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| - Ireland had been claimed as a lordship by the English Crown since the 12th century but the actuality of this Lordship was only officially on paper as the reality on the ground was quite the contrary. The initial Anglo-Norman invasion starting in 1169 pushed deep into Ireland but ended up only as a partial conquest or draw. After this initial phase the Normans lost their steam and began to intermarry and form alliances with the leading native Gaelic families. Gaelic families began to regain their lost lands and Norman barons started to fight amongst themselves to vie for supremacy. By the 16th century, the area under government control had shrunk to the Pale, the area around Dublin. The rest of the country was controlled by the mini-lordships of clan and feudal leaders. King Henry VIII tried to reintegrate the territory of the country by recognizing the titles of the Irish nobility. The English throne initiated an official policy of surrender and re-grant. The aim of this policy was an attempt to assimilate and anglicize the Irish or turn Ireland English. Irish nobles were given English titles and legal charter to their lands under English law in return for submission to the Crown. This policy also included primogeniture, meaning the eldest child inherited all titles and power, ultimately becoming chieftain. This stood in stark contrast to the Irish or Brehon Law of Tanistry in which the most qualified was elected as chieftain by the clan. He also created the Kingdom of Ireland in 1541, with himself as monarch. But whenever English officials tried to control the actions of Irish lords, they were invariably met with resistance. The English spent the next 50 years trying to exert their control over the Irish population, often by exceptionally brutal means. The first major conflict this caused was the Desmond Rebellions between 1569 and 1583. In the 1590s they experienced the most significant resistance, from forces in Ulster under Aodh Mór Ó Néill (Hugh the Great O'Neill) and Aodh Rua Ó Dónaill (Red Hugh O'Donnell). This war is known as the Nine Years War. It was a war of fort and forest. The English sought to establish frontier strongholds that would disrupt Gaelic rule. The Irish rebels used guerrilla tactics of ambush and constant missile harassment followed by withdrawal into the widespread forests. English armies seeking to relieve or supply forward garrisons suffered constant, and sometimes major, casualties. The battle of the Yellow Ford in August 1598 is the prime example where the English arguably suffered their greatest ever defeat on Irish soil. In an attempt to deliver supplies to a garrison in Armagh the commanding officer of the relief column, Marshall Bagenal, was killed along with over 20 officers and several hundred men. British forces were further reduced due to desertion and to disease conditions arising from the wet climate and poor nutrition. English fortunes hit their nadir with the humiliating truce negotiated by the Earl of Essex who had arrived in Ireland in 1599 at the head of 12,000 troops. His army melted away without fighting a single battle. What had started as a rebellion of Ulster Chieftains seeking to defend their ancient rights was drawing support from discontented lords throughout Ireland and grew into a struggle to end English rule. However, with the appointment of Charles Blount, Lord Mountjoy, as Lord Deputy of Ireland, the tide began to turn against O'Neill. A new policy of favors for those willing to return to English allegiance coupled with the building of cleverly placed forts behind the Irish positions, such as that at Lough Foyle, increased pressure upon the Ulster Chieftains and stopped the advance of their cause. Earl Hugh O'Neill, who had masterminded the Irish military success understood that while Irish troops were excellent at the hit-and-run tactics essential in a war of attrition, they would quickly be defeated in any formal battle. The new fortresses in his rear limited his ability to use hit-and-run tactics. Rival chieftains were always liable to return their allegiance to the English crown with suitable inducements. A war in stalemate could only end with English victory. Since 1591, the Irish rebels had been seeking military help from Spain, and on September 21, 1601, in spite of bad weather, a Spanish landing finally materialized. The arrival was timely. The outcome of the war was in the balance and this Spanish force under General Don Juan Del Aquila had the potential to tip the fortunes of war in favor of the rebels. Further Spanish troops were promised.
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