The history of English rule in Ireland stretches back to the twelfth century. This book examines the actions of the earliest English settlers in Ireland and asks a number of questions about the society they developed there. Why did these people come to Ireland? How did they interact with the native Irish neighbors? What was the nature of their relationship with England? This was also a time of English expansion in Wales and Scotland, and the book suggests comparisons and contrasts with the Irish experience in this broader setting.