The Flight of the Earls was the departure of Hugh O'Neill, Rory O'Donnell and Cuconnaught Maguire with their families to mainland Europe. They would never return to the lands they had fought so valiantly for during the Nine Years' War. Their departures from Gaelic Ireland left their former dependents leaderless and unprotected, as the Gaelic way of life would soon be lost. John Curry and Charles Patrick Meehan are responsible for popularizing the term "flight of the earls" through their extensive use of a contemporary manuscript by Tadhg Ó Cianáin, a tale by one of the participants about the "flight" and subsequent journey of his group in Rome. The Treaty of Mellifont in 1603 had been favorable to the Earls of Tyrone and Tyrconnell, as they retained the majority of their lands. It seems Tyrone lost the war but won the peace. Tyrone's position was such that the government had to rely on its authority in the region to bring about any political settlement. Tyrone then entered into a bitter battle with New England officials such as Chichester and Davis, as they were unhappy with the highly advantageous surrender terms granted to the earls in the aftermath of the Nine Years' War. Sir John Davis, the Solicitor General, had issued a proclamation in March 1605, which denied any status to Gaelic customary land tenure systems. He had obtained instructions from James I to minimize the risk of the Earls of Ulster becoming too powerful. The lands of Tyrone and O'Donnell were to be divided into freeholds held directly by the crown by their inhabitants in order to limit the power they had over their supporters. Tyrone anticipated this and divided his lordship into freeholds, which he awarded to close relatives...... middle of paper...... ls = Imeacht na nIarlaí (Guildhall Press 2010) p. 8Finnegan, David. Ó Ciardha, Éamonn. Peters, Marie-Claire. The Flight of the Counts = Imeacht na nIarlaí (Guildhall Press 2010)p. 8Lenihan, Padraig. Consolidation of the Conquest: Ireland 1603-1727 (Longman Pearson, 2007) p. 29Smith, Murray, the flights of the counts? Change of view on O'Neill's departure from Ireland' History Ireland. Vol 4. No1 (Spring 1996) pp17-20Canny, Nicholas, XVI The Fight of the Earls, 1607, Irish Historical Studies. Vol 17, n°67 (March 1971) pp380-399 Bardon, Jonathan. The Plantation of Ulster, (Dublin, 2011) p. 89Lenihan, Padraig. Consolidation of the Conquest: Ireland 1603-1727 (Longman Pearson, 2007) p. 29Lenihan, Padraig. Consolidation of the Conquest: Ireland 1603-1727 (Longman Pearson, 2007) p. 30Lenihan, Padraig. Consolidation of the Conquest: Ireland 1603-1727 (Longman Pearson, 2007) p. 30