Civil War and More Laws
Alexander Hamilton
King Charles I was beheaded by Oliver Cromwell, a Protestant. Cromwell overthrew the Stuart monarchy; in the process, he exiled many Irish to the West Indies. One famous descendant of that group, Alexander Hamilton, became Secretary of Treasury under George Washington. Later, Protestant English leaders, William of Orange and Mary, in 1690 sent troops to crush the Catholics at the Battle of Boyne.
After the Catholics were suppressed, land was confiscated from the defeated group in Ireland. Consequently, losing land meant that the Catholics were unable to make a living themselves. Without a home or occupation, some Irish Catholics were forced to immigrate to America.
The Irish wool trade ended in Scotland, England, and America, but the British wool industry still objected to its existence. In 1699 the British prohibited the Irish from exporting any manufactured wool. Also, in 1717 and 1718, numerous farmers were evicted when they could not pay higher rents to the British landlords.
Because of England's actions, the Irish desired a country where there was plenty of land and self-government. In the first fifty years of 1700, perhaps 200,000 Irish came to America. Fear of losing all the skilled workers led Archbishop Boulter, Lord Primate of All Ireland to write in 1728:
"The whole north is in a ferment as present, and people every day engaging one another to go...and reigns chiefly in the north, which is the seat of out linen manufacture."