Battle of Reading (1688): Difference between revisions

Revision as of 19:44, 7 November 2005

Revision as of 20:01, 7 November 2005

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''See also [[Battle of Reading (871)]]''

The '''Battle of Reading''' in 1688 was the only substantial military action on mainland Britain during the [[Glorious Revolution]]. It was also known as the '''Battle of Broad Street''', after the main street in Reading where much of the fighting took place, and '''The Reading Fight'''. andIt was celebrated in [[Reading, Berkshire|Reading]], [[Berkshire]], for hundreds of years afterwards.

In November [[1688]] [[William and Mary]] landed at the head of a [[Netherlands|Dutch]] army in attempt to wrest control of the country. After retreating from [[Salisbury]] [[James II of England|James II]]'s main force was stationed on [[Hounslow Heath]] while an advance guard of 600 were placed at Reading to stop the march of the Dutch towards [[London]]. These 600 troops were composed of [[Ireland|Irish]] [[Catholic]]s, who wild rumour asserted were planning to massacre the townsfolk.

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James was already convinced that only Irish troops could be relied on to defend him, but this defeat by an inferior force and the willingness of the people of Reading to support a Dutch invasion further signalled the insecurity of his position. Thus on Tuesday [[December 11]] [[James II of England|James II]] fled London in abortive attempt to escape.

==External link==

*[http://www.berkshirehistory.com/articles/reading_broadst.html Battle of Broad Street at www.berkshirehistory.com]

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