Experiencing conquest: emotion, minority panic, and conspiracy in late Tudor Ireland1

Abstract

ABSTRACT The Tudor reconquest of Ireland involved many of life’s most intense experiences, including death, combat, disease, deprivation, injury, hostage taking, and loss of position. During the conquest, English officials and Irish lords each developed their own pattern of what William Reddy has called emotional regimes, whereby different groups develop emotional responses that help them make sense of their worlds and how to respond to problems. The first, embraced largely by English officials, involved bold promises of success and decisive action in controlling Ireland. The second, embraced largely by Irish lords, involved disguising emotions in favor of delay, agreement, and promises of loyalty. Each strategy arose from particular circumstances. The English, holding superior military power and fearful of Irish and foreign conspiracies, adopted a strategy of confrontation which justified the violence necessary in controlling Ireland and minimized the suffering that would result. Irish lords, by contrast, could rarely win pitched battles. Conspicuous resistance to English authority, therefore, was risky. But, when it did happen, English officials became convinced of the duplicity of the Irish. Each side believed that their counterpart was engaged in a deliberate conspiracy to mislead them.