Sir Thomas Crooke, 1st Baronet

[1] His father was a Calvinist clergyman whose strong religious views often brought him into conflict with the English Crown, but who escaped serious censure, probably due to his position as the appointed preacher at Gray's Inn.

His motives appear to have been twofold: to establish a thriving commercial centre and to create a safe haven for those who shared his strong Calvinist views.

O'Driscoll throughout his long career had been an ally of the English Crown, and was something of a royal favourite of Queen Elizabeth I; but his relatives persuaded him, against his own better judgement, to take the Irish side at the Battle of Kinsale.

Baltimore was given the right to return two members to the Irish House of Commons, with the franchise known as a potwalloper (that is, a constituency where every male householder with a hearth wide enough to boil or "wallop" a pot had the vote).

[8] The coast of West Cork has many deep sheltered coves which are suitable for smuggling, and the O'Driscolls had for years been widely believed to take advantage of this to engage in piracy.

Not surprisingly similar accusations were made against Crooke, and in 1608 the Privy Council summoned him to London to answer a number of charges, including one that he slaughtered cattle in his own yard to victual the pirate ships.

The Privy Council, despite what appeared to be a preliminary finding that he was guilty, in the end exonerated Crooke completely, but not everyone was satisfied: the authorities in Venice continued to call Baltimore "a nest of pirates", and it was claimed that the entire population of the town were implicated in the illicit business.

[11] The more cynical view is that the Privy Council was convinced of Crooke's guilt, but was unwilling to damage the growing prosperity of Baltimore by taking decisive action against him.

[12] From the start of his Irish career, Crooke was forced to contend with the increasing power of the wealthy Roman Catholic lawyer Sir Walter Coppinger.

Coppinger came from one of the most prominent families in Cork city; though himself of Viking rather than Gaelic descent, he was hostile to the English settlers, and he had a reputation for ruthlessness.

Eventually, in 1610 a compromise was reached: Crooke, Coppinger and Fineen O'Driscoll jointly granted a lease of Baltimore to the settlers for a term of 21 years.

[14] In 1618 Crooke, despairing of obtaining justice in the Irish courts, appealed to the Privy Council in London to protect the settlers against Coppinger's "malicious and covetous desire to supplant them" both by "bloody riot" and by fraudulent claims to their titles.