Thomas Stukley
Encyclopedia
Thomas Stukley (c. 1520 – 4 August 1578) was an English
mercenary
who served in combat in France, Ireland, and at the Battle of Lepanto
, before his death at the Battle of Alcácer Quibir
. It was alleged that he was an illegitimate son of Henry VIII of England
. A Roman Catholic recusant
, he also was a rebel against Queen Elizabeth I
.
, a fortified house in Mid Devon that served as the family seat. He was the son of Sir Hugh Stukley, a well-off clothier and knight of the body to King Henry VIII
, and Jane (née) Pollard.
, and then the Bishop of Exeter
, in whose household he held a post. He was present at Boulogne during the siege of 1544-1545, and again in 1550 on the surrender of the city to the English. From 1547 to 1550, he was a standard-bearer at Boulogne
, and then entered the service of Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset
. After his master's arrest in 1551 a warrant was issued against him, but he succeeded in escaping to France, where he served in the French army.
His military talents brought him to the attention of Henri Ier de Montmorency
, and he was sent to England with a letter of recommendation from Henry II of France
to his supposed half-brother Edward VI of England
. On his arrival he proceeded on 16 September 1552 to reveal the French plans for the capture of Calais
and for a descent upon England, the furtherance of which had, according to his account, been the object of his mission to England. John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland
evaded the payment of any reward to Stukley, and sought to gain the friendship of the French king by pretending to disbelieve Stukley's statements.
Stukley, who may well have been the originator of the plans adopted by the French, was imprisoned in the Tower of London
for some months. Having run through his brother's inheritance, he was prosecuted for debt on his release in August 1553 and was compelled to become a soldier of fortune
once more. This was not his only financial difficulty: once, claiming a legacy, he broke into the late testator's house and searched the coffers, in defiance of a court injunction. In another episode, he was imprisoned in the Tower at the suit of an Irishman he had robbed.
He returned to England in December 1554 in the train of Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy
, after obtaining an amnesty against his creditors' suits, possibly thanks to the Duke of Suffolk. His credit temporarily improved upon his marriage to an heiress, Anne Curtis, but he was reputed to squander £100 a day and to have sold the blocks of tin with which his father-in-law had paved the yard of his London house. Within a few months, a warrant for his arrest was issued on a charge of uttering false money and he fled abroad again, deserting his wife, to enter the service of the duke of Savoy. He then fought on the victorious side at the Battle of St. Quentin
in 1557.
In 1558, Stukley was summoned before the council on a charge of piracy
, although he was again acquitted owing to insufficient evidence, and managed to retain the favour of Queen Mary I of England
. On the death of his wife's grandfather at the beginning of Elizabeth's reign he came into money, and things looked up for him as he accommodated himself to the Protestant succession and became a supporter of Sir Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. In 1561, he was given a captaincy at Berwick, where he lived sumptously; during the winter, he made firm friends with the Gaelic nobleman, Shane O'Neill
of Ulster, upon the latter's visit to court at London. In 1562, he obtained a warrant permitting him to bring French ships into English ports although England and France were only nominally at peace.
At about this time, on being presented to the queen he said he would prefer to be sovereign of a molehill than the subject of the greatest king in Christendom and that he had a presentiment he would be a prince before he died. She is said to have remarked,
"I hope I shall hear from you when you are installed in your principality". He responded that she surely would, and she demanded,
"In what language?" He answered: "In the style of princes, to our dearest sister."
Stukley then devised a plan for a colony in Florida
, at the time hotly contested by rival Spanish and French settlers (see Spanish Florida
). To this end, he persuaded the queen to supply a ship of 100 tons (including 100 men, plus sailors), to supplement his fleet of five vessels. Having staged a naval pageant for the queen on the Thames, he promptly sailed his fleet to the coast of Munster in Ireland in June 1563 to go privateering against French, Spanish and Portuguese ships. After repeated remonstrances on the part of the offended powers, Elizabeth disavowed Stukley and sent a naval force under the command of Sir Peter Carew
to arrest him. One of his ships was taken in Cork haven, and Stukley surrendered, but he was acquitted once again, with O'Neill pleading his case through diplomatic channels.
of Ireland, Sir Thomas Radclyffe, Earl of Sussex
, on 30 June 1563, and in 1566 was employed as a captain by the Lord Deputy, Sir Henry Sidney
, in a vain effort to induce O'Neill to enter into negotiations with the government. The Ulster lord sought to use him as intermediary with Sidney and in the same year requested his presence in fighting the Scots, an arrangement favoured by the lord deputy. Sidney then sought permission of the crown for Stukley to purchase the estates and office of Sir Nicholas Bagenal, marshal of Ireland, for £3,000, but Elizabeth refused to permit the transaction. The lands lay mostly in the east of Ulster, a territory anciently in Hiberno-Norman
possession, which was much fought over by the Irish and Scots, and would be used by the English within a decade as a base for their efforts at colonisation of the province (see Plantations of Ireland#Early Plantations (1556–1576)).
Undeterred by this failure, Stukley was appointed seneschal
of Kavanagh's country in the south-east of the province of Leinster, and had some say in the controversial land claims of his adversary, Peter Carew (who succeeded him in that office). He went on to buy lands from Sir Nicholas Heron in the adjacent County Wexford
, and was appointed by Sidney to the office of seneschal there, but the queen objected to the appointment and in June 1568 he was dismissed in favour of Sir Nicholas White
. Stukley had fallen prey to the disputes between Sidney and White's patron, Sir Thomas Butler, which resulted, in the following year, in a rebuke to Sidney by the queen for his use of Stukley in the negotiations with O'Neill. It was then, in June 1569, that Stukley was committed to custody in Dublin Castle
for 18 weeks, on White's information that he had used coarse language against the queen and supported certain rebels.
, and soon after his release he offered his services to Fénelon, the French ambassador in London. He returned to Ireland in 1570, where he fitted out a ship at Waterford
and made a great show of his piety, proceeding through the streets of the city on his knees as he offered himself up to God. He then sailed from Waterford on 17 April, supposedly for London, but his real destination was Vimiero. He had 28 men on board, but only the sole Italian knew their course, and the rest fell into despair when they arrived in Spain after a five day voyage.
Philip II invited him to Madrid, where he was loaded with honours, probably with a view to impressing upon Elizabeth the threat of an invasion of Ireland to detract from English support for the Dutch rebels in the Netherlands. With the approbation of the Duke of Feria, Stukley was known at the Spanish court as the
"Duke of Ireland
", and was established with a handsome allowance in a villa near Madrid
.
Speculation about Stukley's future role became intense. In 1570, it was claimed that he had sought to interfere in the Ridolfi plot
with an attack on Ireland in the following year during the planned invasion of England from Flanders. The Irish invasion was to have been aided by the Plymouth fleet of Sir John Hawkins
, who betrayed the supposed plot to the privy council, which led to the arrest of the Duke of Norfolk
.
On 12 February 1571, the king was informed by the Spanish ambassador that news was had in London from France that the pope had ceded to the Spanish crown the kingdom created for Philip and Queen Mary I of England
, which had fallen vacant upon the excommunication of Elizabeth by the bull Regnans in Excelsis
, and that it was rumoured that Stukley was to be sent to England with 14 to 15 companies of troops.
Amidst this international feinting and shaping, Archbishop of Cashel
, Maurice Reagh Fitzgibbon - an ally of the Irish rebel, James Fitzmaurice Fitzgerald
- made some effort while in Spain to discredit Stukley's ambitions , much to the displeasure of
Feria, and was supported by the Duke of Alba, who dismissed the proposed invasion on the ground that, once England fell, Ireland would fall of itself.
The archbishop's brief was to request the appointment of Don John of Austria as king of Ireland, but the upstart's arrival had disrupted his efforts, although Stukley's Irish followers did desert to him upon their arrival. On removing to Paris, Fitzgibbon informed the English ambassador there, Sir Francis Walsingham
, of Stukley's schemes. In 1570, Stukley sought to have an English spy, Oliver King, brought before the inquisition
. The suspect had a history of attendance at mass and of knocking his breast daily and so was merely stripped and banished, but then had to cross the Pyrenees in the snow while Stukley's thugs pursued him. Stukley obtained his passports to leave Spain after Elizabeth demanded his dismissal.
Stukley moved to Rome, where he found favour with Pope Pius V, who had excommunicated Elizabeth in 1571. Under Don John, he was given the command of three galleys at the Battle of Lepanto
(7 October 1571), and showed great valour. It was a crucial victory for the Holy League
over the Ottoman Empire
of Selim II
, which allowed Spain to devote more resources to its campaigns in northern Europe. Stukley's exploits restored him to favour at Madrid, and by the end of March 1572 he was at Seville
, offering to hold the narrow seas against the English with a fleet of twenty ships. In four years (1570–1574) he is said to have received over 27,000 ducats from Philip II of Spain
, but wearied by the king's delays he sought more serious assistance from the new pope, Gregory XIII, who aspired to make his illegitimate son, Giacomo Boncompagni
, king of Ireland
.
at this stage. Don John, who was now in charge of the Spanish forces in Flanders, said the king would have to approve and that 3,000 men were too few, but was cautiously optimistic that the expedition would help to contain the rebellion in the Netherlands.
The prospect of a major invasion had been growing, and detailed proposals were put forward for Ireland. In 1575, Friar Patrick Healy arrived at Rome bearing a letter from the king and announcing that he sought sanction for an unnamed Irish gentleman to revolt and to request assistance; he insisted Philip II had given his blessing. Gregory stressed that the crown ought not to go to a French or Spanish claimant, but to a native Catholic, i.e. Mary, Queen of Scots, lest the king gain too much power and territory, and was opposed to Don John being crowned in Ireland. The king denied O'Healy's authority to enter discussion on the Irish matter and queried the pope's opposition to the increase of Spanish authority; he was willing to guarantee 6 months pay for 200 men and their shipping expenses to go to England in the pope's name, and wondered if a personal attempt might be made against Elizabeth. Later, it was suggested that 5,000 go to Liverpool and free Mary before possessing the country, or go to Ireland. Gregory bargained for Philip II to defray the entire expense of the expedition, and suggested that if the Vatican was to pitch in then it should receive some benefit in Italy by way of material return. The Spanish thought the leader of the expedition should be married, so as to prevent papal approval of a match with Mary.
Intelligence of Stukley's schemes had been building since Fitzgibbon's intervention in Spain. In 1572, Oliver King had informed London of invasion plans; in March 1573, Sir William Cecil
, Lord Burghley, received intelligence that certain
"decayed gentlemen" were to join Stukley in Spain for the invasion of Ireland. At their first encounter, Walsingham hadn't known what to make of Fitzgibbon, realising that an agent of Burghley's had sowed dissension between the archbishop and Stukley; but in 1575, he did have intelligence of Stukley's alliance with Fitzmaurice, at a time when the nuncio at Madrid was urging an invasion of England. Again, in 1578, Walsingham had similar intelligence, and having failed to induce Fitzgibbon to give up his secrets in return for his passage back to Ireland, procured his arrest in Scotland.
, with 5,000 musketeers under Stukley's command. The Geraldine connection had been made, and in 1578 Stukley was provided by the pope with infantry and set out with 2000 men, including musketeers (or maybe swordsmen); the force had been raised by enlisting Apennine highwaymen and robbers in return for pardons and 50-day indulgences, the latter to be gained by contemplation of crucifixes supplied to Stukley - although there were also professional officers, including the commander, Hercules of Pisano, and also Giuseppi, who went on to command the Smerwick
garrison at the beginning of the Second Desmond Rebellion
. In sum, Stukley's ranks rose to 4,000.
Stukley sailed for Ireland from Civitavecchia
in March 1578. In April, he reached Cadiz
with rotted ships, where he issued magnificent passports to Irishmen returning home, describing himself as Marquess of Leinster
(a title bestowed by the pope). Philip II sent him on to Lisbon
, where he was to meet his confederate, Fitzmaurice, and to secure better ships before sailing for Ireland. King Sebastian of Portugal
, having no ships to offer, invited him to take up a command in his army, which included Portuguese and German mercenaries, in preparation for an invasion of Morocco
(an ally of England against Spain) in an attack upon the Moors. Stukley accepted the invitation, and Sanders and certain Irish members of the expedition chose to make their way back to Rome as the expedition was diverted from its purpose. At about this time, Stukley is said to have declared that he knew Ireland as well as the best and that there were only to be got there "hunger and lice", which perhaps explains his state of mind at this curious renunciation of his long-held ambition.
On landing in Morocco, Stukley objected to marching straight away against a vast force of Moors and scorned the Portuguese king's troops and tactics. He fought with courage on 4 August 1578 at the Battle of Alcácer Quibir, commanding the centre, but was killed early in the day after a cannon-ball cut off his legs. Tradition asserted that he was murdered by his Italian soldiers after the Portuguese had been defeated.
, The Battell of Alcazar with the Death of Captain Stukely, printed in 1594, was probably acted in 1592. It deals with Stukley's arrival in Lisbon
and his Moorish expedition, but in a long speech before his death he recapitulates the events of his life.
A later piece, The Famous History of the Life and Death of Captain Thomas Stukeley, printed for Thomas Panyer (1605), which is possibly the Stewtle, played, according to Henslowe, on 11 December 1596, is a biographical piece dealing with successive episodes, and seems to be a patchwork of older plays on Dom António
and on Stukley. His adventures also form the subject of various ballads.
There is a detailed biography of Stukley, based chiefly on the English, Venetian and Spanish state papers, in R. Simpson's edition of the 1605 play (School of Shakespeare, 1878, vol. i.), where the Stukley ballads are also printed. References in contemporary poetry are quoted by Dyce
in his introduction to The Battle of Alcazar in Peele's Works.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
mercenary
Mercenary
A mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict based on the promise of material compensation rather than having a direct interest in, or a legal obligation to, the conflict itself. A non-conscript professional member of a regular army is not considered to be a mercenary although he...
who served in combat in France, Ireland, and at the Battle of Lepanto
Battle of Lepanto (1571)
The Battle of Lepanto took place on 7 October 1571 when a fleet of the Holy League, a coalition of Catholic maritime states, decisively defeated the main fleet of the Ottoman Empire in five hours of fighting on the northern edge of the Gulf of Patras, off western Greece...
, before his death at the Battle of Alcácer Quibir
Battle of Alcácer Quibir
The Battle of Ksar El Kebir, also known as Battle of Three Kings, or "Battle of Oued El Makhazeen" in Morocco, and Battle of Alcácer Quibir in Portugal , was fought in northern Morocco, near the town of Ksar-el-Kebir and Larache, on 4 August 1578...
. It was alleged that he was an illegitimate son of Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
. A Roman Catholic recusant
Recusancy
In the history of England and Wales, the recusancy was the state of those who refused to attend Anglican services. The individuals were known as "recusants"...
, he also was a rebel against Queen Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
.
Early life
Stukley was raised at Affeton CastleAffeton Castle
Affeton Castle is a surviving late-medieval gatehouse near East Worlington, Devon, England which overlooks the Little Dart River in Devon and was originally built from grey rubble stone by the Stucley Baronets in around 1434. Originally part of a large manor complex, this castellated gatehouse, 60...
, a fortified house in Mid Devon that served as the family seat. He was the son of Sir Hugh Stukley, a well-off clothier and knight of the body to King Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
, and Jane (née) Pollard.
Career
Stukley's early mentors were Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of SuffolkCharles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk
Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk, 1st Viscount Lisle, KG was the son of Sir William Brandon and Elizabeth Bruyn. Through his third wife Mary Tudor he was brother-in-law to Henry VIII. His father was the standard-bearer of Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond and was slain by Richard III in person at...
, and then the Bishop of Exeter
Bishop of Exeter
The Bishop of Exeter is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Exeter in the Province of Canterbury. The incumbent usually signs his name as Exon or incorporates this in his signature....
, in whose household he held a post. He was present at Boulogne during the siege of 1544-1545, and again in 1550 on the surrender of the city to the English. From 1547 to 1550, he was a standard-bearer at Boulogne
Boulogne-sur-Mer
-Road:* Metropolitan bus services are operated by the TCRB* Coach services to Calais and Dunkerque* A16 motorway-Rail:* The main railway station is Gare de Boulogne-Ville and located in the south of the city....
, and then entered the service of Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset
Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset
Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, 1st Earl of Hertford, 1st Viscount Beauchamp of Hache, KG, Earl Marshal was Lord Protector of England in the period between the death of Henry VIII in 1547 and his own indictment in 1549....
. After his master's arrest in 1551 a warrant was issued against him, but he succeeded in escaping to France, where he served in the French army.
His military talents brought him to the attention of Henri Ier de Montmorency
Henri Ier de Montmorency
Henri I de Montmorency , Marshal of France, and Constable of France, seigneur of Damville, served as governor of Languedoc from 1563 to 1614. He became Duke of Montmorency on his brother's death in 1579....
, and he was sent to England with a letter of recommendation from Henry II of France
Henry II of France
Henry II was King of France from 31 March 1547 until his death in 1559.-Early years:Henry was born in the royal Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, near Paris, the son of Francis I and Claude, Duchess of Brittany .His father was captured at the Battle of Pavia in 1525 by his sworn enemy,...
to his supposed half-brother Edward VI of England
Edward VI of England
Edward VI was the King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death. He was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine. The son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Edward was the third monarch of the Tudor dynasty and England's first monarch who was raised as a Protestant...
. On his arrival he proceeded on 16 September 1552 to reveal the French plans for the capture of Calais
Calais
Calais is a town in Northern France in the department of Pas-de-Calais, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's capital is its third-largest city of Arras....
and for a descent upon England, the furtherance of which had, according to his account, been the object of his mission to England. John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland
John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland
John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland, KG was an English general, admiral, and politician, who led the government of the young King Edward VI from 1550 until 1553, and unsuccessfully tried to install Lady Jane Grey on the English throne after the King's death...
evaded the payment of any reward to Stukley, and sought to gain the friendship of the French king by pretending to disbelieve Stukley's statements.
Stukley, who may well have been the originator of the plans adopted by the French, was imprisoned in the Tower of London
Tower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
for some months. Having run through his brother's inheritance, he was prosecuted for debt on his release in August 1553 and was compelled to become a soldier of fortune
Mercenary
A mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict based on the promise of material compensation rather than having a direct interest in, or a legal obligation to, the conflict itself. A non-conscript professional member of a regular army is not considered to be a mercenary although he...
once more. This was not his only financial difficulty: once, claiming a legacy, he broke into the late testator's house and searched the coffers, in defiance of a court injunction. In another episode, he was imprisoned in the Tower at the suit of an Irishman he had robbed.
He returned to England in December 1554 in the train of Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy
Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy
Emmanuel Philibert was Duke of Savoy from 1553 to 1580....
, after obtaining an amnesty against his creditors' suits, possibly thanks to the Duke of Suffolk. His credit temporarily improved upon his marriage to an heiress, Anne Curtis, but he was reputed to squander £100 a day and to have sold the blocks of tin with which his father-in-law had paved the yard of his London house. Within a few months, a warrant for his arrest was issued on a charge of uttering false money and he fled abroad again, deserting his wife, to enter the service of the duke of Savoy. He then fought on the victorious side at the Battle of St. Quentin
Battle of St. Quentin (1557)
The Battle of Saint-Quentin of 1557 was fought during the Franco-Habsburg War . The Spanish, who had regained the support of the English, won a significant victory over the French at Saint-Quentin, in northern France.- Battle :...
in 1557.
In 1558, Stukley was summoned before the council on a charge of piracy
Piracy
Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence at sea. The term can include acts committed on land, in the air, or in other major bodies of water or on a shore. It does not normally include crimes committed against persons traveling on the same vessel as the perpetrator...
, although he was again acquitted owing to insufficient evidence, and managed to retain the favour of Queen Mary I of England
Mary I of England
Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
. On the death of his wife's grandfather at the beginning of Elizabeth's reign he came into money, and things looked up for him as he accommodated himself to the Protestant succession and became a supporter of Sir Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. In 1561, he was given a captaincy at Berwick, where he lived sumptously; during the winter, he made firm friends with the Gaelic nobleman, Shane O'Neill
Shane O'Neill
Seán Ó Néill, anglicised Shane O'Neill , nicknamed 'Seán an díomais', was an Irish king of the O'Neill dynasty of Ulster in the mid 16th century. Shane O'Neill's career was marked by his ambition to be The Ó Néill Mór - Sovereign of the dominant Ó Néill Mór family of Tyrone... and thus head...
of Ulster, upon the latter's visit to court at London. In 1562, he obtained a warrant permitting him to bring French ships into English ports although England and France were only nominally at peace.
At about this time, on being presented to the queen he said he would prefer to be sovereign of a molehill than the subject of the greatest king in Christendom and that he had a presentiment he would be a prince before he died. She is said to have remarked,
"I hope I shall hear from you when you are installed in your principality". He responded that she surely would, and she demanded,
"In what language?" He answered: "In the style of princes, to our dearest sister."
Stukley then devised a plan for a colony in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, at the time hotly contested by rival Spanish and French settlers (see Spanish Florida
Spanish Florida
Spanish Florida refers to the Spanish territory of Florida, which formed part of the Captaincy General of Cuba, the Viceroyalty of New Spain, and the Spanish Empire. Originally extending over what is now the southeastern United States, but with no defined boundaries, la Florida was a component of...
). To this end, he persuaded the queen to supply a ship of 100 tons (including 100 men, plus sailors), to supplement his fleet of five vessels. Having staged a naval pageant for the queen on the Thames, he promptly sailed his fleet to the coast of Munster in Ireland in June 1563 to go privateering against French, Spanish and Portuguese ships. After repeated remonstrances on the part of the offended powers, Elizabeth disavowed Stukley and sent a naval force under the command of Sir Peter Carew
Peter Carew
Sir Peter Carew was an English adventurer, who served during the reign of Queen Elizabeth of England and took part in the Tudor conquest of Ireland.He is to be distinguished from another Sir Peter Carew Sir Peter Carew (1514? – 27 November 1575) was an English adventurer, who served during the...
to arrest him. One of his ships was taken in Cork haven, and Stukley surrendered, but he was acquitted once again, with O'Neill pleading his case through diplomatic channels.
Ireland
The meeting with O'Neill led to an extended interest in Irish affairs on Stukley's part. He was recommended by the queen to the Lord LieutenantLord Lieutenant
The title Lord Lieutenant is given to the British monarch's personal representatives in the United Kingdom, usually in a county or similar circumscription, with varying tasks throughout history. Usually a retired local notable, senior military officer, peer or business person is given the post...
of Ireland, Sir Thomas Radclyffe, Earl of Sussex
Earl of Sussex
Earl of Sussex is a title that has been created several times in the Peerages of England, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom. The early Earls of Arundel were often also called Earls of Sussex....
, on 30 June 1563, and in 1566 was employed as a captain by the Lord Deputy, Sir Henry Sidney
Henry Sidney
Sir Henry Sidney , Lord Deputy of Ireland was the eldest son of Sir William Sidney of Penshurst, a prominent politician and courtier during the reigns of Henry VIII and Edward VI, from both of whom he received extensive grants of land, including the manor of Penshurst in Kent, which became the...
, in a vain effort to induce O'Neill to enter into negotiations with the government. The Ulster lord sought to use him as intermediary with Sidney and in the same year requested his presence in fighting the Scots, an arrangement favoured by the lord deputy. Sidney then sought permission of the crown for Stukley to purchase the estates and office of Sir Nicholas Bagenal, marshal of Ireland, for £3,000, but Elizabeth refused to permit the transaction. The lands lay mostly in the east of Ulster, a territory anciently in Hiberno-Norman
Hiberno-Norman
The Hiberno-Normans are those Norman lords who settled in Ireland who admitted little if any real fealty to the Anglo-Norman settlers in England, and who soon began to interact and intermarry with the Gaelic nobility of Ireland. The term embraces both their origins as a distinct community with...
possession, which was much fought over by the Irish and Scots, and would be used by the English within a decade as a base for their efforts at colonisation of the province (see Plantations of Ireland#Early Plantations (1556–1576)).
Undeterred by this failure, Stukley was appointed seneschal
Seneschal
A seneschal was an officer in the houses of important nobles in the Middle Ages. In the French administrative system of the Middle Ages, the sénéchal was also a royal officer in charge of justice and control of the administration in southern provinces, equivalent to the northern French bailli...
of Kavanagh's country in the south-east of the province of Leinster, and had some say in the controversial land claims of his adversary, Peter Carew (who succeeded him in that office). He went on to buy lands from Sir Nicholas Heron in the adjacent County Wexford
County Wexford
County Wexford is a county in Ireland. It is part of the South-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Wexford. In pre-Norman times it was part of the Kingdom of Uí Cheinnselaig, whose capital was at Ferns. Wexford County Council is the local...
, and was appointed by Sidney to the office of seneschal there, but the queen objected to the appointment and in June 1568 he was dismissed in favour of Sir Nicholas White
Nicholas White
Sir Nicholas White was an Irish lawyer and government official during the reign of Elizabeth I.-Background and early career:...
. Stukley had fallen prey to the disputes between Sidney and White's patron, Sir Thomas Butler, which resulted, in the following year, in a rebuke to Sidney by the queen for his use of Stukley in the negotiations with O'Neill. It was then, in June 1569, that Stukley was committed to custody in Dublin Castle
Dublin Castle
Dublin Castle off Dame Street, Dublin, Ireland, was until 1922 the fortified seat of British rule in Ireland, and is now a major Irish government complex. Most of it dates from the 18th century, though a castle has stood on the site since the days of King John, the first Lord of Ireland...
for 18 weeks, on White's information that he had used coarse language against the queen and supported certain rebels.
Spain
Again, Stukley was acquitted, and the authorities released him in October 1569. He had been suspected of proposing an invasion of Ireland to King Philip II of SpainPhilip II of Spain
Philip II was King of Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, while married to Mary I, King of England and Ireland. He was lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories such as duke or count....
, and soon after his release he offered his services to Fénelon, the French ambassador in London. He returned to Ireland in 1570, where he fitted out a ship at Waterford
Waterford
Waterford is a city in the South-East Region of Ireland. It is the oldest city in the country and fifth largest by population. Waterford City Council is the local government authority for the city and its immediate hinterland...
and made a great show of his piety, proceeding through the streets of the city on his knees as he offered himself up to God. He then sailed from Waterford on 17 April, supposedly for London, but his real destination was Vimiero. He had 28 men on board, but only the sole Italian knew their course, and the rest fell into despair when they arrived in Spain after a five day voyage.
Philip II invited him to Madrid, where he was loaded with honours, probably with a view to impressing upon Elizabeth the threat of an invasion of Ireland to detract from English support for the Dutch rebels in the Netherlands. With the approbation of the Duke of Feria, Stukley was known at the Spanish court as the
"Duke of Ireland
Duke of Ireland
The title of Duke of Ireland was created in 1386 for Robert de Vere, 9th Earl of Oxford, the favourite of King Richard II of England, who had previously been created Marquess of Dublin. Both titles were Life peerages. At this time, only the Pale of Ireland was under English rule...
", and was established with a handsome allowance in a villa near Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
.
Speculation about Stukley's future role became intense. In 1570, it was claimed that he had sought to interfere in the Ridolfi plot
Ridolfi plot
The Ridolfi plot was a plot in 1570 to assassinate Queen Elizabeth I of England and replace her with Mary, Queen of Scots. The plot was hatched and planned by Roberto di Ridolfi, an international banker who was able to travel between Brussels, Rome and Madrid to gather support without attracting...
with an attack on Ireland in the following year during the planned invasion of England from Flanders. The Irish invasion was to have been aided by the Plymouth fleet of Sir John Hawkins
John Hawkins
Admiral Sir John Hawkins was an English shipbuilder, naval administrator and commander, merchant, navigator, and slave trader. As treasurer and controller of the Royal Navy, he rebuilt older ships and helped design the faster ships that withstood the Spanish Armada in 1588...
, who betrayed the supposed plot to the privy council, which led to the arrest of the Duke of Norfolk
Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk
Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, KG, Earl Marshal was an English nobleman.Norfolk was the son of the poet Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey. He was taught as a child by John Foxe, the Protestant martyrologist, who remained a lifelong recipient of Norfolk's patronage...
.
On 12 February 1571, the king was informed by the Spanish ambassador that news was had in London from France that the pope had ceded to the Spanish crown the kingdom created for Philip and Queen Mary I of England
Mary I of England
Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
, which had fallen vacant upon the excommunication of Elizabeth by the bull Regnans in Excelsis
Regnans in Excelsis
Regnans in Excelsis was a papal bull issued on 25 February 1570 by Pope Pius V declaring "Elizabeth, the pretended Queen of England and the servant of crime" to be a heretic and releasing all her subjects from any allegiance to her and excommunicating any that obeyed her orders.The bull, written in...
, and that it was rumoured that Stukley was to be sent to England with 14 to 15 companies of troops.
Amidst this international feinting and shaping, Archbishop of Cashel
Archbishop of Cashel
The Archbishop of Cashel is an archiepiscopal title which takes its name after the town of Cashel, County Tipperary in Ireland. The title is still in use in the Roman Catholic Church, but in the Church of Ireland it was downgraded to a bishopric in 1838....
, Maurice Reagh Fitzgibbon - an ally of the Irish rebel, James Fitzmaurice Fitzgerald
James FitzMaurice FitzGerald
James Fitzmaurice Fitzgerald was a member of the 16th century ruling Geraldine dynasty in the province of Munster in Ireland. He rebelled against the crown authority of Queen Elizabeth I of England in response to the onset of the Tudor conquest of Ireland and was deemed an archtraitor...
- made some effort while in Spain to discredit Stukley's ambitions , much to the displeasure of
Feria, and was supported by the Duke of Alba, who dismissed the proposed invasion on the ground that, once England fell, Ireland would fall of itself.
The archbishop's brief was to request the appointment of Don John of Austria as king of Ireland, but the upstart's arrival had disrupted his efforts, although Stukley's Irish followers did desert to him upon their arrival. On removing to Paris, Fitzgibbon informed the English ambassador there, Sir Francis Walsingham
Francis Walsingham
Sir Francis Walsingham was Principal Secretary to Elizabeth I of England from 1573 until 1590, and is popularly remembered as her "spymaster". Walsingham is frequently cited as one of the earliest practitioners of modern intelligence methods both for espionage and for domestic security...
, of Stukley's schemes. In 1570, Stukley sought to have an English spy, Oliver King, brought before the inquisition
Spanish Inquisition
The Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition , commonly known as the Spanish Inquisition , was a tribunal established in 1480 by Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile. It was intended to maintain Catholic orthodoxy in their kingdoms, and to replace the Medieval...
. The suspect had a history of attendance at mass and of knocking his breast daily and so was merely stripped and banished, but then had to cross the Pyrenees in the snow while Stukley's thugs pursued him. Stukley obtained his passports to leave Spain after Elizabeth demanded his dismissal.
Stukley moved to Rome, where he found favour with Pope Pius V, who had excommunicated Elizabeth in 1571. Under Don John, he was given the command of three galleys at the Battle of Lepanto
Battle of Lepanto (1571)
The Battle of Lepanto took place on 7 October 1571 when a fleet of the Holy League, a coalition of Catholic maritime states, decisively defeated the main fleet of the Ottoman Empire in five hours of fighting on the northern edge of the Gulf of Patras, off western Greece...
(7 October 1571), and showed great valour. It was a crucial victory for the Holy League
Holy League (Mediterranean)
The Holy League of 1571 was arranged by Pope St. Pius V and included almost all the major Catholic maritime states in the Mediterranean. It was intended to break the Ottoman Turks' control of the eastern Mediterranean Sea and was formally concluded on 25 May 1571...
over the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
of Selim II
Selim II
Selim II Sarkhosh Hashoink , also known as "Selim the Sot " or "Selim the Drunkard"; and as "Sarı Selim" or "Selim the Blond", was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1566 until his death in 1574.-Early years:He was born in Constantinople a son of Suleiman the...
, which allowed Spain to devote more resources to its campaigns in northern Europe. Stukley's exploits restored him to favour at Madrid, and by the end of March 1572 he was at Seville
Seville
Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...
, offering to hold the narrow seas against the English with a fleet of twenty ships. In four years (1570–1574) he is said to have received over 27,000 ducats from Philip II of Spain
Philip II of Spain
Philip II was King of Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, while married to Mary I, King of England and Ireland. He was lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories such as duke or count....
, but wearied by the king's delays he sought more serious assistance from the new pope, Gregory XIII, who aspired to make his illegitimate son, Giacomo Boncompagni
Giacomo Boncompagni
Giacomo Boncompagni was an Italian feudal lord of the 16th century, the illegitimate son of Pope Gregory XIII . He was also Duke of Sora, Aquino, Arce and Arpino, and Marquess of Vignola.A member of the Boncompagni family, he was a patron of arts and culture...
, king of Ireland
King of Ireland
A monarchical polity has existed in Ireland during three periods of its history, finally ending in 1801. The designation King of Ireland and Queen of Ireland was used during these periods...
.
Rome
Stukley allied with Fitzmaurice and moved to Rome in 1575, where he walked about the streets and churches barefoot and bare-legged. In June, Stukley had an interview at Naples with Don John, when he gave details of the plans hatched with the pope for an October expedition. The intention was to deliver Mary, Queen of Scots, from prison and take possession of England. He had corresponded with Nicholas SandersNicholas Sanders
Nicholas Sanders was an English Roman Catholic priest and polemicist.-Early life:Sanders was born at Chariwood , Surrey, the son of William Sanders, once sheriff of Surrey, who was descended from the Sanders of Sanderstead...
at this stage. Don John, who was now in charge of the Spanish forces in Flanders, said the king would have to approve and that 3,000 men were too few, but was cautiously optimistic that the expedition would help to contain the rebellion in the Netherlands.
The prospect of a major invasion had been growing, and detailed proposals were put forward for Ireland. In 1575, Friar Patrick Healy arrived at Rome bearing a letter from the king and announcing that he sought sanction for an unnamed Irish gentleman to revolt and to request assistance; he insisted Philip II had given his blessing. Gregory stressed that the crown ought not to go to a French or Spanish claimant, but to a native Catholic, i.e. Mary, Queen of Scots, lest the king gain too much power and territory, and was opposed to Don John being crowned in Ireland. The king denied O'Healy's authority to enter discussion on the Irish matter and queried the pope's opposition to the increase of Spanish authority; he was willing to guarantee 6 months pay for 200 men and their shipping expenses to go to England in the pope's name, and wondered if a personal attempt might be made against Elizabeth. Later, it was suggested that 5,000 go to Liverpool and free Mary before possessing the country, or go to Ireland. Gregory bargained for Philip II to defray the entire expense of the expedition, and suggested that if the Vatican was to pitch in then it should receive some benefit in Italy by way of material return. The Spanish thought the leader of the expedition should be married, so as to prevent papal approval of a match with Mary.
Intelligence of Stukley's schemes had been building since Fitzgibbon's intervention in Spain. In 1572, Oliver King had informed London of invasion plans; in March 1573, Sir William Cecil
William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley
William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley , KG was an English statesman, the chief advisor of Queen Elizabeth I for most of her reign, twice Secretary of State and Lord High Treasurer from 1572...
, Lord Burghley, received intelligence that certain
"decayed gentlemen" were to join Stukley in Spain for the invasion of Ireland. At their first encounter, Walsingham hadn't known what to make of Fitzgibbon, realising that an agent of Burghley's had sowed dissension between the archbishop and Stukley; but in 1575, he did have intelligence of Stukley's alliance with Fitzmaurice, at a time when the nuncio at Madrid was urging an invasion of England. Again, in 1578, Walsingham had similar intelligence, and having failed to induce Fitzgibbon to give up his secrets in return for his passage back to Ireland, procured his arrest in Scotland.
Invasion Expedition
The death of Don John disrupted all plans for the invasion of England, but there was still stomach for the Irish enterprise. In 1576, Fitzmaurice had been warmly received at Rome, where Father William Allen was also present, having presented to the pope a plot for the invasion of England through LiverpoolLiverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, with 5,000 musketeers under Stukley's command. The Geraldine connection had been made, and in 1578 Stukley was provided by the pope with infantry and set out with 2000 men, including musketeers (or maybe swordsmen); the force had been raised by enlisting Apennine highwaymen and robbers in return for pardons and 50-day indulgences, the latter to be gained by contemplation of crucifixes supplied to Stukley - although there were also professional officers, including the commander, Hercules of Pisano, and also Giuseppi, who went on to command the Smerwick
Ard na Caithne
Ard na Caithne , meaning height of the arbutus or strawberry tree, known as Smerwick in English, in the heart of the Kerry Gaeltacht is one of the principal bays of Corca Dhuibhne. It is nestled at the foot of An Triúr Deirfiúr and Cnoc Bhréanainn, which at is the highest mountain in the Brandon...
garrison at the beginning of the Second Desmond Rebellion
Second Desmond Rebellion
The Second Desmond rebellion was the more widespread and bloody of the two Desmond Rebellions launched by the FitzGerald dynasty of Desmond in Munster, Ireland, against English rule in Ireland...
. In sum, Stukley's ranks rose to 4,000.
Stukley sailed for Ireland from Civitavecchia
Civitavecchia
Civitavecchia is a town and comune of the province of Rome in the central Italian region of Lazio. A sea port on the Tyrrhenian Sea, it is located 80 kilometers west-north-west of Rome, across the Mignone river. The harbor is formed by two piers and a breakwater, on which is a lighthouse...
in March 1578. In April, he reached Cadiz
Cádiz
Cadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the homonymous province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....
with rotted ships, where he issued magnificent passports to Irishmen returning home, describing himself as Marquess of Leinster
Leinster
Leinster is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the east of Ireland. It comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Mide, Osraige and Leinster. Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the historic fifths of Leinster and Mide gradually merged, mainly due to the impact of the Pale, which straddled...
(a title bestowed by the pope). Philip II sent him on to Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
, where he was to meet his confederate, Fitzmaurice, and to secure better ships before sailing for Ireland. King Sebastian of Portugal
Sebastian of Portugal
Sebastian "the Desired" was the 16th king of Portugal and the Algarves. He was the son of Prince John of Portugal and his wife, Joan of Spain...
, having no ships to offer, invited him to take up a command in his army, which included Portuguese and German mercenaries, in preparation for an invasion of Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
(an ally of England against Spain) in an attack upon the Moors. Stukley accepted the invitation, and Sanders and certain Irish members of the expedition chose to make their way back to Rome as the expedition was diverted from its purpose. At about this time, Stukley is said to have declared that he knew Ireland as well as the best and that there were only to be got there "hunger and lice", which perhaps explains his state of mind at this curious renunciation of his long-held ambition.
On landing in Morocco, Stukley objected to marching straight away against a vast force of Moors and scorned the Portuguese king's troops and tactics. He fought with courage on 4 August 1578 at the Battle of Alcácer Quibir, commanding the centre, but was killed early in the day after a cannon-ball cut off his legs. Tradition asserted that he was murdered by his Italian soldiers after the Portuguese had been defeated.
Family
Stukley's first wife died in 1564; in 1566 he married Elizabeth Peppard, a wealthy Irish widow.Legacy
Stukley's career made a considerable impression on his contemporaries, and in death he attracted as much speculation and gossip as he had when alive. A play generally assigned to George PeeleGeorge Peele
George Peele , was an English dramatist.-Life:Peele was christened on 25 July 1556. His father, who appears to have belonged to a Devonshire family, was clerk of Christ's Hospital, and wrote two treatises on bookkeeping...
, The Battell of Alcazar with the Death of Captain Stukely, printed in 1594, was probably acted in 1592. It deals with Stukley's arrival in Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
and his Moorish expedition, but in a long speech before his death he recapitulates the events of his life.
A later piece, The Famous History of the Life and Death of Captain Thomas Stukeley, printed for Thomas Panyer (1605), which is possibly the Stewtle, played, according to Henslowe, on 11 December 1596, is a biographical piece dealing with successive episodes, and seems to be a patchwork of older plays on Dom António
António, Prior of Crato
António, Prior of Crato , was a grandson of King Manuel I of Portugal, claimant of the Portuguese throne during the 1580 dynastic crisis, who was King of Portugal as António I of Portugal during 33 days in the continent in 1580, and, after the crowning of Philip II of Spain as King of Portugal,...
and on Stukley. His adventures also form the subject of various ballads.
There is a detailed biography of Stukley, based chiefly on the English, Venetian and Spanish state papers, in R. Simpson's edition of the 1605 play (School of Shakespeare, 1878, vol. i.), where the Stukley ballads are also printed. References in contemporary poetry are quoted by Dyce
Alexander Dyce
Alexander Dyce was a Scottish dramatic editor and literary historian.He was born in Edinburgh and received his early education at the high school there, before becoming a student at Exeter College, Oxford, where he graduated B.A. in 1819...
in his introduction to The Battle of Alcazar in Peele's Works.
Further reading
- Sir Thomas Stucley, c. 1525-1578: Traitor extraordinary by John Izon (1956)
- The Mistresses of Henry VIII by Kelly Hart (2009)
- The Stukeley Plays: 'The Battle of Alcazar' by George Peele and 'The Famous History of the Life and Death of Captain Thomas Stukeley' by Charles Edelman
Sources
- T. Wright The History of Ireland v.II pp. 461 et seq.
- Richard Bagwell, Ireland under the Tudors 3 vols. (London, 1885 – 1890)
- John O'Donovan (ed.) Annals of Ireland by the Four Masters (1851).
- Calendar of State Papers: Carew MSS 6 vols (London, 1867–1873).
- Calendar of State Papers: Ireland (London)
- Nicholas Canny The Elizabethan Conquest of Ireland (Dublin, 1976); Kingdom and Colony (2002)
- Steven G. Ellis Tudor Ireland (London, 1985) ISBN 0-582-49341-2
- Cyril Falls Elizabeth's Irish Wars (1950; reprint London, 1996) ISBN 0-09-477220-7