The Battle of Boyne and the end of Catholic Challenge to the Throne of England.

Background

This 1st July is a landmark day in the history of great Britain. It was on 1st July 1690 when a battle was fought between two claimants for the British crown. The battle was between the catholic king James and the Protestant King William. The battle was fought across the river Boyne near the east coast of Ireland. William won the battle and that ultimately ensured the continuation of Protestant ascendancy in Northern Ireland. The battle is important as it was a trendsetter for the history of Northern Ireland for the next 3 centuries.

Antagonists

William III was a protestant. He headed the Dutch royal house of Orange, He married daughter of King James II of Britain, a Catholic by conversion, The stage was thus set for a Catholic –Protestant clash that saw the ascendancy of protestant power in England and north Ireland.
In 1688, William was invited, by members of the royal court to take the throne of England. James realized he was weak and fled to France. There he allied with catholic Louis XIV of France. Louis had dreams of ruling the entire Europe and also England.

Battle
On 14 June 1690 William landed in Ulster and marched south to capture Dublin. James chose to keep his defense close to the river Boyne about 30 miles from Dublin. The battle was fought between the two rivals in a murky atmosphere. Before that William had become a member of the League of Augsburg. These were powers who were opposed to Louis and included Leopold, Austrian emperor, and Pope Alexander VIII.
The battle had surprisingly less causality and out of a total force of 50,000 only about 2000 were marked. William won and James fled to France. In real terms he lost his nerve leaving his troops to fend for them. The battle sealed the fate of any catholic taking over the throne of England. The battle is important as it marked the end of Catholic challenge to the crown of England.