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 358 General History of Europe of Lords. But Cromwell, the head of the army, was nevertheless the real ruler of England. He was supported by the Independ- ents, but his main strength lay in his skill as an administrator and in the well-organized army of some fifty thousand men which he had at his command. 611. Ireland and Scotland Subdued. Cromwell found him- self confronted by every kind of difficulty. The three kingdoms had fallen apart. The lobles and Catholics in Ireland proclaimed Charles II as king, and an army of Irish Catholics and English royalist Protestants was formed with a view of overthrowing the Commonwealth. Cromwell accordingly set out for Ireland, where town after town surrendered to his army. In 1652, after much cruelty, the island was once more conquered. A large part of it was confiscated for the benefit of the English, and the Catholic landowners were driven into the mountains. In the meantime Charles II, who after his father's execution had taken refuge in France, had in 1650 landed in Scotland, and upon his agreeing to be a Presbyterian king the whole Scotch nation was ready to support him. But Scotland was subdued by Cromwell even more promptly than Ireland had been. So completely was the Scottish army destroyed that Cromwell found no need to draw the sword again in the British Isles. OLIVER CROMWELL This portrait is by Peter Lely and was painted in 1653