History of Alasdair Mac Colla & Oliver Cromwell

Alasdair Mac Colla

Precursor

"Alasdair MacColla - there was once heroism in Scotland. What would he say about the pitiful state of Gaelic today?"This isn't actually THAT important but this Highlanders full name is Sir Alasdair MacColla MacDonald of Colonsay. His English name is Alexander MacDonnel, and he actually died before the end of the Irish Confederate Wars (November 13th, 1647). MacColla was the third son of Col MacGillespie and Mary MacDonald, his father being the main chieftain of the MacDonald clan, who were mostly fragmented due to Clan Campbells conquer of their lands in the early 17th century. MacColla was forced into exile in Ireland with most of his family after the Earl of Argyll (chieftain of the Campbells clan) imprisoned his father and brothers in 1638.

Military History

HWWhen the Irish rebellion started in October of 1641, MacColla enlisted as captain of a regiment in Antrim raised against the Irish resistance. However, in January 1642 he defected to the side of the Catholic rebels. Scottish Covenanter forces from Scotland grabbed the attention of the MacDonnel territories in Antrim, and in June 1642 MacColla ended up badly injured in battle. After recovering, he was appointed commander of a small band of Irish Confederates and led a campaign against the Scottish Covenanters from the years 1644-1647 (http://bcw-project.org/military/english-civil-war/montrose-scotland/),  when he was driven out of Scotland by the Campbells. He rejoined the Irish Confederates till later that year, where he was captured and shot after the battle of Knocknanuss.

Oliver Cromwell

Precursor

After the Irish Confederate War Oliver Cromwell served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland till his death in 1658. He was a strong Puritan and parliamentarian (against the King). 

Military History

Image result for oliver cromwellHis military history starts in 1642 when he raised troops for parliament, and the next year becoming Colonel in the Eastern Association. In 1644 Cromwell is promoted to Lieutenant-General, and also leads in the Battle of Marston Moor and Battle of Newbury. The following year Cromwell becomes Lieutenant-General of the New Model Army and leads the Battle of Naseby. A few years later in 1647 Cromwell is forced to support the Parliamentary army in certain clashes with Parliament. The following year his army crushes a royalist rising in South Wales (Battle of Preston). In 1649, he attends and supports the trial and execution of King Charles I, and proceeds to send his army to conquer Ireland. In 1650 he's put in charge of the army sent to take over Scotland (Battle of Dunbar). In 1651 he's a leader in the Battle of Worcester, and in 1653 he dissolves Parliament and becomes Lord Protector. The following year Cromwell establishes the first Protectorate parliament.

Bibliography

“Alasdair Mac Colla pro-Gaelic Poster.” Sonofskye, sonofskye.wordpress.com/2015/03/07/alasdair-maccolla-and-scotlands-forgotten-gaelic-history/.
“Olivercromwell.org.” Olivercromwellorg, www.olivercromwell.org/wordpress/.
Plant, David. “Alasdair MacColla, D.1647.” Biography of Alasdair MacColla, bcw-project.org/biography/alasdair-maccolla.
“Sir Alasdair MacColla MacDonald, of Colonsay.” Sir Alasdair MacColla MacDonald, of Colonsay b. 1587 d. 13 Nov 1647: MacFarlane Clan & Families Genealogy, www.clanmacfarlanegenealogy.info/genealogy/TNGWebsite/getperson.php?personID=I13616&tree=CC#cite2.

Stevenson, David. “Highland Warrior: Alasdair MacColla and the Civil Wars.” Sonofskye, sonofskye.wordpress.com/2015/03/07/alasdair-maccolla-and-scotlands-forgotten-gaelic-history/.
Williams, Rowan. “Oliver Cromwell, the Man Who Wouldn’t Be King.” Newstatesmen, www.newstatesman.com/culture/books/2020/01/oliver-cromwell-man-who-wouldn-t-be-king.

Activity Log 11/11-11/15

Monday 11/11: Worked on costuming and other extra little things for the 11 Years War film
Tuesday 11/12: Blog post & extra little things
Wednesday 11/13: Working on blog post
Thursday 11/14: Working on blog post
Friday 11/15: Working on pre-production

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