Description
Book SynopsisThis is the first book-length treatment of the ‘turncoat’ John Poyer, the man who initiated the Second Civil War through his rebellion in south Wales in 1648. The volume charts Poyer’s rise from a humble glover in Pembroke to become parliament’s most significant supporter in Wales during the First Civil War (1642–6), and argues that he was a more complex and significant individual than most commentators have realised. Poyer’s involvement in the poisonous factional politics of the post-war period (1646–8) is examined, and newly discovered material demonstrates how his career offers fresh insights into the relationship between national and local politics in the 1640s, the use of print and publicity by provincial interest groups, and the importance of local factionalism in understanding the course of the civil war in south Wales. The volume also offers a substantial analysis of Poyer’s posthumous reputation after his execution by firing squad in April 1649.
Trade Review‘This is a brilliant book, which not only transforms our view of the ‘turncoat’ John Poyer but also provides one of the most vivid, well-informed and sophisticated accounts ever written of the seventeenth-century civil wars in Wales.”
-- Mark Stoyle, University of Southampton
“This exhilarating read challenges previous representations of Poyer and offers a first glimpse of the man on his own terms rather than through the eyes of his enemies. In doing so, the author illuminates the factional politics within the parliamentary cause in superb depth and with great sensitivity to the local context.”
-- Andrew Hopper, University of Leicester
Table of ContentsMaps Abbreviations Acknowledgements Preface Chapter 1: The Setting: John Poyer and Early Stuart Pembrokeshire, c.1606–1640 Chapter 2: The Irish Crisis and the Coming of Civil War, 1640–42 Chapter 3: Allies and Enemies: Poyer and Pembroke during the First Civil War Chapter 4: The Struggle for Supremacy: Poyer and Post-War Politics, 1646–47 Chapter 5: The Road to Rebellion, August 1647–March 1648 Chapter 6: Poyer, Powell and the Prince, March–April 1648 Chapter 7: The Siege of Pembroke, May–July 1648 Chapter 8: Revenge and Revolution: Poyer, Print and Parliamentary Justice, August 1648–April 1649 Chapter 9: Afterlives Appendix: Timeline of the Civil Wars in Pembrokeshire
