The Williamite Wars in Ireland, 1688-1691 [Hardcover]

John Childs (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 20, 2007

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 created by the Glorious Revolution. The principal events -- the Siege of Londonderry, the Battles of the Boyne and Aughrim, and the two Sieges and Treaty of Limerick -- have subsequently become totems around which opposing constructions of Irish history have been erected. John Childs, one of the foremost authorities on warfare in Early Modern Britain and Europe, cuts through myth and the accumulations of three centuries to present a balanced, detailed narrative and chronology of the campaigns. He 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.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"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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"There is much to commend in Child's work...a lively writing style with occasional flashes of humor and a high-spirited gleeful delight in the trivial. The general reader and the military historian can dip into this book with profit."

The Historian, 2010

"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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"There is much to commend in Child’s work…a lively writing style with occasional flashes of humor and a high-spirited gleeful delight in the trivial. The general reader and the military historian can dip into this book with profit."

The Historian, 2010

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

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

Product Details

• Hardcover: 440 pages
• Publisher: Hambledon Continuum (August 20, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1852855738
• ISBN-13: 978-1852855734
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.4 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,233,659 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars A detailed account marred by a dense text and poor maps, February 22, 2010

By 

Mark Klobas (Tempe, AZ, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Williamite Wars in Ireland, 1688-1691 (Hardcover)

The overthrow of King James II during the "Glorious Revolution" of 1688 is one of the key events of not just English history but Irish history as well. As king, James had pursued a policy of "Catholicization" in Ireland, allowing Catholics to serve in the army and the government, which fueled anxieties among the Protestant population. When news reached them of the dramatic events in England, the Protestants began defying the Catholic authorities, who responded to what soon became an uprising against Catholic rule. The result was three of the bloodiest and most destructive years in Irish history, as the island served as the battlefield on which broader struggles were waged. This war is the subject of John Childs's book, which details the campaigns from the initial unrest to the conclusion of the conflict.

Childs traces the success of the rebellion to the two-week period in 1688 when Derry was without a garrison, arguing that had the town been continuously occupied and the Protestants there suppressed the rebellion could not have prospered. Yet even with Derry the Protestants faced a difficult first year, as the more numerous Catholic forces gradually asserted control throughout the island. By the summer, only Derry and Enniskillen remained as Protestant holdouts, yet the arrival of forces under the command of Marshal Schomberg managed to secure most of Ulster before the end of the campaigning season. The new year saw an increased commitment of forces against the Catholics, one led by King William III himself. With William's army pressing down from the north, the two sides clashed at the Battle of the Boyne, which broke James's fragile resolve. His flight left his supporters with no other option than an attrition campaign that could buy them time in the hope that William might suffer defeats elsewhere that would salvage the situation for them.

Childs's book is primarily an operational history of the conflict that carefully traces the numerous skirmishes which characterized the "war of posts and ambuscades". This results in a dense text, one that makes it challenging to follow the sequence of events. Making matters worse are the inadequate maps provided, which provide only basic geographic details, rendering them less than helpful in following the various battles and campaigns. Better maps and subheadings within the chapters would have gone far into providing a more accessible history of the war than the one Childs has written, in which the value of his examination of the conflict is offset by its inaccessibility.