A Spanish Army Under Don Juan Del Aguila, Landed at Kinsale

A Spanish army under Don Juan del Águila, which had landed at Kinsale on 21 September 1601, is besieged by Lord Mountjoy on this date. The Spanish landing was part of a broader effort by King Philip III of Spain to support Irish resistance against English rule during the Nine Years’ War. Del Águila’s force of about 3,000 soldiers had come to assist the Irish chieftains Hugh O’Neill and Hugh Roe O’Donnell. However, instead of marching inland, the Spanish remained fortified in Kinsale, awaiting reinforcements. In response, Charles Blount, Lord Mountjoy, the English Lord Deputy of Ireland, led a large English army to lay siege to the town. The siege of Kinsale marked a turning point in the war. Despite attempts by O’Neill and O’Donnell to relieve the siege, the allied Irish and Spanish forces suffered a decisive defeat in December. This loss effectively ended organized Irish resistance to English rule, and the war concluded soon after in 1603 with the submission of Hugh O’Neill.