Essex, Walter Devereux, 1st earl

Essex, Walter Devereux, 1st earl of

(born Sept. 16, 1541, Carmarthen, Carmarthenshire, Wales—died Sept. 22, 1576, Dublin, Ire.) English soldier. Born to a titled family, he helped suppress a rebellion in northern England in 1569 and was made earl of Essex in 1572. In 1573 he offered to subdue and colonize, at his own expense, a portion of Ulster that had not accepted English overlordship. There he treacherously captured and executed the Irish rebel leaders and massacred hundreds of the populace, contributing to Irish bitterness toward the English. Elizabeth I commanded him to break off the enterprise in 1575. He died of dysentery shortly after returning to Ireland from England.