Battle of the Boyne
| date | July 1st jul. / July 11, 1690 greg. |
|---|---|
| place | on the River Boyne |
| output | Victory of Wilhelm III. about Jacob II. |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
|
William III. |
Jacob II |
| Troop strength | |
| 35,000 | 21,000 |
1688–1691
Dromore - Derry - Bantry Bay - Newtownbutler - Carrickfergus - Newry - Cavan - Boyne - Athlone (1) - Limerick (1) - Cork - Athlone (2) - Aughrim - Limerick (2)
The Battle of the Boyne on July 1st jul. / July 11, 1690 greg. ( English Battle of the Boyne ; Irish Cath na Bóinne ) is a crucial event in Irish and Northern Irish history . On the River Boyne near Rosnaree , King William III. of England defeat the former King of England James II of the House of Stuart and recapture the fallen island of Ireland.
background
As part of the Glorious Revolution , William of Orange came to the English throne in 1688 and declared his father-in-law, King James II, who had converted to Catholicism, deposed and forced into exile. The expelled king tried with French and Irish support but continued to recapture the English throne. Parliament met in January 1689 and officially installed William of Orange and Maria II in the line of succession. However, it would be wrong to see this as the foundation of a constitutional monarchy in England. Rather, this was based on concessions that were not won in 1689, but only in the course of the next twelve years. With the act of tolerance, the religious question was settled, which finally granted the dissenters certain rights and freedoms to practice their religion, but linked them to both the oath of homage and the oath of supremacy . Catholics, Jews and anti-Trinitarians were still excluded from the regulation. While Wilhelm's accession to the throne was largely positively received in England, he encountered massive resistance from supporters of Jacob (Jacobites) in the Scottish Highlands. The situation in Ireland proved to be even more problematic for Wilhelm, where Jakob landed at Kinsale on March 12, 1689 with a predominantly Dutch-French force . Supported by the Catholic population, he first moved to Dublin and then to the City of Londonderry , a Protestant stronghold, which he besieged unsuccessfully.
The battle
Jacob's army had suffered great losses in the unsuccessful attempt to take Derry and Enniskillen and could only fall back on 7,000 French infantrymen, Irish cavalry as well as newly drafted Irish infantry and dragoons . About 21,000 men were available to him. William of Orange landed with his army on June 14, 1690 at Carrickfergus in Ulster and marched towards the enemy in the direction of Dublin. Around 10,000 soldiers under the command of Marshal von Schomberg had been in Ireland since August of the previous year and have now united with the Orange. Wilhelm thus brought together a clear superiority of 35,000 men against the Jacobites, consisting of the Dutch Blue Guards , two regiments of French Huguenots and Danish , Brandenburg , Finnish and Swiss mercenaries . The Dutch cavalry was under the command of Godert de Ginkell , the French troops were under the militarily little experienced Duke von Lauzun , who also blindly followed the plans of the Earl of Tyrconnel .
At a ford across the Boyne near Oldbridge, the Dutch Blue Guard crossed the river, but was briefly stopped by a counterattack by the Jacobite cavalry. The Wilhelmites were unable to continue their advance until their own cavalry had managed to cross the river and thereby ensure the passage of the infantry. The Deputy Army Leader, Marshal von Schomberg and General George Walker were killed at this stage of the battle. While crossing the River Boyne, which Wilhelm had strongly advised against, the marshal got caught in a group of Irish horsemen and was killed by blows as he was not wearing a cuirass when crossing the river . The angry troops under Meinhard von Schomberg , the son of the fallen man, contributed not a little to the victorious outcome of the battle through their unshakable perseverance. The army of Wilhelm was able to enforce victory on the other bank through its superior strength, but the Jacobite troops carried out a well-ordered retreat that allowed them to continue the war in Ireland for another year.
consequences
Jacob II finally had to withdraw into his French exile. He fled to France from Kinsale . His personal cowardice cost him a large part of his support and earned him the inglorious nickname James the be-shitten in Ireland . The defeated Jacobites evacuated Dublin and withdrew to Limerick , where they holed up behind the River Shannon . Wilhelm's General de Ginkell successfully besieged Athlone between June 20 and 30, 1691 and defeated the last Jacobite contingent under Marquis de St. Ruth on July 12 at the Battle of Aughrim while advancing on Limerick . With the Treaty of Limerick on October 3, 1691, the conquest of Ireland was completed.
Victory on the Boyne will be celebrated on July 12th by the traditional Protestant associations in Northern Ireland with parades, which is still a cause for unrest between Protestant and Catholic groups even today after the conclusion of the peace treaty of 1998 . To this day, hundreds of fires are lit in Belfast on Bonfire Night on the evening before July 11th . For this purpose, conical towers made of wooden pallets are piled up, into which sometimes - contrary to calls and prohibitions - layers of car tires are incorporated, which cause a lot of sooting and acrid smoke when burned.
The following uprisings of the Jacobites , who soon wanted to appoint Jacob's son James Stuart (the Old Pretender) and finally his son Charles (Bonnie Prince Charlie) as heir to the throne, remained a threat to Wilhelm's successors until 1746.
The battle is still remembered every year on July 12th in Northern Ireland by the Protestants during the Orange Marches . This is fueling the Northern Ireland conflict .
literature
- Padraig Lenihan: 1690 Battle of the Boyne , Tempus Publishing, Gloucestershire 2003, ISBN 0-7524-3304-0
- GA Hayes McCoy: Irish Battles , Belfast 1990, ISBN 0-86281-250-X
- Richard Doherty: The Williamite War in Ireland 1688-1691 , Four Courts Press, Dublin 1998, ISBN 1-85182-375-1
- Leopold von Ranke: English History (Volume 6), Duncker and Humblot Publishing House, Leipzig 1866, p. 160 f.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ http://orf.at/stories/2190491/2190471/ The Fire Towers of Belfast, ORF.at of July 11, 2013
- ↑ http://orf.at/stories/2190592/2190593/ Biting smoke over Belfast - fire brigade in constant use, ORF.at from July 12, 2013
- ↑ https://www.tagesspiegel.de/politik/unheilvolle-erinnerungen-warum-die-spannungen-in-nordirland-so-gefaehrlich-sind/24238858.html