The Rise and Fall of the Stuart Dynasty in Britain

England has more often been faced with the claims of competing kings and queens than with a period of no monarch at all. The major exception to that rule came in the 11 years between 1649 and 1660, when England was a republic. Following the disastrous reign of Charles I and the civil wars that led to his execution, Parliament and the army ruled England. England's republican experiment started out as a work of collaboration and compromise; lords, army officers and members of Parliament (MPs) worked together to find a political settlement that did not include the despised royal House of Stuart. Nonetheless, religious and political division made collective rule unworkable, and ultimately, one man emerged from the chaos to rule the country. He had risen from a humble background to become the leading general of the Civil Wars, and as a man of staunch beliefs and ruthless pragmatism, he controlled England from 1653-1658 under the title of Lord Protector. In essence, he was a king in all but name.



That man was Oliver Cromwell, and in the popular imagination, Cromwell has overshadowed the rest of the leaders of the parliamentary cause and the New Model Army. His name is known by everyone in England, while parliamentary leaders like John Pym, constitutional reformers like John Lambert, and even Sir Thomas Fairfax, who led Parliament's army through most of the wars, are known only to history buffs. But Cromwell has also been one of the most controversial figures in English history ever since. Viewed by some as a despot and others as a champion of liberty, Cromwell's legacy is so diverse that while many Irish accuse him of genocide, others look at him as a social revolutionary.



Cromwell's death would lead to a restoration of the royal line, but an uprising of a completely different nature would soon unfold on English soil - the Glorious Revolution, an intriguing story of a power war exacerbated by ruthless ambition, under-the-table plotting, and the treachery of familial betrayal.



The striking saga of the Glorious Revolution is one that continues to fascinate historians around the world today. Some chroniclers have referred to these events as the "Bloodless Revolution," but other historians say otherwise. The ruthless game of politics that William of Orange and England's King James II played may have been somewhat bloodless in comparison to history's greatest rebellions, but the rebels, soldiers, and other pawns who lost their lives along the way must not be forgotten. The revolution would also pave the path for a series of bloody wars between England and Scotland, the result of which has left quite a legacy of its own.



Furthermore, it's important to remember that James did try to return to England, and there would be two more years of war before James II gave up the quest to regain the throne. On July 1, 1690, the famous Battle of the Boyne was fought near the town of Drogheda, about five miles west of Baltray. The combatants were the supporters of King James II and King William III, both claiming to be the lawful sovereigns of England, Scotland, and Ireland. The conflict was part of a broader struggle for the destiny of the British Isles, and though it was not the decisive battle of the war, it is the most famous, the commemoration of which still fans tensions between Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.



In its aftermath, James II would again leave the British Isles, this time for good, but the Stuarts' cause was far from finished, because it would be carried forward for generations by the Jacobites.