Conquest of Ireland - Essay Example

Conquest of Ireland Different conquests of different places have taken out through out the historic ages. One of the remarkable conquests which took place in the historic ages was the 'Conquest of Ireland'. Ireland was known as the land which was possessed by the holy men. Henry II played a lead role in transferring the power of Ireland to the English territory. This article would further discuss the conquest of Ireland under Henry II.1 In the year of 1155 the land of Ireland belonged to the saints and popes which were the successors of Pope Sylvester. The pope under whose territory Ireland came was known as Pope Adrian IV. The course of history took a deep change when in 1155 Pope Adrian IV issued a bill to the counselor of Henry IV. This bill issued by Pope Adrian gave the current powers of loyalty to Henry II who was the King of England. It also gave him the power to enter the territory of Ireland and conquer it. However while Pope Adrian gave Henry IV all the powers he made sure that Henry IV abided by the bill he passed. The church was given the supreme power and the government there took a change in its policies. Centralized government was promoted in the lands of Ireland after Henry IV took over. But the task of conquest was not easy for Henry IV as he had to take help from different nobles belonging to Ireland. Dermot MacMurrough had an important role to play in the conquest of Henry II.2 He was known to be the king of an Irish state named Linster. As MacMurrough was the king of the Irish state he had total power over the trade activities happening in Linster. And these trade activities helped him to develop a good relationship with Henry II. However after a passage of time MacMurrough was forced to go in exile by the other nobles living in the Irish state. This made MacMurrough seek the help of Henry II to enter his territory of Linster again. And as the internal structure of the Irish state was in a jeopardy Henry II took the benefit of the situation. MacMurrough was granted troops by Henry II to conquer his state Linster but in the form of a recommendation. This recommendation given by Henry II urged a person known as Strongbow to provide MacMurrough with his army. But when MacMurrough asked for support from Strongbow he gave such conditions to MacMurrough which were not acceptable to him. And thus he moved ahead without the support of Strongbow. However he gained the support of different nobles and moved into the land of Ireland with a very small army in 1167. In the beginning the conquest was proved to be quite successful but as he moved ahead the enemies brought in forces which could not be stopped. At this moment MacMurrough was aided by other allies to be victorious again in the campaign. MacMurrough's army consisted of a very small amount of people, but these people were known to be well equipped and brave. This army helped MacMurrough gain access to the old state of Linster and he was once again pronounced the King of Linster. Soon after he broke a deal which he had previously made with his enemies and this proved to be costly for him as the enemies were charging on him with a great force. Seeing the situation MacMurrough realized that he did not have adequate equipment and soldiers to fight a large army and requested Strongbow again to conquer Ireland. Strongbow with a large army marched towards the state of Ireland and emerged victorious in conquering Dublin. Soon after the conquest he established the rules and ethics of an Anglo Norman colony in the states of Ireland. After the death of MacMurrough, Strongbow was also named as the King of Linster.3 On the other hand all these invasions were being closely monitored by King Henry II. He realized that England was surrounded by a number of enemy countries which were France and Spain. And now as Ireland was going under the control of Anglo-Normans Henry II realized the danger. The thought of being surrounded by a number of enemies through out the territory of England made King Henry II conquer Ireland. As King Henry II was already given the ownership of Ireland by Pope Adrian in 1155 he was legalized to claim it. And thus with a huge army of 4500 soldiers King Henry II entered the territory of Ireland in October 1171. Seeing this huge army Strongbow did not aggressively launch an attack on Henry's army and gave in before the army. However even then some kings did oppose to the army and tried to fight back. But all these attacks on the army of Henry II were foiled and he successfully took over Ireland in 1171. 4This marked the beginning of the first English rule being established in the country of Ireland. But as the territory of Henry had expanded so much he wasn't able to give adequate times to the problems of the people in Ireland. King Henry II made John the King of Ireland in 1175. But this rule couldn't last for a longer time as he was largely opposed by the people of Ireland. 5 The conquest done by King Henry II is considered to be remarkable one as it includes one which did not have much fighting. The state of Ireland lied in the English crown after Richard the Lion took over. The government in the state of Ireland was changed into a centralized government after Henry II took over. However law and order in the state could not be maintained perfectly by Henry II as he had to control such a vast territory. And even when John was made the King of Ireland no development was undertaken in Ireland because of his inefficiencies. However the conquest done by Henry II was done wisely to avoid any future conflict between Anglo Normans and his territory. The move by Henry II is applauded to date. Bibliography Warren, W. L. Henry II. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1973. Crouch, Nathaniel. The History of the Kingdom of Ireland: being an account of all the battles, sieges and other considerable Transactions both Civil and Military. Westminster: Machell Stace, 1811. Williams, Edwin. A Political History of Ireland: Showing Its Connexion with England, from the Anglo-Norman Conquest, in 1172, by Henry II., to the Present Time. New-York: Published by R.P. Bixby & Co, 1843. Carpenter, David. The Struggle for Mastery: Britain, 1066-1284. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003. Read More