The English responded to the humiliation of Clontibret by retaking Blackwater
The Anglo-Irish Truce
1. Tyrone would accept English sovereignty and arrest those who caused trouble
2. The English would remove their garrisons and allow Tyrone to control Ulster
The truce broke down
Rebels began to negotiate with Philip II of Spain
An armada was sent in October 1596 and this encouraged the rebels, who used propaganda to encourage Catholics to fight
Tyrone began to claim that he had the right to grand Lordships and titles
The English response
1. Thomas, Lord Burgh decided the best tactic was to try to undermine Tyrone's power base by attacking his estates in Ulster
2. Burgh initially tried to march into Ulster but was halted
3. Burgh built a number of fortifications along the Blackwater river in Ulster to provide more protection for the English Garrison at Armagh and to provide protection from Tyrone's stronghold
Following the Battle of Yellow Ford, the Earl of Essex tried to persuade Elizabeth to send him to Ireland
Elizabeth eventually and reluctantly made him Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
Essex led the largest expeditionary force ever sent to Ireland - 16,000 troops - with orders to put an end to the rebellion
However, Essex turned out to be an ineffective military leader and made a number of mistakes in his position as Lord Lieutenant
The Battle of Curlew Pass, 1599
1. Essex needed to help O'Connor
2. The situation was stopped from deteriorating
3. What happened at the Battle of Curlew Pass
4. Why Essex marched to meet Tyrone but then not fight
Reasons why the English were not able to defeat the Irish rebels in 1595-1600
Unfamiliar geography of Ireland
Other reasons (to be ranked from most to least significant)
"The unfamiliar geography of Ireland was the main reason for the English army's military failure in 1595-1600."
