Biography of Thomas Wentworth

... Tim Culbertson HIST 326: Irish History I 10/14/2003 Thomas Wentworth & The Lord Deputyship of Ireland Among the major political figures of Ireland's history during the seventeenth century, Thomas Wentworth holds an unusual position in light of his achievements and the attitudes of those he ruled. The Lord Deputy in Ireland starting in 1631, Wentworth traveled to Ireland to stabilize the deeply divided territory and to set her productivity to England's benefit. Of the goals he attempted, among them the stabilization of Ireland's economy, the reform of its military, the regeneration of its commerce, and the reorganization of its religion, few, if any, failed under his driven leadership. However, his methods have been argued as ruthless and tyrannical, earning him intense dislike among the people of Ireland and among political circles at home in England. While Wentworth may have succeeded at bringing the Crown's bidding into reality in Ireland, his methods intensified an underpinning

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