The early modern period is often cited as a military revolution. Though some scholars describe an evolutionary rather than a revolutionary process, it is undeniable that European battlefields of the 16th and 17th centuries witnessed major changes in tactics and equipment. The supremacy of cavalry was finally ended by infantry advances. Artillery, siegecraft, and naval warfare also experienced great changes during this period.   1. Landsknecht Pike Squares Bad War by Hans Holbein, 1520. Source: Grafische Sammlung Albertina   Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery and the Landsknechts epitomised it. Modelled on the Swiss mercenaries who dominated European battlefields at the turn of the 16th century, they fought in similar blocks of pikemen and halberdiers. The main body was a pike square supplemented by halberdiers and Doppelsoldners. The latter were volunteers who took positions of extra risk but received double pay as a result. They could be armed with an arquebus or crossbow but the most popular depiction is of them carrying the zweihander, the distinctive double-handed sword that is still popular in games like Warhammer.   The Landsknecht were easily recognisable by their distinctive multicolored dress, the result of soldiers repairing their clothing with whatever material was at hand. Later it became a way to display wealth and experience, with a variety of color and material indicating a particularly well-off or well-travelled Landsknecht. In addition to their primary weapon, most Landsknechts also carried a katzbalger, a shortsword that became one of their signatures.   Unlike the Swiss, their discipline left much to be desired. Commonly employed by the Holy Roman Empire, Landknechts were famous for going on the rampage after taking a city, notoriously sacking Rome in 1527. They were viewed as dangerous, unpredictable, and mutinous if unpaid. They still remained a core component of Central European armies despite this mixed reputation. Their status was also threatened by units such as the Spanish tercios. Although Landsknechts were much cheaper to raise, train, and maintain than the expensive Spanish infantry, the role of the mercenary declined as states increasingly looked towards making a professional standing army.   2. Spanish Tercios: Pike and Shot Tactics Spanish Tercio Formation at the 1600 Battle of Nieuwpoort. Source: Atlas van Loon   The Spanish tercios were the most famous infantry in the 16th/17th centuries. Nicknamed the Invincibles or the Immortals, they were feared across Europe for their iron discipline. Spanish infantry were seen as the gold standard and rival powers did their best to emulate their training and tactics.   The tercios were the epitome of pike and shot tactics, relying on a cohort of pikemen and musketeers working together. The musketeers provided the offensive capability for the formation while the pikemen protected them from cavalry and infantry attacks. Early iterations also featured swordsmen who could be used to break up enemy pike formations. It was difficult to manoeuvre and an easy target for enemy artillery. The 17th century saw Spanish formations engaging smaller, agile enemy units that focused on firepower over sheer mass.   The tercios’ reputation for invincibility was finally shattered at the Battle of Rocroi against France in 1643, but even there while the Spanish lost the battle, the tercios withstood hours of artillery bombardment and attacks by infantry and cavalry. The tercios were also feared for their dangerous actions when mutinying. Unpaid tercios in Flanders were notorious for their rampages after capturing cities, sometimes taking days before officers could restore order. They became something of an international force as Spain found itself embroiled in larger conflicts, forced to recruit from everywhere to keep units up to strength. The officers and core of the tercios remained Spanish but in Flanders they recruited Italians, Germans, Irish, Scotsmen, Walloons, and Flemings.   3. Military Reforms and Professionalization A Soldier Loading His Caliver by Jacob de Gheyn, 1607. Source: The Morgan Library and Museum   The increasing scale of warfare in early modern Europe contributed to a resulting surge in professionalism. Military reforms were instituted that slowly broke the supremacy of the tercio just as pikes had reduced the prestige of cavalry. Military theorists scoured ancient manuals for inspiration to defeat major powers such as Habsburg Spain or the Ottoman Empire.   Many of the initial reforms drew on ancient Macedonian and Roman techniques. Close order drill (still a cornerstone of basic military training) was instituted, enabling soldiers to act in unison, enabling increasingly complicated formations and maneuvers on the battlefield. It also broke down basic military movements such as loading a musket or hefting a pike into a series of small imitable movements, a method of instruction still used by armies today. Soldiers became specialists in their chosen weapon, be that a pike or musket.   Another ancient drill that experienced a resurgence was that of the countermarch. Initially used by the Romans for slingers, peltasts, or archers, the same technique could be applied to troops using muskets or arquebuses. The front rank would fire before turning and marching down the gaps in the files to the rear of the formation. There they could reload while the next rank presented their weapons. This was mimicked by horsemen in techniques such as the caracole where the front rank would discharge their firearms before galloping to the rear to reload, allowing the next rank to push forward and fire. Professionally trained troops had a much greater advantage over hastily raised levies or militias.   4. Winged Hussars and Hakkapeliitta: Shock and Awe Hussar by Michał Kuleša, 19th century. Source: Lithuanian Museum of Art   Two distinct types of cavalry further east were the Polish winged hussars and the Finnish Hakkapelitta. The winged or Polish hussars were a distinctive type of lancer known for their elaborate wings worn on the back of their armor. Unlike hussars in other countries, used mostly as light cavalry and unarmored, Polish hussars served as heavy cavalry, used as shock troops to shatter enemy formations.   Polish hussars fought in nearly every battle of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth from the mid-1500s to the early 1700s. They are most well known for their participation in the Siege of Vienna in 1683 where they formed part of the largest cavalry charge in history. Led by King Jan III Sobieski, the Polish hussars and thousands of allied cavalry struck the decisive blow to break the Ottoman siege of the Austrian capital.   A different sort of cavalry was the Finnish hakkapeliitta. The Finns fought as part of the Swedish Army. They employed similar tactics to the hobelar or reiver cavalry that had been used in Britain and Ireland until the 1600s. The hakkapeliitta were a versatile type of light cavalry that fulfilled all the duties of skirmishing, raiding, and reconnaissance that light cavalry were tasked with. They were also useful in battle, famed for their speed and aggressiveness. Their name is derived from their battle cry, hakkaa päälle, Finnish for “cut them down!”   The hakkapeliitta fought with the Swedish Army in Germany, Estonia, Livonia, Poland, Bohemia. During the Thirty Years War, they announced themselves on the central European stage when King Gustavus Adolphus led them to a crushing victory over the Imperial Army at the Battle of Breitenfeld in 1631.   5. Black Riders and Dragoons: Firearm Cavalry Pappenheim Cuirassiers by Hendrik Jacobus Vinkhuijzen, 1632. Source: New York Public Library   The most common type of cavalry found in central Europe were Black Riders (Reiters). In some ways a precursor to the dragoon, they marked the transition of cavalry from melee weapons to firearms. Reiters were armored but did not wear a full suit of armor like a knight. They carried swords but the main weapon was the pistol. The aforementioned caracole was their favored tactic, continually harassing infantry with volleys of pistol fire until (according to theory) the enemy formation disintegrated. The Dutch commander Maurice of Nassau aptly demonstrated their potential when he defeated Spanish infantry and cavalry with a mostly cavalry force at Turnhout in 1597.   While the name reiter shows a predominantly Germanic origin, many reiters served as mercenaries in foreign armies, thus exporting the term to different languages. A more international version of firearm cavalry were dragoons. Dragoons were a middle ground between cavalry and infantry. They moved on horseback but dismounted to fight. Cheaper to raise than cavalry, they were jacks of all trades, used as both infantry and cavalry depending on the situation.   This mixed origin made dragoons a flexible type of soldier but inferior to true cavalry in a melee due to their smaller horses and equipment. Against numerically superior infantry they could always retreat. Dragoons struggled for decades to raise their social status. In the Swedish army they were referred to as laborers on horseback, but by the late 1700s most dragoon regiments had become indistinguishable from that of other cavalry units.   6. Firepower Over Manpower Battle of Vienna by Frans Geffels, 1690. Source: Wien Museum   In the 17th century, reformers such as Maurice of Nassau in the Netherlands and Gustavus Adolphus in Sweden made their own modifications to the Spanish tercio which was still seen as the infantry gold standard. Both were from smaller nations that could not rely on large reserves of manpower like France, Spain, or Russia. Maurice emphasised broader narrower formations that brought more firepower to bear on a target, reducing ranks of musketeers from ten deep to six. He also utilized smaller formations than the Spanish. His theories proved effective when he defeated a Spanish army in the field at Nieuwpoort in 1600, a rare accomplishment at the time.   Gustavus Adolphus pioneered his own aggressive tactics. Like Maurice, he reduced his musketeer ranks, prioritising the shock of a mass salvo. Musketeers would pack together so three ranks could fire at once before the enemy were charged. Swedish doctrine also emphasized the shock effect of cavalry. Unlike rivals who would retreat to reload, Swedish cavalry would charge in tight packed formations, firing their pistols close in before crashing into the enemy. Tactics like these enabled the outnumbered Swedes to defeat larger armies and make up for their lack of numbers.   Other countries had their own innovations. Further east, Russian armies would use improvised fortifications to make a moving fort while other eastern armies in Europe prioritized cavalry. The terrain also dictated the tactics and style of fighting. Armor remained popular in eastern Europe because of the Tatars and Ottomans as they still used bows alongside firearms. The military revolution continued throughout the 1600s with innovations such as the bayonet, which enabled infantrymen to use their firearms as an improvised pike in melee combat, further enhancing their superiority over cavalry.

  Princess Alexandra led a privileged childhood in the German Empire, close to her cousins in the British royal family. Her charmed upbringing led to a teenage romance with the future tsar of Russia, Nicholas Romanov. She became the empress of the Russian Empire when her husband rose to power in 1894, but she would be the last. Their relationship was a loving one blessed with children. However, despite this good fortune, Alexandra would unintentionally play a role in the disintegration of the Russian monarchy and the devastation of her entire family.   Alix of Hesse’s Early Life Young Alix. Source: Royal Collection Trust / Wikimedia Commons   Victoria Alix Helena Louise Beatrice, known properly as Alexandra Feodorovna and as Alix or “Sunny” to her family and friends, was born June 6, 1872. She was born into her father’s Grand Duchy of Hesse, located in Darmstadt in the German Empire. Alix was the sixth child of her parents, Grand Duke Louis IV and Princess Alice, the daughter of famed British Queen Victoria.   Unfortunately, though she led a privileged childhood, it was also one of sadness. Her mother, Princess Alice, died when Alix was only six years old. Still, Alix remained close to her mother’s family, spending much of her childhood in the company of her cousins in England. She was a favorite child of her grandmother, the queen. Like many nobles, Alix was educated at home, then later attended both Oxford and Heidelberg University to study philosophy, receiving a doctorate at the latter.   Alix and her siblings mourned the death of their father together in 1892. Source: Carl Backofen / Wikipedia   Alix frequently traveled the European continent with her father and relatives, visiting many of the European royal courts that were interconnected by family and marriage at the time. One of these courts was that of the Russian Empire.   At age 12, Alix visited St. Petersburg for a six-week holiday. This visit celebrated the marriage of her older sister Ella (formally Elisabeth), to Grand Duke Serge, brother of the Russian Tsar Alexander III. It was on this trip that Alix first caught the eye of Alexander’s son, Nicholas II, who was the tsarevitch, or heir to the throne.   Nicholas, known fondly as Nicky, nursed his crush for a number of years, writing in his diary in 1892 that he dreamed of marrying Alix one day (Massie, 1995, p. 27). However, his anti-German father preferred his son find a wife elsewhere. Nicholas dated a few nobles and even a ballet dancer, but his heart remained set on Alix (Massie, 1995, p. 20).   The tsarevich’s parents eventually consented to the marriage, and the engagement became official on April 8, 1894. After some hesitation, Alix converted to Russian Orthodoxy, as required by the Russian monarchy. Alexander III passed away on November 1st, 1894, bringing his son into the role of tsar. As Nicky ascended to the throne, he finalized his marriage to Alix on November 26. The two settled into their recently developed roles, not only as newlyweds but as the emperor and empress of the Russian Empire.   A Happy Marriage Alix in 1908. Source: Boasson & Eggler / Wikimedia Commons   A rare situation among royals of the time, Nicholas and Alexandra had married for love and continually proved their devotion to one another, often preserved in letters. They decided to make their home at Tsarskoe Selo, a smaller home than the traditional home of the Russian royals, the Winter Palace. Still, it was a monumental home, grand and with a full staff selected by Nicholas’ mother, Marie, the dowager empress.   While Nicholas went right to work leading the country, Alix seized every opportunity to spend time with and aid her busy husband. The pair’s coronation didn’t take place until May 14, 1896, but it was a spectacular event. Her dress and jewels were exquisite and solemn. The ceremony took five hours, thus sealing Alix to Russia forever.   However, in Alix’s eyes, the event was marred by what was later known as the Khodynka Tragedy. Gathering to receive commemorative gifts, a tradition of the celebrated event, over half a million people gathered after the coronation. Rumors began to swirl that the gift items were limited in number, and people began to push toward where they would be given out. In the crush, thousands were killed. Hearing about the disaster, the royal couple visited victims in the hospital and distributed reparations to the families of those killed. Those close to the empress said the tragedy “rent the empress’ heart.”   The daughters of Alix and Nicholas, in a photograph sent to Alix’s aunt in 1914. Source: Royal Collection Trust   In 1895, the couple welcomed their first daughter. Though many had hoped for a son to carry on the royal line, the new parents were beyond pleased with baby Olga. However, three more daughters followed, and concern rose about the possibility of an heir. Still, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia, and Olga were loved and nurtured by both parents. Known collectively by their nickname OTMA, the girls had unique personalities but were all fun-loving and family-oriented.   In 1904, fears were put to rest when Alix gave birth to a baby boy. Alexei would take on the role his father had once held, that of tsarevitch. However, not long after he was born, disaster struck Alix and Nicky’s marriage once again. They realized that their son had hemophilia.   A blood clot, something that is hard for hemophilia patients to form naturally. Source: National Institutes of Health   It is rumored that Nicholas’ parents had suspected Alix of being a hemophilia carrier, and that was part of the reason they did not want her to marry their son. Hemophilia was a royal curse of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Though it was not well understood or treated at the time, doctors did know that the affliction was carried somehow by parents and resulted in often uncontrollable bleeding. In addition to the risk of excessive bleeding, hemophilia patients face risks from blood pooling in the joints or seizures from blood applying pressure to the nervous system.   This inherited blood disorder generally only affects male children but is carried by mothers. Alexei was forced by his parents to be exceptionally cautious, missing out on many childhood activities such as sports and riding in an effort to protect his life (Massie, 1995, p. 141). Even with all of these precautions, Alexei suffered from a painful childhood, much of which was spent in bed recuperating.   As she watched her son suffer, Alix became more withdrawn and was often depressed. She worried for her son’s future and agonized alongside him. She often avoided public appearances. Her withdrawal made her seem disengaged and unappealing to the masses. This, along with her German heritage, made many in the general public suspicious of her and her role in the government. This would become even truer as Alix welcomed a new friend into her life and into the palace in hopes that he would help her son.   Rasputin Weaves His Web Alix, Nicky, and their children in 1913. Source: Library of Congress   Alexandra was introduced to Grigory Rasputin, who had a reputation as a mystic and a monk, by a friend. Rasputin shocked doctors and the royal family when his presence and rituals seemed to heal the tsarevitch and stop his bleeding. Desperate to help her son, Alix gave Rasputin unprecedented access to the palace and her family.   While he was popular among nobles for a while, it soon became evident to some that Rasputin was simply after power and that his mysticism was fake. As his popularity waned, there was worry that Rasputin held undue influence over the royal couple and was perhaps swaying some of Nicholas’ decisions as tsar. Rumors even swirled that Rasputin and Alix were having an affair. In 1916, Rasputin was assassinated by a cadre of nobles, and his hold over Alix was brought to an abrupt halt.   Final Days Alix spent many hours nursing the sick and volunteering. She is pictured on the right in this photo by an unknown photographer. Source: International Encyclopedia of the First World War   As his years in power continued, Nicholas struggled in many respects in his royal role. He was blamed for lost battles, food shortages, and inflation in the economy. As the people became more restless, rumors of revolution spread. As he lost the support of his military, Nicholas decided to abdicate.   Nicholas, Alix, and their children were immediately imprisoned. Despite their arrests, the family remained fairly comfortable, held at various estates around the countryside. Within months, the Bolshevik political party took power from the interim government that had stepped in after Nicholas’ abdication. During this time, Alix continued to focus on her children, particularly Alexei, secreting royal jewels and other valuables that she kept sewn into her clothing.   At the same time as the emperor and empress, other Romanov family members were kept under house arrest in different locations. Pictured here in 1918 are some of Nicky’s relatives, including his mother, seated in the center of the photo. Source: Royal Digest Quarterly / Wikimedia Commons   On July 17, 1918, Alix and her entire family were asked to report to the basement of the home in which they were currently held in Ekaterinburg. They were told that they would be preparing for another move. However, instead, the entire family was assassinated by Bolshevik revolutionaries.   They were initially shot, but the jewels that Alix and her daughters had sewn into their clothes deterred bullets, and they were bludgeoned and bayoneted to their final demise. The murder of the former royals was kept quiet and was not publicly acknowledged by the Soviet Union until 1989.   Alix pictured in 1894. Source: Royal Collection/National Portrait Gallery / Wikipedia   Despite a privileged upbringing, Alix of Hesse suffered many tragedies throughout her lifetime. From the loss of her mother as a child to supporting a sickly son, to battling rumors and eventually succumbing to a vicious murder, Alix remained steadfast and loyal to her family.   Further Reading:   Massie, R.K. (1995). Nicholas and Alexandra: The Story of the Love That Ended an Empire. New York: Ballantine Books.

  The Flight of the Earls took place on September 4, 1607 when three prominent Gaelic noble families,those of Hugh O’Neill, Rory O’Donnell, and the Maguire clan, fled Ireland to escape feared arrest and seek Spanish assistance for resumption of hostilities against the British Crown. It is seen as the swansong for the Gaelic nobility in Ireland as it paved the way for the Plantation of Ulster.   Elizabeth’s Irish Wars English army on the march in The Image of Irelande by John Derrick, 1581. Source: Edinburgh University Library.   The 1500s were a time of great flux in Ireland. Although nominally under English rule, only a small area around Dublin known as the Pale was directly administered by the Crown. The remainder of the island was practically autonomous, answering to either the descendants of Anglo-Norman lords or native Gaelic chieftains. The next century was to see a great struggle between these semi-independent chieftains with the last of the old Gaelic strongholds finally being conquered in the early 1600s.   The Norman lords, sometimes referred to as the Old English, were first to be defeated as powerful figures like Silken Thomas or the Earls of Desmond failed in their struggle to preserve their autonomy against the Crown. The struggle with the Gaelic lords took much longer despite them rarely presenting a united front, and at certain points in the 1590s almost the entire island was in a state of war with English control limited to Dublin and isolated towns and forts.   The war devastated the island and left no province untouched. With the native population temporarily subdued, the next stage of control could begin. Plantation as a Crown policy had been in force since the early 1500s. The aim was to settle Ireland with a loyal population that would either drive out or “civilize” the native Irish to make them speak English and observe British laws rather than their local Gaelic chiefs. Vast land grants were given to settlers, servitors, and loyal Irish at the expense of those who had fought against the Crown.   Controlling the North Gaelic chiefs feasting in The Image of Irelande by John Derrick, 1581. Source: Edinburgh University Library   The 16th century witnessed the strengthening of English power in Ireland as the Crown attempted to subjugate the independent lords of the Gaelic nobility, in a process reminiscent of Scottish policy in the Highlands. These conflicts had culminated in the Nine Years War where the power of the Gaelic lords was finally broken. Those left had been granted a negotiated peace but they found their power much reduced as they were forced to accept English titles and law instead of the traditional Gaelic or Brehon law they had followed.   Traditional Gaelic society in Ireland (as well as the Highlands and Western Isles of Scotland) had placed a great amount of power in the hands of local lords. The Tudors had followed a deliberate policy of Surrender and Regrant where a Gaelic lord would surrender his title and lands to the Crown only to be granted the lands back but with an English title, bringing them into the ranks of the English aristocracy and subservient to the English Crown.   In Ulster this policy was used to break the power of the chiefs, though some like Hugh O’Neill did their best to stall it by granting land to family and supporters rather than risk it being taken by British settlers. Land disputes began to arise and O’Neill along with other lords found themselves embroiled in legal challenges. In 1607 he was finally summoned to London to have his case adjudicated by the king. There were also accusations of plotting by Sir Arthur Chichester, the king’s lord deputy in Ireland.   The Flight Ships in a Gale by Willem van de Velde the Younger, 1660. Source: National Gallery of Art, Washington DC   O’Neill set out on a journey to Dublin to sail to Britain but en route met a messenger from The Maguire and Tyrconnell (Rory O’Donnell), the other powerful lords in Ulster. They intended to flee Ireland to Spain and petition King Philip III for aid. O’Neill appears to have made a snap decision to return north and depart Ireland. He gave his own explanation that his remaining would have exposed him to his enemies as he would have been accused of complicity with the exiles and plotting to raise a rebellion while they gathered Spanish troops and supplies.   Rival accounts from then clash on the truth of this. Some say his enemies planned to have him rot in the Tower of London or be executed, while others believe he would have been released once the furor had died down. There is also the possibility that O’Neill had been planning this for years. He had requested a Spanish ship in 1602 before the surrender and again in 1604 said he would wait two years before making an attempt.   The journey had to be made in secret, a French ship took them from Rathmullan, a village in Lough Swilly in Donegal. They took with them their households and other minor Ulster nobility. It is debatable if the Flight was intended to be permanent as several left their wives behind in Ireland. Spain had been their initial destination, but the weather forced them to divert to France where they traveled to the Spanish Netherlands, while others continued further south to Italy.   Exiled in Europe The Flight of the Earls by Henry Warren. Source: Meisterdrucke   The earls were initially welcomed by the Spanish but political changes were to dash their hopes. Spain and England had ended their long war in 1604 with a return to the status quo. Spain had agreed to halt any further military interventions in Ireland in exchange for a reciprocal agreement by England to stop sending military support to the Dutch Republic. Privateering by English ships would also stop, a welcome respite for the Spanish Habsburgs who relied on the wealth being transported across the Atlantic from their conquered colonies in the New World.   Although Spain was still sympathetic to the plight of Catholics in Britain and Ireland (just as England had been to Protestants in the Low Countries or France), it was unlikely to restart a costly war solely on religious principles. The conflict had been a huge financial burden for both states. It had been in the interests of Spain to aid the Irish in the 1590s when open warfare prevailed but their defeated allies had little to offer in 1607.   For most it was a life of exile, with both earls, O’Neill and Tyrconnell, dying in Italy. O’Neill continued to petition the Spanish until near his death, only halting when he was threatened with the loss of his pension. English spies kept a careful watch on him, especially in 1608 when a former Crown loyalist, Cahir O’Doherty, rebelled and sacked Derry. The English Crown briefly attempted a reconciliation in 1614 but O’Neill was to die in exile in Rome in 1616, never seeing Ireland again.   The Impact on Those Left English officials parley with the Irish in The Image of Irelande by John Derrick, 1581. Source: Edinburgh University Library   For the Gaelic Irish, the Flight of the Earls was to have dramatic implications. It left Ulster open to plantation as the lands formerly ruled by the nobles were now deemed forfeited. The earls were seen as traitors and were deprived of their titles. These attainders were not recognized on the continent but it had an immediate effect in Ireland. Their lands were now confiscated and taken by the crown for plantation. Whatever the loss suffered by the nobility, the Plantation of Ulster was to have a dreadful impact on the Gaelic commoners in the province.   The lack of concerted local resistance to the plantations meant that they could proceed with little opposition. Huge swathes of land, nearly four million acres, were now owned by the Crown and the Plantation of Ulster could proceed in earnest. Prior to the Flight and O’Doherty’s rebellion, only a limited effort had been planned but now the scale of the ambition increased.   The Flight of the Earls cost the native population of Ireland dearly. Efforts had been made at plantations in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland but with little success. Land had been promised to those willing to ethnically cleanse the islands north of Ardnamurchan but there had been no takers. Merchant adventurers from Fife attempted plantation on Lewis between 1598 and 1609 but to little avail against the hostility of the local lords. By leaving their native lands, the earls had abandoned their people to a worse fate and changed the history of the north of Ireland forever.   The Flight’s Legacy Flight of the Earls monument. Source: Donegal Public Art   If the lords had stayed, there is a possibility that the effects of the Plantation of Ulster might have been mitigated in a similar manner to that of the failed attempts at plantation in the Rough Bounds and the Outer Hebrides in the face of local hostility. Plantation efforts in Scotland frequently resulted in a shuffling around of Gaelic lords but in Ulster they were to see a massive population transfer and increase in urban settlement. The Flight of the Earls exposed the Gaelic population in Ulster to the plantations, leaving them with little legal protection.   Although the Crown had won the Nine Years War, Ulster and Ireland as a whole still remained a dangerous territory. The English administration could not simply sweep through fire and sword to drive out the native population for fear of another mass uprising. They had to take a more methodical approach and the continued presence of the Gaelic lords made the first few years very quiet in Ulster. The plantation and settlement only began at a large scale after the Flight of the Earls and the confiscation of their titles.   The Flight of the Earls is still commemorated but more so for the actions it would lead to. There has been much Romanticism about the end of the old Gaelic order, but all the nobles who fled had surrendered their titles to the English Crown and been regranted them despite using the Gaelic form with their own followers. Ireland in the 17th century would have many more struggles ahead.

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What comes to mind when you hear the word “repentance”? My guess is that the Old Testament book of Hosea doesn’t top the list. But among the many godly prayers of repentance in Scripture (e.g., Ezra 9:4–15; Dan. 9:3–19; Ps. 51), Hosea 14:1–3 stands as a climactic and potent model of a genuine return to God: Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God, for you have stumbled because of your iniquity. Take with you words and return to the LORD; say to him, “Take away all iniquity; accept what is good, and we will pay with bulls the vows of our lips. Assyria shall not save us; we will not ride on horses; and we will say no more, ‘Our God,’ to the work of our hands. In you the orphan finds mercy.” Unlike the other descriptive prayers in the Old Testament, these verses outline what has been called a “liturgy of repentance” for God’s people. As we read this liturgy, we see at least four realities regarding true repentance to comfort believers with gospel hope. 1. Repentance Is God’s Invitation The book of Hosea isn’t hesitant to expose the people’s sin (1:2; 4:1–3; 7:2). Though replete with announcements of sin and judgment, it concludes with a climactic invitation to return for those who have “stumbled because of [their] iniquity” (14:1). God has no illusions about the condition of his people, yet he graciously welcomes them. Do you see God’s kindness in this call to return? He doesn’t require us to clean ourselves up to merit an invitation. Indeed, the only kind of people who can come to God are those who recognize their sinfulness and hear the voice of their Savior. If you feel burdened and weighed down by your sin today, take comfort. Hosea reminds you that God delights when sinners like us draw near to him. Jesus came to call not the righteous but sinners to dwell with him (Mark 2:17). 2. Repentance Looks to God’s Character This liturgy teaches us that repentant people come to God on his terms. The Old Testament emphasizes the need for the removal of his people’s iniquity (Lev. 16:21–22). More specifically, the appeal for God to “take away [nśʾ] all iniquity” (Hos. 14:2) draws upon God’s very character as revealed in Scripture: “a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving [nśʾ] iniquity and transgression and sin” (Ex. 34:6–7). The only kind of people who can come to God are those who recognize their sinfulness and hear the voice of their Savior. God’s response to the confession further underscores who he is: “I will heal their apostasy; I will love them freely. For my anger will have turned from him” (Hos. 14:4, my trans.). God is the healer and life-giver (Ex. 15:26; Deut. 32:39), he’s sovereignly free (Ps. 115:3), and he can and does transform the internal spiritual state of his restored people (Hos. 2:17, 19–20; Ezek. 36:26–27). Before anything else, repentance is about agreeing with God about who he is, who we are, and how we can be restored to a right relationship with him. 3. Repentance Is Comprehensive and Communal The liturgy demonstrates the comprehensive scope of genuine repentance. In Hosea 14:3, the prophet commands Israel to turn away from every dimension of their former idolatry. They must renounce their external political idolatry (“Assyria shall not save us”; see 5:13; 7:11; 8:9; 12:1), their trust in their own military prowess and security (“We will not ride on horses”; see 8:14; 10:13; Isa. 31:1; Ps. 33:17), and their worship that violates the Creator-creature distinction (“We will say no more, ‘Our God,’ to the work of our hands”; see Hos. 8:4–6; 13:2). By renouncing every former object of misplaced trust, the people acknowledge that apart from their God’s fatherhood, they’d be like orphans without hope. True repentance isn’t satisfied with generalities but names the specific sins in our lives that Christ nailed to the cross. This repentance extends beyond a singular moment of confession. As Martin Luther said in the opening of his Ninety-five Theses, “The entire life of believers [should] be a life of repentance.” Hosea’s liturgy puts flesh on the bones of the prayer Jesus taught us: “Forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us” (Luke 11:4). True repentance isn’t satisfied with generalities but names the specific sins in our lives that Christ nailed to the cross. If we truly repent, it’ll affect our relationships with those around us (1 John 1:7). Sinners rightly reconciled to God can confess their sins to one another in community and be healed (James 5:16). A right relationship produces the kind of humility that seeks peace with our neighbors (Matt. 5:23–24; Rom. 12:18). Repentance unto salvation fosters a life characterized by ongoing repentance, both private and public. 4. Repentance and the Family of God At its heart, the book of Hosea reveals the stunning transformation of God’s household. Those once declared “not [God’s] people” are dramatically renamed “children of the living God” (Hos. 1:10; see 2:23; Rom. 9:25–26). This transformation is realized through repentance. As those made wise for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ (2 Tim. 3:15), all who formerly stumbled over the righteous ways of God are invited to walk in the way of Christ (Hos. 14:9; John 14:6), the messianic King (Hos. 1:11; 3:5; 14:7). And through this divine gift of repentance, those who were spiritual orphans find not just temporary shelter but permanent belonging in the forever family of God (John 14:18).

How can joy be possible—always, right where you are? In this breakout session from TGC’s 2024 Women’s Conference, Ann Voskamp shares how cultivating gratitude is one of the most important ways to prepare for whatever life may hold. Even when we don’t know what’s coming, we can learn to give thanks daily—not because of how we feel but because of who God is. Voskamp offers practical tools to help you recognize grace in the ordinary, live abundantly, and become more present to God in a way that leads to lasting joy.