ABSTRACT
This prologue presents an overview of key concepts covered in the subsequent chapters of this book. This study attempts to weave together the twin narratives of politics and war, which are so often treated separately. It also takes seriously the thoughts of those who were the chief actors in the drama, in the conviction that thought can be an engine for action at least as often as action can be a generator of new thought. Finally, it attempts an assessment of the human and economic costs of these 15 years of warfare. Scotland and Ireland are the bookends of the present work, and they are also at its heart. Their insurgencies against the Stuart monarchy in 1638-40 and 1641-42 mark the opening of our story, while their subjugation by the English republic in 1649-52 and 1650-51 signal its close. Scotland by its rebellion gave the example to Ireland, as the leaders of its insurgency freely acknowledged.
