Dec 16, 2009

Naming the Names | Historical Context

Ireland and Home Rule
Catholic Ireland had been dominated by Protestant England since the sixteenth century. In the first third of the 1600s, the English sent out one hundred thousand Protestant settlers who were loyal to the British crown. The settlers colonized mostly the northern part of Ireland, and are the ancestors of today’s Protestants who wish to maintain their link with Britain. English dominance of Ireland was secured in 1690, when the Protestant English king, William of Orange, was victorious over the Catholic James II at the Battle of the Boyne. James had been...