Cromwellian conquest of Ireland

During the wars of the kingdoms, forces of the English parliament conquered Ireland, between 1649 and 1653. These forces were led by Oliver Cromwell. The event is known as Cromwellian conquest of Ireland or Cromwellian war in Ireland. Cromwell invaded Ireland with his New Model Army on behalf of England's Rump Parliament in August 1649.

After the Irish Rebellion of 1641, most of Ireland came under the control of the Irish Catholic Confederation. In early 1649, the Confederates allied with the English Royalists, who had been defeated by the Parliamentarians in the English Civil War. By May 1652, Cromwell's Parliamentarian army had defeated the Confederate and Royalist coalition in Ireland and occupied the country, ending the Irish Confederate Wars (or Eleven Years' War). However, guerrilla warfare continued for a further year. Cromwell passed a series of Penal Laws against Roman Catholics (the vast majority of the population) and confiscated large amounts of their land.

The Parliamentarian conquest was brutal, and Cromwell is still a hated figure in Ireland."Of all these doings in Cromwell's Irish Chapter, each of us may say what he will. Yet to everyone it will at least be intelligible how his name came to be hated in the tenacious heart of Ireland". John Morley, Biography of Oliver Cromwell. Page 298. 1900 and 2001. .; "Cromwell is still a hate figure in Ireland today because of the brutal effectiveness of his campaigns in Ireland. Of course, his victories in Ireland made him a hero in Protestant England."  British National Archives web site. Accessed March 2007;  From a history site dedicated to the English Civil War. "... making Cromwell's name into one of the most hated in Irish history". Accessed March 2007. Site currently offline. WayBack Machine holds archive here The extent to which Cromwell, who was in direct command for the first year of the campaign, was responsible for the atrocities is debated to this day. Some historiansPhilip McKeiver in his, 2007, A New History of Cromwell's Irish Campaign  and Tom Reilly, 1999, Cromwell: An Honourable Enemy  argue that the actions of Cromwell were within the then-accepted rules of war, or were exaggerated or distorted by later propagandists; these claims have been challenged by others.

The impact of the war on the Irish population was unquestionably severe, although there is no consensus as to the magnitude of the loss of life. The war resulted in famine,Padraig Lenihan, Confederate Catholics at War (2001) p112, 'As late as 1650, provisions were cheaper in Ireland than in England; the famine of 1651 onwards was a man made response to stubborn guerrilla warfare. Collective reprisals against the civilian population included forcing them out of designated no man's lands and the systematic destruction of foodstuffs'. which was worsened by an outbreak of bubonic plague. Estimates of the drop in the Irish population resulting from the Parliamentarian campaign range from 15 to 41 percent.15–25%

 Padraig Lenihan, Confederate Catholics at War, p11250%:

 The History and Social Influence of the Potato, Redcliffe N. Salaman, Edited by JG Hawkes, 9780521316231, Cambridge University Press
 How many died during Cromwell’s campaign?41%:

 The Cromwellian Settlement of Ireland by John Patrick Prendergast The Parliamentarians also transported about 50,000 people as indentured labourers. Some estimates cover population losses over the course of the Conquest Period (1649–52) only, while others cover the period of the Conquest to 1653 and the period of the Cromwellian Settlement from August 1652 to 1659 together.

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Category:History of Ireland
Category:History of the United Kingdom
Category:1640s in Europe
Category:1650s in Europe
Category:Wars involving England
Category:17th-century conflicts