This 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 parliament's most significant supporter in Wales during the First Civil War (1642-6), arguing that Poyer 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.
Author(s): Lloyd Bowen
Publisher: University of Wales Press
Year: 2020
Language: English
Pages: 320
City: Cardiff
Front Cover
Half-title Page
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Contents
Map
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, 1640–1642
Chapter 3. Allies and Enemies: Poyer and Pembroke during the First Civil War
Chapter 4. The Struggle for Supremacy: Poyer and Post-War Politics, 1646–1647
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
Notes
Bibliography
Index
