A Tale of Two Elizabeths: Two Queens Who Rewrote History

When a Pirate Queen Met Queen Elizabeth I

While she expanded her control and power, Grace O’Malley personally led a raid on a seaside stronghold known as Cocks Castle. She captured it, and to commemorate her courage, it became known thereafter as Hens Castle. Unfortunately for O’Malley, things soon took a turn for the worse. After they defeated the Spanish Armada in 1588, the English were able to focus on the consolidation of their grip on Ireland, and the fight against Irish piracy and pirates such as O’Malley. To resist that English expansion, O’Malley allied with Irish lords who had risen in revolt against the English. However, in 1593, the English captured her sons and brother.

So O’Malley sailed to England, to personally petition Queen Elizabeth I for their release. She met the English queen at Greenwich Castle. There, O’Malley reportedly refused to bow, on the grounds that she did not recognize Elizabeth as Queen of Ireland. Elizabeth extracted O’Malley a promise to cease her assistance to Irish rebels. Elizabeth did not live up to her part of the bargain, however, so Grace O’Malley went back to helping the rebels, and reportedly died in one of her castles in 1603.

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Where Did We Find This Stuff? Some Sources and Further Reading

Ancient Origins – Grace O’Malley: The 16^th Century Pirate Queen of Ireland

Bond, Jennie – Elizabeth: 80 Glorious Years (2006)

Botting, Douglas – The Pirates (1978)

Economist, The, April 7^th, 2018 – Muslims Consider Queen Elizabeth’s Ties to the Prophet Muhammad

Elizabethan Era Org – Teenage Scandal of Queen Elizabeth I

Encyclopedia Britannica – Thomas Seymour, Baron Seymour

Guardian, The, June 2^nd, 2021 – Buckingham Palace Banned Ethnic Minorities from Office Roles

Hibbert, Christopher – The Virgin Queen: Elizabeth I, Genius of the Golden Age (1992)

History – Is Queen Elizabeth Related to the Prophet Muhammad?

History Collection – 40 Violent Realities in the Making of the British Empire