Williamite War

What were the main issues at stake for each party during the Williamite/Jacobite conflict in Ireland?

The Williamite-Jacobite conflict in Ireland came to a head during 1689-1691 in which Ireland was ‘engulfed by war on a major scale’.[1] Tensions had been rising after the Glorious Revolution in which William of Orange had successfully accepted the Crown of England and Scotland after James II had fled to France. Louis XIV had persuaded James to go to Ireland, traditionally the back door to England, to try recover his dominating position as Sovereign thus starting a conflict among his supporters in Ireland, the Jacobites, who wish to see him restored as King, and the Williamites who feared a permanent catholic dynasty therefore their support lay with King William as sovereign of England.[2] ‘Two Kings in person [James II and William III] contended for the crowns of three Kingdoms, upon which success the fate of their respective allies and consequently, of all Europe depended’.[3] The outcome of the war was very important for each party as each had a lot to gain from a victory and the main issues at stake for each party will be assessed in detail. Three main issues dominated this conflict; the international threat posed by an aggressively expansionist France, the throne of England and the religious power in Ireland.[4]

The Williamite-Jacobite conflict played a major role amongst the people in Ireland and a lot was at stake in the final outcome of the war, the prize to be won in this conflict was the possession of Dublin. [5] Local issues and old loyalties were predominant for the inhabitants of Ireland during this period.[6] For the Jacobites and Williamites in Ireland the conflict was a climax of a long struggle for supremacy and opposing parties had a lot to gain from a victory. One of the main issues that was at stake was the control of Ireland, who would win the power to rule Ireland and how were they going to rule? Was Ireland going to become

Bibliography: Harris, Tim. Revolution: The Great crisis of the British Monarchy, 1685-1720. London: Penguin Books, 2007. Hayes-McCoy, G.A. “The Boyne, 1690” In Irish battles: a military history of Ireland, Hayes-McCoy, G.A, 214-237. Belfast: Appletree press, 1990. Kinross, John. The Boyne and Aughrim, The war of the two Kings. Oxford: Windrush Press, 1997. Lenihan, Padraig. 1690: Battle of the Boyne. Madison: University of Wisconsin, 2003. Murtagh, Harman. “The War in Ireland 1689-91.” In Kings in conflict: the revolutionary war in Ireland and its aftermath, 1689-1750, edited by W.A Maguire, 61-91. Belfast: Blackstaff press, 1990. Simms, John Gerard. The Williamite Confiscation in Ireland, 1690-1703. Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1976. Simms, John Gerard. War and Politics in Ireland, 1649-1730. London: Hambledon, 1986. ----------------------- [1] Harman Murtagh, “The war in Ireland 1689-91,” in Kings in conflict: the revolutionary war in Ireland and its aftermath, 1689-1750, ed [2] G.A Hayes-McCoy, “The Boyne, 1690,” in Irish battles: a military history of Ireland, Hayes-McCoy, G.A (Belfast: Appletree press, 1990) 214-237. [3] Padraig Lenihan, 1690: Battle of the Boyne (Madison: University of Wisconsin, 2003). [4] Tim Harris, Revolution: The Great crisis of the British Monarchy, 1685-1720 (London: Penguin books, 2007). [5] G.A Hayes-McCoy, “The Boyne, 1690,” in Irish battles: a military history of Ireland, Hayes-McCoy, G.A (Belfast: Appletree press, 1990) 214-237. [6] Harman Murtagh, “The war in Ireland 1689-91,” in Kings in conflict: the revolutionary war in Ireland and its aftermath, 1689-1750, ed. W.A Maguire (Belfast: Blackstaff press, 1990) 61-91. [7] Harman Murtagh, “The war in Ireland 1689-91,” in Kings in conflict: the revolutionary war in Ireland and its aftermath, 1689-1750, ed. W.A Maguire (Belfast: Blackstaff press, 1990) 61-91. [8] Tim Harris, Revolution: The Great crisis of the British Monarchy, 1685-1720 (London: Penguin books, 2007). [9] John Gerard Simms, The Williamite confiscation in Ireland, 1690-1703 (Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1976). [10] G.A Hayes-McCoy, “The Boyne, 1690,” in Irish battles: a military history of Ireland, Hayes-McCoy, G.A (Belfast: Appletree press, 1990) 214-237. [11] Tim Harris, Revolution: The Great crisis of the British Monarchy, 1685-1720 (London: Penguin books, 2007). [12] Tim Harris, Revolution: The Great crisis of the British Monarchy, 1685-1720 (London: Penguin books, 2007). [13] John Gerard Simms, The Williamite confiscation in Ireland, 1690-1703 (Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1976). [14] Harman Murtagh, “The war in Ireland 1689-91,” in Kings in conflict: the revolutionary war in Ireland and its aftermath, 1689-1750, ed. W.A Maguire (Belfast: Blackstaff press, 1990) 61-91. [15] John Gerard Simms, War and Politics in Ireland, 1649-1730 (London: Hambledon, 1986) [16] Harman Murtagh, “The war in Ireland 1689-91,” in Kings in conflict: the revolutionary war in Ireland and its aftermath, 1689-1750, ed [17] John Kinross, The Boyne and Aughrim, The war of the two Kings (Oxford: Windrush Press, 1997) [18] John Kinross, The Boyne and Aughrim, The war of the two Kings (Oxford: Windrush Press, 1997) [19] Harman Murtagh, “The war in Ireland 1689-91,” in Kings in conflict: the revolutionary war in Ireland and its aftermath, 1689-1750, ed. W.A Maguire (Belfast: Blackstaff press, 1990) 61-91. [20] G.A Hayes-McCoy, “The Boyne, 1690,” in Irish battles: a military history of Ireland, Hayes-McCoy, G.A (Belfast: Appletree press, 1990) 214-237. [21] Tim Harris, Revolution: The Great crisis of the British Monarchy, 1685-1720 (London: Penguin books, 2007). [22] Tim Harris, Revolution: The Great crisis of the British Monarchy, 1685-1720 (London: Penguin books, 2007). [23] John Gerard Simms, The Williamite confiscation in Ireland, 1690-1703 (Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1976).