Causes Of The 1641 Rebellion

Intro

In the period from the 1641 until 1692, Ireland was plagued with continuous political conflict, rebellions, violence and civil warfare. This period of Irish history was driven by violence as it was prevalent throughout the whole country and it is the defining theme of that fifty-year span. What sparked off the violence, that prevailed for just over half a century, was the 1641 Rebellion which began because of fear of civil war on both sides of the religious divide. Oliver Cromwell was sent to Ireland to crush the rebellion and this lead to harsh and drastic changes both in Ireland and in England. In England these changes were political, and in Ireland the changes affected all aspects, including increased unrest. Although there was a
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The Bishop Wars took place in Scotland and England, when Charles I tried to convert Scotland from Presbyterianism to Anglicanism. After invading Scotland twice, Charles I and English troops were defeated by the Scottish. This military blunder had effects in Ireland, where the English feared a Catholic revolt against the Crown and in early 1641 there were proposals to invade Ireland to subdue Catholicism in case an Irish Catholic army was planning to land in Scotland or England. The other factor that lead up to the 1641 Rebellion were the Plantations. The Plantations had left thousands of Irish without land or work, including clan leaders, and this left many Irish Catholics resentful towards the English crown. The planners of the rebellion were Irish landowners that included Gaelic Irish and Old English. In examining the depositions taken at the time, the issues surrounding land is an integral determinant for the outbreak of
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The Catholics formed their own government called the Catholic Confederation, and had support from clergy and most of the Irish Catholics throughout Ireland. Upper class Catholics were less supportive in fear of losing their lands. As time went by the Confederation gained and lost holdings throughout the country and by 1649 on Dublin was left in their grasp. When the English Civil War ended with the execution of Charles I, English troops could set their sights on Ireland. Cromwell landed in Ireland in 1649 and quickly took the towns of Drogheda and Wexford through massacre. Because of the barbarism employed by Cromwell’s men, towns surrendered which made Cromwell’s conquest a much easier feat. Small troops of guerilla’s set up in places like the Wicklow mountains, soley to attack Cromwell’s Parliamentairans. This then led to famine and a bubonic plague. The guerilla warfare eventually ended in late 1652, when Parliamentarians signed an agreement that allowed the Irish to serve in foreign