John Poyer, the Civil Wars in Pembrokeshire and the British Revolutions

(Paperback)

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This is the first book of the turncoat John Poyer, the man who initiated the Second Civil War through his rebellion in south Wales in 1648. John Poyer, the Civil Wars in Pembrokeshire and the British Revolutions charts Poyers rise from a humble glover in Pembroke to parliaments most significant supporter in Wales during the First Civil War (16426), arguing that Poyer was a more complex and significant individual than most commentators have realized.

Poyers involvement in the poisonous factional politics of the post-war period (16468) 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. John Poyer, the Civil Wars in Pembrokeshire and the British Revolutions also offers a substantial analysis of Poyers posthumous reputation after his execution by firing squad in April 1649.

Reviews

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

Author Bio

Lloyd Bowen is Reader in Early Modern History at Cardiff University.