliberate Tudor strategy of confrontation as conventional interpretations have assumed, but argues that they arose from a failed experiment in legal reform and cultural assimilation which had been applied with remarkable success elsewhere in the Tudor dominions. The book seeks to explain the course of this exceptional failure, and it identifies a distinct administrative style which evolved in Irish government during the middle of the century under a complex set of pressures acting on the would-be reformers both in Ireland and at the Tudor court. It argues that it was this distinctive, highly centralised and intensely activist mode of government that inadvertently undermined the aims of reform policy and provoked the alienation and hostility that was precisely the opposite result to that which was originally intended." --Book Jacket Cover 1 Frontmatter 2 Contents 8 Dedication 9 Preface 10 Acknowledgements 17 Abbreviations 18 Prologue: Ireland in the wake of the Kildare rebellion, 1536 20 Part 1 - The course of reform government, 1536--1578 30 1 - Reform as process: the viceroyalties of Lord Leonard Grey and Sir Anthony St Leger, 1536--1547 32 2 - Ireland and the mid-Tudor crisis, 1547--1556 64 3 - Reform by programme: the viceroyalties of the earl of Sussex, 1556--1565 91 4 - Reform on contract: the viceroyalties of Sir Henry Sidney, 1566--1578 132 Interlude: Government in Ireland, 1536--1579 178 Part 2 - The impact of reform government, 1556--1583 186 5 - Reform government and the feudal magnates 188 6 - Reform government and the community of the Pale 228 7 - Reform government and Gaelic Ireland 264 Epilogue: Reform in crisis: the viceroyalty of Sir John Perrot, 1584--1588 310 Bibliography 320 Index 336 Cambridge Studies in Early Modern British History 342 9780521520041 Cambridge Studies in Early Modern British History

This book offers a fundamental critique of conventional views of sixteenth-century Irish history that have stressed the centrality of colonization and military confrontation. It argues that reform rather than conquest was the aim of Tudor policy-makers, but shows that the immense difficulties faced by the reformers in pursuing their objectives forced them to make administrative innovations that ultimately contradicted and undermined their original policy.

'Poor Leonard Grey', as he began to sign himself soon after his appointment as lord deputy in February 1536, has been as harshly treated by historians as he was in his own times.

A revisionist account of Irish history under the Tudors.