The Irish Confederate Wars, also called the Eleven Years' War (derived from the Irish language name Cogadh na hAon-déag mBliana), took place in Ireland between 1641 and 1653. It was the Irish theatre of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms – a series of civil wars in the kingdoms of Ireland, England and Scotland (all ruled by Charles I). The conflict in Ireland essentially pitted the native Irish Catholics against English and Scottish Protestant colonists and their supporters. It was both a religious and ethnic conflict – fought over who would govern Ireland, whether it would be governed from England, which ethnic and religious group would own most of the land and which religion would predominate in the country.
Read more about Irish Confederate Wars: Overview, The Plot – October 1641, The Rebellion – 1641–42, The Confederates' War – 1642–48, The Cromwellian War 1649–1653, The Cost, Appendix: Shifting Allegiances
Famous quotes containing the words irish, confederate and/or wars:
“The Irish are a fair people; they never speak well of one another.”
—Samuel Johnson (1709–1784)
“Figure a man’s only good for one oath at a time. I took mine to the Confederate States of America.”
—Frank S. Nugent (1908–1965)
“Did all the lets and bars appear
To every just or larger end,
Whence should come the trust and cheer?
Youth must its ignorant impulse lend—
Age finds place in the rear.
All wars are boyish, and are fought by boys,
The champions and enthusiasts of the state:”
—Herman Melville (1819–1891)