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Williamite War
James II was born Protestant, but converted to Catholicism in 1669. His deviant religion was no subject when King James II succeeded his brother King Charles II in 1685, but soon became a hot issue and triggered the Williamite War.
Although fought on Irish soil, the Williamite War was not an Irish war. In fact the Williamite War was an European battle brought to Ireland by King James II.
For the source of the conflict we have to go to Versailles. Despite treaties the Catholic French King Louis XIV reduced religious tolerance to the French Huguenots. He had also reorganised his army and conquered territory, such as the principality of Orange. The Protestant Prince of Orange, William, who was stadhouder (some sort of viceregent) of Holland at that time, led the fierce opposition against King Louis XIV.
William of Orange looked with Argus' eyes at the developments when the Catholic and French ally James II became king of England, Scotland and Ireland. William of Orange could not tolerate a second powerful enemy in Europe.
King James II
Immediately after his coronation in 1685 King James II proclaimed a series of measurements aiming at the emancipation of Catholics, such as the Declaration of Indulgence. This, together with appointing Catholic officers, made him highly unpopular with the Parliament. As a result King James II simply abandoned the Parliament.
Without the ballast of the Parliament King James II replaced Protestants on military and political positions with loyal Catholics.
After the horrors of the Confederate War the royal support was welcomed by the Catholics on Ireland.
William of Orange
At first Mary, the eldest daughter from King James' II marriage with Anne, was the successor to the throne. Because Mary was Protestant and King James II was well in his 50's at that time the Protestants initially decided to swallow and wait for better times. Their hope vanished when the second wife of King James II, Mary of Modena, gave birth to a son and a Catholic royal line was inevitable the Protestants took action.
Seven politicians asked their Protestant Dutch neighbour, William of Orange who was married with King James' II eldest daughter Mary, to take the crown and secure the Protestant line of the royal family.
William of Orange, not only eager to decrease Catholic influences, but also partially British by birth (son of Mary Stuart and grandson of King Charles I, in fact William and his wife were first cousins), accepted the invitation to overthrow his father-in-law King James II (nice family heuh?). An additional reason was perhaps that William of Orange was still pissed because King James II had captured the small Dutch trading post New Amsterdam a few years before and changed its name to New York.
An imposing Dutch fleet landed on 5 November 1688 at Brixham. William of Orange (King William III) and Mary II (Queen Mary) were declared sovereigns of England, Scotland and Ireland in January 1689. King Louis XIV immediately declared war to England and the Netherlands.
Siege of Derry
Meanwhile, in Ireland in December 1688, an army loyal to King James II led by Alexander MacDonnell, the third Earl of Antrim, had settled near Derry on the east bank of the River Foyle. After the Break of Dromore Jacobites under command of King James II advanced through Ulster and joined MacDonnell's army on 18 April 1689. The Siege of Derry, which would last until 29 August 1689, had began. The echo's of the Siege of Derry, which lasted 105 days and was the longest siege in Irish history, can still be heard.
After some hesitation King James II fled to France in February 1689. The following month King James II and an impressive French army, the so-called Jacobites, disembarked near Kinsdale in County Cork. In a serious attempt to regain the British throne James II advanced to the north.
The failed attack on the Jacobite garrison of Carrickfergus by the Council of Protestant Gentlemen, an alliance of the counties Antrim, Armagh, Down and Monaghan led by Lord Mount-Alexander, is considered the first act of war in what is known as the Williamite War, or Jacobite War.
Break of Dromore
From Dublin the Jacobites marched to the north. A decisive battle at Dromore on 14 March 1689 was won by the Jacobites under command of Richard Hamilton. After this Break of Dromore the Jacobites did not met any resistance while advancing northwards and occupying Belfast.
Schomberg's Campaign
At Crom Castle on 28 July 1689, near Enniskillen in County Fermanagh, the Jacobites had to receive their first major defeat of the Williamite War. Their numerical superiority became worthless when their commander, Viscount Mountcashel, gave an unclear order. A chaotic retreat followed and roughly 400 officers were detained and 2500 men died, amongst them several who tried to swim over Upper Lough Erne to safety.
More or less as a result of this Williamite victory and to protect Protestant interests in Ulster in the future the Royal Dragoons of Ireland, better known as Enniskillen Dragoons, was formed. This cavalry regiment is particularly known for their participation in the Battle of the Boyne.
After their defeat at Crom Castle on 28 July 1689 the Jacobite Army was decimated, disorganised and nursing its wounds. From the Williamites perspective the timing could not be better.
On 13 August 1689 the Duke of Schomberg, a senior commander of King William III, came ashore at Ballyholme Bay in County Down with twelve regiments. The few Jacobites were captured and the Schomberg's main concern was the safety of these prisoners.
By marching southwards the Duke of Schomberg pushed the Jacobites, who ravaged the land on their retreat to delay the Williamites, out of Ulster.
Near Dundalk the retreating Jacobites were reinforced with a new army assembled by Tyrconnell and they decided to stand ground. Suddenly the approaching Williamites got caught by a fever which killed approximately 2500 men. In the meantime the French brought reinforcements and supplies to Ireland. The Jacobites delaying tactics paid off.
With the Schomberg Campaign at a dead end King William III brought in the heavy gun, meaning he decided to come to Ireland himself.
It took two battles before the Jacobites were finally defeated. The Battle of the Boyne is probably the most famous due to the annual commemoration marches in Northern Ireland. The Battle of the Boyne was not the battle last of the Williamite War, this honour is granted to the Battle of Aughrim.
The aftermath of the Williamite War, the Treaty of Limerick and the Penal Laws, sealed the fate of the Irish Catholics for centuries to come.
James II fled to France and died in exile in 1701.
King William III still had some battles to fight on mainland Europe after the Williamite War had come to an end in Ireland. Queen Mary died childless in 1694. In 1702 Anne, Mary's sister, succeeded King William III who died after a horse riding accident.
The Aftermath
The end of the Williamite War was also the end of a turbulent and violent episode in Irish history. At first glance one might conclude that Ireland was finally at peace, while in fact the quick succession of the Desmond Rebellions, the Nine Years War, the Reformation, the Cromwell Campaign and eventually the Williamite War, plus the cultural and economical drain as result of the Flight of the Earls and the Flight of the Wild Geese, had paralysed the island. Without leading figures to organise and guide the unrest between the favoured Protestants and discriminated Catholics caused by the Penal Laws a large scale rebellion was not forthcoming.
It was not until the end of the eighteenth century that the Society of United Irishmen was founded. Oddly enough most founders of the United Irishmen were Protestants and primarily supporters of the ideas of Enlightenment and not particularly sympathetic towards the deprived Catholics. Nevertheless many Catholics sympathised with the United Irishmen because they were attracted to the enlightened concepts of separating the ecclesiastically powers from the worldly authorities and a popular representation instead of a privileged sovereign. More or less as a spin-off some stipulations of the Penal Laws were withdrawn as a result of the United Irishmen Rebellion of 1798.
In 1829 the Catholic Association made progress with the emancipation of the Irish Catholics. The praised equality however was merely a theoretical concept without consequences for daily life.