his most significant support came from the Spanish king. Philip III of Spain sent an invasion force, only to see it surrender after a winter siege at the Battle of Kinsale in 1601. Outside Kinsale, Ó Néill's own army was defeated. The war ended in early 1603; thereafter the authority of the Crown was gradually reestablished throughout country. Ó Néill and his allies were treated relatively generously, considering the cost of the rebellion, and were regranted their titles and most of their lands. Unable to live with more restrictive conditions, they left Ireland in 1607 in the Flight of the Earls. As a result, their lands in Ulster were confiscated. In the ensuing Plantation of Ulster, great numbers of people from all over Britain were encouraged to move to Ulster. As plantation policy expanded to outlying districts including Sligo, Fermanagh and Monaghan, the English occupation of Ireland grew increasingly militaristic. The Counter-Reformation created an environment of anti-Protestantism within the native population which hindered English influence and led to a massive uprising ending in 1603. It became increasingly clear that the only profitable gain from its recent subjugation of Ireland was the land it yielded. Tens of thousands of Protestants, mainly Scots, emigrated to Antrim and Ulster, supplanting the Irish residents. Results The first and most important result of the conquest was the disarmament of the native Irish lordships and the establishment of central government control for the first time over the whole island; Irish culture, law, and language were replaced; and many Irish lords lost their lands and hereditary authority. Thousands of English, Scottish, and Welsh settlers were introduced into the country and the administration of justice was enforced according to English common law and statutes of the Parliament of Ireland. As the 16th century progressed, the religious question grew in significance. Rebels such as James Fitzmaurice Fitzgerald and Aodh Mór Ó Néill sought and received help from Catholic powers in Europe, justifying their actions on religious grounds. However, the Pale community and many Irish lords did not consider them to be genuinely religiously motivated. In the new century, the country would become polarised between Catholics and Protestants, especially after the planting of a large English population into Ireland and Scots Presbyterians in Ulster (See Plantation of Ulster). Under James I, Catholics were barred from all public office after the gunpowder plot was discovered in 1605; the Gaelic Irish and