The Williamite Wars in Ireland - by John Childs (Paperback)

About the Book

An authoritativeaccount of the Battle of the Boyne. >

Book Synopsis

The comprehensive defeat of the Jacobite Irish in the Williamite conflict, a component within the pan-European Nine Years' War, prevented the exiled James II from regaining his English throne, ended realistic prospects of a Stuart restoration and partially secured the new regime of King William III and Queen Mary that had been created by the Glorious Revolution. The principal events - the siege of Londonderry, the Battles of the Boyne and Augury, and the two sieges and Treaty of Limerick - have subsequently become totems around which opposing constructions of Irish history have been erected.

Child argues that the struggle was typical of the late-seventeenth century, principally decided by economic resources and attrition in which the 'small war' comprising patrols, raids, occupation of captured regions by small garrisons, police actions against irregulars and attacks on supply lines was more significant in determining the outcome than the set-piece battles and sieges.

Review Quotes

"Child's book is especially noteworthy in that naval operations during this war are examined thoroughly, and he is good on the battlefield tactic of the contestants. Off the battlefield, Childs is adept at unravelling the command rivalries that undermined the Jacobite war effort...In his preface, Childs writes modestly that 'an Englishman coming late in his career to the history of Ireland is constantly aware of his ignorance' but his concerns are misplaced, for he easily sails over the hurdles." The International History Review, September 2009

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Normal0falsefalsefalseMicrosoftInternetExplorer4/* Style Definitions */table.MsoNormalTable{mso-style-name: "Table Normal";mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;mso-style-noshow: yes;mso-style-parent: "";mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;mso-para-margin:0cm;mso-para-margin-bottom: .0001pt;mso-pagination: widow-orphan;font-size:10.0pt;font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language: #0400;mso-fareast-language: #0400;mso-bidi-language: #0400;}"There is much to commend in Child's work...a lively writingstyle with occasional flashes of humor and a high-spirited gleeful delight inthe trivial. The general reader and the military historian can dip into thisbook with profit."The Historian, 2010

About the Author

John Childs is Emeritus Professor of Military History at the University of Leeds, UK.