How did Edmund Spenser defend Lord Grey’s harsh policies in Ireland?

Edmund Spenser defended the harsh policies of Arthur Lord Grey, the lord deputy of Ireland, by aligning himself with a 16th-century political philosophy that favored firm, decisive governmental action.1

As Grey’s secretary, Spenser witnessed the challenges of governing a territory marked by native resistance and religious conflict. He argued that such situations required measures to be "ruthlessly applied," suggesting that gentleness should be reserved only for populations that had become completely submissive.1

Spenser articulated this perspective in his later tract, A View of the Present State of Ireland. In this work, he provided a lucid defense of Grey’s direct and drastic methods, contrasting them with the procrastinating and temporizing style of Queen Elizabeth I, which he viewed as ineffective in the face of the unrest in Ireland.1