Key Dates
Anglo-Norman Invasion (1169-71): Anglo-Norman mercenaries arrived in Ireland at the request of the deposed King of Leinster, Diarmaid mac Murchadha. In October 1171, King Henry II landed with a large army to assert control over both the Anglo-Normans and the Irish. Many Irish kings also submitted to him in the hope he would limit Anglo-Norman expansion in Ireland.
Plantations of Ireland (1550s – 1620s): Attempt by Tudor and Stuart monarchs to subjugate and Anglicise Ireland completely through the plantation of loyal British subjects. It began with the province of Munster and concluded with the plantation of Ulster from 1606.
Cromwellian Invasion and Settlement (1649–52): In response to widespread support for Charles I, troops under Oliver Cromwell are sent to Ireland. Lands belonging to many remaining Irish lords and other Royalist supporters were confiscated and granted to those loyal to Parliament.
Williamite War (1689–91): After being deposed by his daughter Mary and son in law, William of Orange, King James II attempted to regain his throne with Irish support. The Battle of the Boyne in 1690 was a significant defeat for the Jacobite forces under James. The remaining Jacobite forces were decisively defeated at the Battle of Aughrim in 1691.
Acts of Union (1800): The Irish parliament is dissolved, and Ireland became part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland with direct rule from the Westminster Parliament.
The failure of the potato crop due toled to the deaths of between 1 and 1.5 million people. It also resulted in widespread emigration.
