Wars of the Three Kingdoms

The Wars of the Three Kingdoms were an intertwined series of conflicts that took place in Scotland, Ireland, and England between 1639 and 1651 at a time when these countries had come under the personal rule of the same monarch, also called English Civil War. The wars were the outcome of tensions between king and subjects as to whether religion was under the monarch or a direct relationship with God, and to what extent the king's rule was constrained by parliaments. The wars also had an element of national conflict, as Ireland and Scotland rebelled against England's primacy within the Three Kingdoms. The victory of the English Parliament ? ultimately under Oliver Cromwell ? in the wars helped to determine the future of Britain as a constitutional monarchy with power centred on London. The Wars of the Three Kingdoms also parallelled a number of similar revolts at the same time in Europe ? such as the Fronde in France and the rebellions of the Netherlands, Catalonia and Portugal against Spanish rule. Some historians have seen this period as one of General Crisis in Europe, characterised by the rebellion of conservative societies against centralising Absolutist monarchs.

Related Topics:
Scotland - Ireland - England - 1639 - 1651 - Personal rule - English Civil War - Oliver Cromwell - Britain - London - Fronde - France - Netherlands - Catalonia - Portugal - Absolutist

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The Wars included the Bishops' Wars of 1639 and 1640, the Scottish Civil War of 1644?5; the Irish Rebellion of 1641, Confederate Ireland, 1642?9 and the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland in 1649 (collectively the Irish Confederate Wars); and the First, Second and Third English Civil Wars of 1642?6, 1648?9 and 1650?51.

Related Topics:
Bishops' Wars - Scottish Civil War - Irish Rebellion of 1641 - Confederate Ireland - Cromwellian conquest of Ireland - Irish Confederate Wars - First - Second - Third - English Civil Wars

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These linked conflicts were named the Wars of the Three Kingdoms by recent historians aiming to have a unified overview rather than treating some of the conflicts as background to the English Civil War. Some have described them as the British Civil Wars, but this can be misleading as the kingdoms did not become a single political entity until the Act of Union 1800.

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Alternate meanings: Three Kingdoms (disambiguation)

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