History Today

On September 7, 1599, the Earl of Essex and the Irish rebel Tyrone signed a treaty. A short excerpt from the article:

"Unfortunately, Essex was a peacock for vanity, fiercely jealous, easily offended and impatient of rule by a woman. One day in 1598 the Queen refused a request of his and he turned his back on her, an appalling breach of etiquette at which she boxed his ears. His hand went straight for his sword. Another courtier intervened and Essex stalked off swearing that he would not have tolerated such an insult even from her father, Henry VIII. Ladies of the court persuaded the Queen to forgive him and in 1599 he was sent to Ireland to suppress an uprising. He failed, blamed the failure on the machinations of his political enemies at home – who were certainly numerous – then defied Elizabeth’s instructions and returned to England to defend himself. At court it was feared that he intended a coup. He was put under house arrest and suspended from his official posts. Then his sweet wine monopoly was not renewed."