1. Sir John Perrot was a member of the Welsh gentry who served as Lord Deputy of Ireland under Queen Elizabeth I of England during the Tudor conquest of Ireland.
25 Facts About John Perrot
1. 2.
Sir John Perrot, was a figure of unusual power and influence in Tudor Britain and Ireland.
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John Perrot had already gathered many offices by the time he was sent to Ireland in 1571 as President of Munster to suppress a rebellion.
4.
John Perrot returned to Ireland as 1584 as Lord Deputy, with the task of crushing the Irish and colonising their land.
5.
John Perrot had two sisters: Jane, who married Sir John Philipps, 1st Baronet of Picton Castle, and Elizabeth, who married John Price of Gogerddan.
6.
John Perrot was educated, according to his own testimony, at the cathedral school in St Davids, on the western coastline of Pembrokeshire.
7.
John Perrot resembled Henry VIII in temperament and physical appearance, and it was widely believed that he was the bastard son of the late King.
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The main source for this belief was Sir Robert Naunton, who had never known John Perrot and used second-hand accounts to make his case.
9.
John Perrot joined the household of William Paulet, 1st Marquess of Winchester, and thereby gained his introduction to Henry VIII.
10.
John Perrot declined, but on his return to England his debts were paid by the French Crown.
11.
John Perrot's advancement continued in 1562, when he was elected Knight of Pembrokeshire.
12.
John Perrot served as member of parliament for Carmarthenshire in 1547, Sandwich in 1553 and 1555, Wareham in 1559, Pembrokeshire in 1563, and Haverfordwest in 1589.
13.
In 1570 John Perrot reluctantly accepted the newly created post of Lord President of the Irish province of Munster, which was in the throes of the first of the Desmond Rebellions.
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In one grisly incident, after fifty rebels had been slain, John Perrot sought to awe his enemy by cutting off the heads of the corpses and fixing them to the market cross of Kilmallock.
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John Perrot's challenge provoked mutterings from the more level-headed servants of the Crown, and his reputation for rash judgment was confirmed when he was ambushed by the rebels, who outnumbered his force ten to one, only to be relieved when the rebels mistook a small cavalry company for the advance party of a larger Crown force.
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John Perrot returned to Carew in Wales, where he intended, "to lead a countryman's life and to keep out of debt".
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In 1578 John Perrot was accused by his deputy-Admiral, Richard Vaughan, of tyranny, subversion of justice, and dealing with pirates.
18.
In 1584 John Perrot was appointed Lord Deputy of Ireland, to replace Lord Grey de Wilton who had been recalled to England by the Queen two years earlier.
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Elizabeth roundly abused her deputy for launching such an expensive and unadvised campaign, but by 1586 John Perrot had brought Sorley Boy to a mutually beneficial submission.
20.
At the prorogation in 1587, John Perrot was so frustrated with the influence of factions within both houses of parliament that he begged to be recalled to England.
21.
John Perrot's unsparing criticism of his associates in government made him numerous enemies.
22.
John Perrot was accused of having prior knowledge of the rebellion in 1589 of Sir Brian O'Rourke, which had occurred under the government of Bingham in Connaught.
23.
John Perrot ended up in the Tower of London and in 1592 stood trial before a special commission on charges of high treason.
24.
John Perrot protested his loyalty and, in reaction to a hectoring prosecution counsel, eloquently cried out, "You win men's lives away with words".
25.
John Perrot had a son and two daughters by Perrot:.