In 16 momentous years of the 17th century, civil war raged throughout Britain and Ireland. The characteristic features of government and society were swept away in wars, rebellions and revolutions. The monarchy was abolished and the King executed, and Britain and Ireland were united in a republic for the only time in modern history. In this book, Martyn Bennett traces rebellion and conflict in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, and goes on to describe the culmination of the parliamentarian effort in the creation of the Protectorate under Oliver Cromwell in 1653.