John Poyer, the civil wars in Pembrokeshire and the British revolutions

This is a study of the civil war soldier and notorious turncoat, John Poyer. It traces his origins from a lowly merchant in Pembroke to his rise to become parliament's most prominent supporter in South Wales during the early stages of the Civil War (1642-46). The volume then explores his difficulties with local rivals in the inter-war period before detailing the origins and course of his rebellion in the name of the king against his former parliamentary masters in 1648, a rising which began the so-called 'Second Civil War'. The volume charts the suppression of his revolt and Poyer's trial, conviction and execution by a military tribunal. A final chapter examines the historical and scholarly literature on Poyer and considers the nature of his legacy