The 17th and 18th centuries saw the military triumph of the English over the Irish Catholics, marked primarily by Cromwell's Irish campaign (164950) and, under William (III) of Orange, the Battle of the Boyne (1690). The native Irish people were brutally suppressed; their lands were confiscated and given to Protestants, and they were subjected to a penal code that deprived them of civil liberties.
Red and white were the colours of the Inca Empire. Red represents the blood shed in the fight for independence. White stands for peace and justice. Effective date: 25 February 1825.