The Irish and British Wars, 1637û1654: Triumph, Tragedy, and Failure

by JAMES SCOTT WHEELER;

• ISBN13: 9780415221320
• ISBN10: 0415221323
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 2002-08-02
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

This accessible study examines the wars of Britain and Ireland in the mid seventeenth century. After a period of stability and peace during the early years of the century, Charles I set about carrying out administrative and religious reform in England, Scotland and Wales. The revolution that this prompted in Scotland was to repeat itself in Ireland and four years later lead to civil war in England. Connecting the strategic and tactical levels of war with political actions and reactions, Wheeler discusses how Britain and Ireland became battlegrounds in the 'war of three kingdoms'. With numerous maps and illustrations, the various stages of this period of turmoil are clearly demonstrated, right through to the execution of Charles I, the conquest of Catholic Ireland and the eventual death of the English Republic.

Author Biography

James Scott Wheeler is Professor of European History at the United States Military Academy, West Point.

Table of Contents

List of maps	vi
List of plates	vii
Preface and acknowledgments	viii
Introduction	1	(10)
The Scottish Revolution and the two Bishops' Wars	11	(26)
The outbreak of the English and Irish Revolutions, 1640-1642	37	(30)
The wars expand	67	(27)
Stalemate, turning point, and disillusionment	94	(26)
The creation of the New Model Army and the royalist defeat	120	(25)
Parliament's victory and search for a settlement	145	(27)
The defeat of the Irish Confederacy and the second English Civil War	172	(23)
The execution of Charles I and the conquest of Catholic Ireland	195	(29)
The triumph and failure of the Commonwealth, 1649-53	224	(23)
Triumph and tragedy: the first Dutch War and the death of the English Republic	247	(12)
Bibliography	259	(8)
Index	267