Terms granted to the Spaniards.
Both parties were eager for a settlement, for the loss by sickness had been great on the Queen’s side; and the negotiations were short. Don Juan undertook to surrender not only Kinsale, but also Castle Haven, Baltimore, and Dunboy. Mountjoy contracted for the safe conveyance of all the Spaniards and their allies into Spain, and for their victualling and good treatment during the necessary interval. The Spaniards were bound not to serve again against Queen Elizabeth until after they had been actually landed in Spain. More than 3,000 officers and soldiers were embarked under the terms of this convention, besides many priests and monks, ‘and a great company of Irish.’ The articles were signed on the 2nd of January, on the 3rd Don Juan dined with Mountjoy, and on the 4th a Spanish ship appeared off Kinsale. A boat was sent out to say that the stranger might enter safely, for that Don John and the Lord Deputy were now very good friends. The Spanish captain hauled the boat’s crew on board and at once made sail, and thus the first news of the surrender of Kinsale was carried to Spain about five weeks later. Another vessel with letters put into Berehaven, and the packet was sent up by land to Don Juan, who, with his principal officer, had accompanied Mountjoy to Cork. Carew, with the latter’s consent, had the messenger robbed on the road, but without hurting him. Don Juan’s suspicions were aroused, and he was not satisfied with the explanation given, but a proclamation was issued offering a reward for the discovery of the thieves. Spanish dignity was saved and Mountjoy kept the letters, which were of great importance. Large reinforcements were preparing in Spain, and the King wrote to say that he had heard of the defeat of Tyrone and O’Donnell, and that he nevertheless depended on Don Juan to maintain himself until help arrived. Details of the intended aid were given in other letters, and it was probable that had the news come earlier Kinsale would not have fallen, or at least would have had to be taken by storm. Carew had strongly urged that a golden bridge should be provided for a still formidable enemy, and the wisdom of this advice cannot be doubted.[393]
O’Sullivan determines to defend Dunboy.
Baltimore and Castle Haven were soon taken. The Spaniards gave no trouble, but the O’Driscolls made some futile attempts at resistance. At Berehaven the task was more serious. The Spaniards had increased the natural strength of Dunboy Castle by throwing up earthworks, on which they had mounted three small cannon. On hearing of the capitulation they were ready to surrender, but Donnell O’Sullivan refused to be bound by the articles. Bringing 1,000 men quietly under the walls, he mastered the castle by surprise and forced the Spanish captain and some gunners to remain. The other Spaniards were sent to Baltimore, and preparations were made for a desperate resistance. O’Sullivan wrote an eloquent letter to Philip III., as to his sovereign lord, in which he denied Don Juan’s right to surrender his castle, which alone protected his property and the people living along twenty leagues of coast. He begged for help, and if help could not be given, then he asked that means might at least be provided to carry himself and his family to Spain.[394]
Spanish ideas about Irish politics.
Don Juan sailed on March 16. At Cork he lived familiarly with Carew, and presented him with a book on fortification as a keepsake. The Irish in Spain brought so many charges against Don Juan that he was imprisoned, and he died soon afterwards under restraint. He lived long enough to bring many counter-charges, and as late as 1618 there was a wretched Spanish sergeant in prison at Ghent, who believed that he owed his miseries to complaints made by Don Juan d’Aguila of his conduct at Kinsale. The Spaniards were getting tired of war with England, in which they were nearly always worsted, and of alliances with the Irish, which had brought them nothing but loss. Don Juan made direct advances to Mountjoy, and Captain Roger Harvey, Carew’s nephew, had a curious conversation at Baltimore with Don Pedro de Soto, an officer of high rank, who thought there was no real reason why England and Spain should be at war. King Philip, said this candid Spaniard, had indeed a great revenue, ‘but the infinite number of garrisons which he is daily forced to maintain, would devour another such Indies, if he had them.’ If the Queen would only stand neutral in the Netherland quarrel, there might easily be peace between two great nations. This conversation afterwards induced Carew to intrigue a little in Spain. Nothing came directly of it, but Don Pedro’s feelings were perhaps those of many in the peninsula, and the way was paved for a change as soon as Elizabeth was gone.[395]
Importance of this siege.
Excepting that of Londonderry, the siege of Kinsale is the most important in Irish history. Spain was to Elizabeth what the French monarchy was to William III. In both cases England headed the Protestant world against what threatened to become a European despotism. In both cases Ireland was used by the dominant Catholic power to create a diversion, and not for her own sake. The defeat of Tyrone and the subsequent surrender of Kinsale put an end to Spanish attempts on Ireland, as the breaking of the boom across the Foyle made French attempts virtually hopeless. In both cases it became evident that whoever ruled in London must necessarily be supreme upon both sides of St. George’s Channel. D’Avaux, and even James II. himself, had as little sympathy with the Irish as Juan d’Aguila.
Reception of the news by Queen Elizabeth.