Cromwellian conquest of Ireland

Cromwellian conquest of Ireland
Part of the Irish Confederate Wars
Oliver Cromwell, who landed in Ireland in 1649 to re-conquer the country on behalf of the English Parliament. He left in 1650, having taken eastern and southern Ireland, passing his command to Henry Ireton.
Date 15 August 1649 – 27 September 1653 Location Ireland Result Commonwealth of England victory Dissolution of Confederate Ireland Act for the Settlement of Ireland 1652
Belligerents
Irish Catholic Confederation Royalists	Commonwealth of England
Commanders and leaders
James Butler, Marquess of Ormonde (Aug. 1649 – Dec. 1650) Ulick Burke, Earl of Clanricarde (Dec. 1650 – Apr. 1653)	Oliver Cromwell (Aug. 1649 – May 1650) Henry Ireton (May 1650 – Nov. 1651) Charles Fleetwood (Nov. 1651 – Apr. 1653)
Strength
Up to 60,000 incl. guerrilla fighters, but only around 20,000 at any one time	~30,000 New Model Army troops, ~10,000 troops raised in Ireland or based there before campaign
Casualties and losses
Unknown; 15,000–20,000 battlefield casualties ~50,000 deported as indentured labourers[1][2]	8,000 New Model Army soldiers killed, ~7,000 locally raised soldiers killed
200,000–600,000 civilian casualties (from war-related violence, famine or disease)[3]

The Cromwellian conquest of Ireland (1649–1653) was the re-conquest of Ireland by the Commonwealth of England, led by Oliver Cromwell. It forms part of the wider Wars of the Three Kingdoms.

Following the Irish Rebellion of 1641, most of Ireland came under the control of the Irish Catholic Confederation, who engaged in a three sided war with Irish Royalists and Parliamentarians. Following the Execution of Charles I in January 1649, and establishment of the Commonwealth of England, the Confederates allied with their former Royalist opponents. A force of 12,000 men under Cromwell landed in Dublin in August 1649, and by the end of 1650 had defeated the Confederacy, ending the Irish Confederate Wars, although sporadic guerrilla warfare continued until 1653.

The Act for the Settlement of Ireland 1652 barred Catholics from most public offices and confiscated large amounts of their land, which was given to British settlers. These proved a continuing source of grievance, while the conquest itself was brutal, and Cromwell remains a deeply reviled figure in Ireland.^[4] The extent to which he was personally responsible for the atrocities is still debated; some historians suggest his actions were within what were then viewed as accepted rules of war, while others disagree.^[5]

The impact of the war was unquestionably severe, modern estimates suggesting some 15 to 20% of the population became casaulties between 1641 to 1653. Fighting resulted in famine,^[6][7][8][9] which was worsened by an outbreak of bubonic plague. In addition, an estimated 50,000 people were transported to colonies in North America and the West Indies.^[1]