ABSTRACT
This chapter analyses the historical links between Ireland and Spain, their theoretical foundation, and the etymology of the word ‘Hibernia’. In the 17th century, the myth of Milesius and the idea of the ‘ancient Spanish’ articulated an identitary discourse based on the notion of a common origin. These alleged links divided the Irish into three social groups, which turned into a mechanism of political legitimation. At the same time, the rhetoric of the shared nature was used by the exiled Irish community as a lever to access the royal grace. Historiography has focused on the main aspects of the migratory phenomenon triggered by the defeat at Kinsale, including the integration of the exiles in the socio-political structure of the Spanish monarchy, their military contribution to the royal armies, their enrolment in the Irish colleges, and their participation in commercial activities. The Irish Mission is thus the last piece in this historiographical puzzle. The Catholic king intervened directly in Ireland by sending priests and friars with the ostensible purpose of preserving Catholicism. Spanish political theology thus instrumentalised the defence of religion to forward, without resorting to arms, the king’s interest against England. Indeed, English and Spanish politics affected the Mission directly and in complex ways, and it is for this reason that its study necessarily involves that of its context.
