22. A desert called peace

This is the chapter where we reach the Third English Civil War. We've seen that though their concerns may have been mainly English, the civil wars were by no means limited to England. They were, indeed, wrapped up in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. So far, I've tended to ignore Ireland a bit, and this episode will put that right. Especially as Cromwell's actions in Ireland are a major element of his career, showing him to be once more a victorious general, but not a particularly humane rules, or even a merciful one.

That being said, there's no need to overstate the horrors associated with his campaign in Ireland. There's certainly been exaggeration down the centuries. But, frankly, the truth of what happened in Ireland during Cromwell's campaign is quite horrific enough anyway.

In a long history marked by terrible moments, Cromwell's campaign in Ireland was one of the bleakest in the relations between Britain and that long-suffering island.

Illustration: Oliver Cromwell by Robert Walker Oil on Canvas, circa 1649
National Portrait Gallery 536
Music: Bach Partita #2c by J Bu licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License