Wentworth’s successes in bringing the northern counties back under control of the Crown and that constitution marked him as a candidate for a similar, though far more daunting task: that of the Lord Deputyship of Ireland. Ireland at this time was a political enigma; a chaotic territory which for a century had chewed up and spit out any statesman who dared try to bring its people in line with England’s interests. Appointed to the post in December of 1631, the promotion must have seemed a cruel gift to Wentworth who recognized the position as almost certain career suicide. Indeed, the move may have been strongly supported by his political enemies, among them George Weston and Francis Cottington, both members of the Privy Council, who saw Wentworth as an obstacle to their professional advancements, and the Queen, whose own foreign relations and Catholic-friendly policies were also threatened by Wentworth. Despite his suspicions and his obvious disappointment at being assigned such a daunting task, Wentworth reaffirmed himself as the king’s servant and, having set his affairs in order, set sail for Ireland in July, 1633.
Foremost of Wentworth’s goals was the financial stabilization of Ireland, followed by the desire to put the island to the profit of England. During recent Lord Deputyships, Ireland’s financial outlook had improved, though at his appointment, the land still drew in £40,000 per annum compared to an annual expenditure of £60,000. A levy established in 1628 had until this time filled this gap, breaking the country even, though it too was scheduled to expire in 1632. The problem was compounded by the need for a standing army in Ireland, both to safeguard against possible invasion from Spain and to enforce what new policies were generated in the government. Richard Boyle, the Earl of Cork, proposed that the weight of the supporting the military force should be placed squarely on the shoulders of those citizens it was intended to rule, the Catholics. Boyle’s suggestion to enforce recusancy fines was ultimately rejected by Wentworth as a long-term solution, though he did use the fines as a threat against the Old English, driving them to continue filling in the financial gap until a more permanent solution could be developed. The decision to forego recusancy fines was not favorably received by most Protestants who saw the Lord Deputy’s decision not only as openly supporting the Catholics, but also as inflicting responsibility for the debt on themselves.
The ultimate solution, as Wentworth decided, lay in the development of Ireland’s commerce. The first aspect of this consisted of opening Ireland’s commercial doors to Spain, allowing their trading ships to gather provisions in Irish ports before setting sail to the West Indies and thus gaining revenue normally lost to Germany. The greater aspect of Wentworth’s commercial changes lies in his infamous dealings in Ireland’s wool industry. He first thought to increase Ireland’s production of flax, hemp, and linen and increase the duties paid on these exports, developing a trade which would generate revenue for the island, provide further opportunities of employment, and serve as a source of these products for England. The second half of his dealings in the textile industry, however, brings back to light his dedication to not only make Ireland pay for itself, but additionally to provide a profit to England. By severely limiting the production of wool in Ireland, Wentworth opened up a monopoly in which England not only gained revenue as the exclusive supplier of textiles, but also gained monetarily through increased customs. These changes, though in many ways beneficial to Ireland’s economic stability, won him few supporters, least of all among the New English planters upon whose livelihoods and profits he was encroaching.
Seeking further income for the state, Wentworth, with Charles’ blessing, called a parliament in 1634 for the purpose of obtaining from Ireland’s inhabitants a subsidy. In its proceedings, this parliament was ingeniously contrived by Wentworth. The major factions within the voters consisted of the Old English and the New English. To the Old English, the Lord Deputy presented a choice between granting of subsidies and the establishment of recusancy fines. Further sweetening his deal, Wentworth dangled in front of their eyes the offer of statutory force for the Graces which the Catholics so desperately craved. On the other end of the spectrum, Wentworth presented an ultimatum to the Protestants: support for the passing of subsidies or the unleashing of the Commission of Defective Titles upon their lands. It is of little surprise, then, that on July 19, six subsidies were unanimously approved by the parliament. With the required payments now safely secured, Wentworth now revealed to what extant he was prepared to address the promises he’d made the Old English. Staying true to his word, he legally ratified the Graces – ten of the lesser ones received statutory power while the rest continued to be enforced “at his Majesty’s good pleasure.” Realizing they’d been duped, the Old English, in the majority of parliament that day, refused to approve any more resolutions presented. Here again, Wentworth imposes his authority, first calling back the absent members of his supporting protestants and then expelling the leader of the Catholic revolt from parliament.
Following the parliament and having established a sound financial footing for Ireland, Wentworth turned his attention to another of his and Charles’ goals: the Anglicization of Ireland, specifically the bringing of the Church of Ireland into line with the beliefs and customs of the Church of England. A long-held criticism of Charles was his preference for the high church style, a taste which spawned rumors of him being a cryptocatholic. With Charles sitting as the head of the Church, Wentworth soon found it his task to introduce the high church to the communities of the New English in Ireland. This reform of the Irish Church encompassed almost every aspect of the religion, from creeds to clerics. In the church buildings, communion tables reappeared, harkening back irksomely to the church’s earlier Catholic ties. Administrative positions high in the Church’s hierarchy were reappointed by Wentworth to figures willing to enforce and indoctrinate this new style. Reaching to the core of the religion, England’s Thirty-Nine Articles were introduced, replacing the Irish Articles of 1615 as creed. The changes in religious mode suggested not so much an alteration of religious undertones as a complete reversal of the Church’s character. The largely puritanical New English now found themselves surrounded by papists in a State whose official religion could hardly not be mistaken for Catholicism.
In September of 1639, Wentworth was recalled to England by Charles. Boarding his ship, he left behind a changed land. Upon his arrival three years earlier, Ireland produced an annual deficit, adding on to an already hefty debt of £100,000. What standing army had existed stood in shambles, providing little authority in a crime-ridden land. The international commerce was almost nonexistent, due both to a lack of interest and to an infestation of pirates around the island. Commercial productivity, while at a satisfactory level, had by no means reached its full potential. By the time of his recall, Wentworth had, almost single-handedly, transformed Ireland to a land of apparent stability. Tax reforms, crackdowns on corruption among the administration, development of new industries, and revitalization of trade with Spain were all accomplished in Wentworth’s deputyship with the result of not only filling the gap between expenditures and income, but even the generation of a surplus of £8500. The army was revitalized, its numbers increased, its arms and provisions refurbished, and discipline and organization reestablished within its ranks under Wentworth’s personal supervision. The financial and territorial situation of the Church of Ireland was examined and lands reacquired from earlier unlawful exchanges.
These benefits did not come without a price, however, and at Wentworth’s departure it was the people of Ireland who’d paid perhaps too dearly. For financial stability and a fiscal profit, the Old English had paid sums without receiving in return the ratification of the Graces. For reforms to Ireland’s commerce, New English planters felt a new control on their products and exports and suffered a major clamp-down on the wool industry. In Wentworth’s parliament of 1634 the 60-Year-Rule was overturned and the Gaelic Irish once again felt their lands under threat of appropriation. Church reforms, aimed at bringing uniformity of religious belief and practice across the British Isles, confiscated land from the Native Irish and New English for the Church of Ireland and alienated the New English from their state church. These broad and heavy-handed sweeps of activity won Wentworth few supporters in Ireland and, as he was to find out, his strained relations within political circles gained him significant adversaries across the Irish Sea.
Wentworth’s adversaries struck with the calling of the Long Parliament of 1640. Wentworth had been recalled to England at the King’s request to address problems of bankruptcy and to squelch the rebelling Scots. After attempts to raise money for forces to be used against the Scots failed, Wentworth turned to Ireland, raising an army of Catholics to defend England. The military defeat of this army translated into further financial costs from England and, in 1640, Charles was forced to call another parliament. By now the name Wentworth had become closely tied with oppressive reforms, a Catholic army defending a Protestant state, and increased costs tied to an unpopular war. Thus, early in this new parliament, several flimsy charges of high treason were waged against Wentworth. While these charges were easily refuted, so great was Wentworth’s unpopularity that on April 13 the House of Commons passed a bill of attainder calling for his execution. The bill passed through both the House of Commons and the House of Lords. Fearing the consequences of terminating this bill, Charles too added his signature, sentencing Wentworth to death on May 12.
In the history of Ireland, Wentworth played a difficult role. A loyal officer of the king, his goals were always his master’s. This attitude of obedience, however, was often blind in its methods. While Wentworth’s intentions for the people of Ireland were, oftentimes, for their own good, his methods were heavy-handed, arbitrary, and absolutist. His position as the king’s servant sweetened his job none. The jobs he was tasked with were unenviable to say the least and the unpopularity resulting from his obedient and dedicated service of these jobs must have been obvious to the Crown from the beginning. The agendas set in motion by Wentworth could have worked towards Ireland’s benefit, had their methods been less extreme and more benevolent. His successes, however, exacerbated the disunion between England and Ireland and within Ireland itself, a factor which contributed to England’s plunge into civil war shortly after Wentworth’s death.
Bibliography
Kearney, Hugh F. Strafford in Ireland 1633-41: A Study in Absolutism. Manchester: The University Press, 1959.
Traill, H. D. Lord Strafford. 1889. New York: Books for Libraries Press, 1970.
Wedgwood, C. V. Strafford. 1935. London: Jonathan Cape, 1953.
“Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford.” 2001. Wikipedia. 9 Oct 2003. <http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Wentworth,_Earl_of_Strafford>.
Kearney, Hugh F. Strafford in Ireland 1633-41: A Study in Absolutism. (Manchester, 1959), p. 221-222
Traill, H. D. Lord Strafford. 1889. (New York, 1970), p. 20
Wedgwood, C. V. Strafford. 1935. (London, 1953), p. 106
“Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford”. Wikipedia. <http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Wentworth,_Earl_of_Strafford>.