Glorious Revolution- What if...?

[Alliance]

I just finished reading a nice book on King Williams exploits in Ireland, but it got me thinking what would have happened if James army broke Williams Forces in Ireland and that in turn destroyed Williams hopes of gaining the English throne, putting James back in. What would the long term effects been of that for Ireland?

[daithimac]

my expertese in this area is vastly limitied but would that mean a continued catholic England. supposing also that it should remain this way and not revert to protestantism, then no penal laws, a lot less unrest in Ireland. not as much trouble in the north with certainly no orange order and perhaps no rising in 1798 or 1916 and Ireland remaining part of the union. so were proably better off in the long run that charles lost!

[Nimrod]

my expertese in this area is vastly limitied but would that mean a continued catholic England. supposing also that it should remain this way and not revert to protestantism, then no penal laws, a lot less unrest in Ireland. not as much trouble in the north with certainly no orange order and perhaps no rising in 1798 or 1916 and Ireland remaining part of the union. so were proably better off in the long run that charles lost!

Dont know what book you were reading but William III of orange fought against James II not Charles.

A victory by James II would have led to major conflict with the Protestant Parliament, since Cromwells time Monarachs ruled by consent, James claimed to Protestant but was a Catholic sympathiser.

If britain had remained Catholic then Ireland would still be part of Britain.

Repulsive masonic Republicanism would have had no support apart from the Presbyterians who started it.

Remember the Penal laws in ireland also applied to Presyterians.

[FutureTaoiseach]

Actually William was grazed by a bullet at one stage before the battle and the Jacobites briefly thought they had killed him but he got off fairly unscathed. Imho if William have been beaten it would not necessarily have restored James to the throne. Remember that William and Mary (James' daughter) were joint rulers at this time with Mary holding the fort when William was out of the country so I believe in that context that even if William had been defeated or killed in Ireland Britain would have remained under a Protestant monarch namely Mary II, who would then have been succeeded by Anne. I don't think Louis XIV who was backing James with troops and arms would have been prepared to actually attempt an invasion of Britain. His interest in the Jacobite issue imho was simply attempting to tie down William in Ireland as France was at war with the Netherlands at this time. I also think that sooner or later this fact would have caused France to pull out of the war allowing for a British reconquest of this island. Just being realistic here.