Battle of the Boyne
by HUCHTENBURG, Jan van, Oil on canvas
The Battle of the Boyne was fought in 1690 between two rival claimants of the English, Scottish, and Irish thrones - the Catholic James VII and II and the Protestant William III and II (who, with his wife, Mary II, James’s daughter, had deposed James in 1688) - across the River Boyne near Drogheda on the east coast of Ireland. The battle, won by William, was a turning point in James’s unsuccessful attempt to regain the crown and ultimately helped ensure the continuation of Protestant ascendancy in Ireland.