Essex's Rebellion

It was expected that Essex would crush the rebellion immediately, but he fought a series of inconclusive battles, squandered his funds, and was unable to face the Irish in any sort of engagement.

His time spent as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland proved disastrous to him; his return was in express defiance of the orders of the Queen.

His ambition had been to direct an anti-Habsburg foreign policy for England while covertly facilitating the accession of James VI of Scotland to the English throne.

[5][page needed] In disgrace as well as in political and financial ruin, Essex wrote several letters of submission to the Queen, and by August 1600 he was able to move freely except to return to court.

In November 1600, the Queen refused to renew his government-granted monopoly on sweet wine, an action that placed Essex in even deeper financial difficulties.

[6] On 7 February, some of Essex's followers went to the Globe Theatre to ask the Lord Chamberlain's Men to stage a special performance of Richard II with the deposition scene included.

The company was hesitant to perform such a controversial play, but eventually agreed once they were promised a payment of 40 shillings (equivalent to £558 in 2023)[7] "more than their ordinary".

He had lost his chance to take the court by surprise, so he fell back on his scheme to rouse the City of London in his favour with the claim that Elizabeth's government had planned to murder him and had sold out England to Spain.

[9] On 25 February 1601, Essex was beheaded in the confines of the Tower of London, and buried there in the Church of St Peter ad Vincula.