Introduction: Ireland's Political Components, 1603-41 -- Ireland before the Rebellion -- Prelude to Parliaments -- The Irish Parliament in 1640 -- The British Dimension: Politics and Religion, 1640-41 -- The Structure of Irish Politics in 1641 -- The Fifth Session and the Policy of Plantation -- The Constitution -- Charles and the New Irish Army -- Plotting the Rebellion -- The Outbreak of the Rebellion -- Reaction to the Rising in Ireland -- The Reaction in Britain to the Rebellion.