For other uses, see James II disambiguation.

In the division between the king and his former allies, the Anglican Tories, deepened. The Stuart Constitution —, Documents and Commentary , 2nd ed. But unsuccessful rebellions led by the duke of Monmouth in England and the duke of Argyll in Scotland, in the summer of , marked a turning point in his attitude. In the event his optimism was misplaced, for few converted. Would they accept the Declaration of Indulgence? Yet, there was another twist in the tail. Edited by Geoffrey H. William convened a Convention Parliament on 22 January [] to decide how to handle James's flight. During the first three months of , hundreds of those who gave negative replies to these questions were dismissed.

The issue listed are the children of James II who survived into adulthood. Henry FitzJames, 1st Duke of Albemarle. Portrait by Peter Lely. It was alluring enough to compel his followers to give up estates and livelihoods in order to follow him into exile, or onto the battlefields of Killiekrankie and the Boyne. Retrieved 3 January Both before and after marriage he had the reputation of being as great a libertine as his brother. This last act of policy provoked a quarrel between king and Parliament, which was prorogued in November , never to meet again. Sign up here to see what happened On This Day , every day in your inbox! Their first child, Charles, was born less than two months later, but died in infancy, as did five further sons and daughters. Hales affirmed his dispensing power, [96] with eleven out of the twelve judges ruling in the king's favour.

Lord High Admiral of Scotland — Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports — James II was the last British Stuart king in the direct line. The second was the prosecution of the Seven Bishops for seditious libel ; this was viewed as an assault on the Church of England and their acquittal on 30 June destroyed his political authority in England. After being overthrown, James II attempted to regain his throne by invading Ireland and was repulsed in the Battle of the Boyne , still celebrated by Protestants in Northern Ireland. With the assistance of French troops, James landed in Ireland in March He suffered when the king was forced to introduce the Test Act of , removing Catholics from official positions. Germain-en-Laye were rediscovered in and reburied.

This was called the Glorious Revolution in England because no one involved there was killed. Unlike his brother, James II did not dissimulate for the sake of policy. By John Callow You might also be interested in: Happy and Glorious, the revolution of Being a Scottish monarch is not good for your health By royal appointment: Herefordshire's regal connections. Lord High Commissioner to the Parliament of Scotland — Hales affirmed his dispensing power, [96] with eleven out of the twelve judges ruling in the king's favour. Main articles: Monmouth Rebellion and Argyll's Rising. London: Penguin Books. After Louis concluded peace with William in , he ceased to offer much in the way of assistance to James. Monarchy was once again holy, divinely inspired and ordained.

On January 28, , the Parliament of England decided that James' flight was an abdication of the throne and therefore gave William and Mary the legal right to assume power. Chivalric virtues and religious imperatives were no longer the defining qualities for European monarchs. Monarchs of England and Scotland after the Union of the Crowns from Their petition was subsequently published, and James made the mistake of prosecuting its authors for seditious libel. Would they consent to the repeal of the Test Act and the penal laws? James II converted to Roman Catholicism before coming to the throne. Miller, John In William landed in England at Brixham with a large Dutch army, the English army deserted to his side, and James was left with no supporters. He rejoined his mother in France in early Queen Anne.

English monarchs. Anne of Denmark By John Callow You might also be interested in: Happy and Glorious, the revolution of Being a Scottish monarch is not good for your health By royal appointment: Herefordshire's regal connections. This last act of policy provoked a quarrel between king and Parliament, which was prorogued in November , never to meet again. During his service in the Spanish army, James became friendly with two Irish Catholic brothers in the Royalist entourage, Peter and Richard Talbot , and became somewhat estranged from his brother's Anglican advisers. He once said, "If occasion were, I hope God would give me his grace to suffer death for the true Catholic religion as well as banishment. Germain-en-Laye were rediscovered in and reburied. But owing largely to his own tenacious defense of his rights, the exclusionists were defeated. King of England, Scotland and Ireland —

Would they assist candidates who would do so? Historical analysis of James II has been somewhat revised since Whig historians, led by Lord Macaulay , cast James as a cruel absolutist and his reign as "tyranny which approached to insanity". His tragedy was, therefore, rooted not so much in the loss of his power, hereditary rights and influence, but in the enormous human cost that resulted from his immense, misdirected self-belief. When James commanded the Royal Navy during the Second Anglo-Dutch War — he immediately directed the fleet towards the capture of forts off the African coast that would facilitate English involvement in the slave trade indeed English attacks on such forts occupied by the Dutch precipitated the war itself. In , W. What is a king to do, when he no longer has a crown? James's taste in women was often maligned, with Gilbert Burnet famously remarking that James's mistresses must have been "given him by his priests as a penance. London: Longmans. It changed everything; it ushered in a constitutional monarchy and a Bill of Rights, and set in train a series of radical new ideas about individual freedoms, and collective governance, that found their surest expression in the American Declaration of Independence. The activities of his officials, such as the notorious Judge Jeffreys who had been responsible for rounding up Monmouth's supporters in the south-west , added to James's reputation for cruelty and thoughtlessness.

He suffered when the king was forced to introduce the Test Act of , removing Catholics from official positions. Subscribe today. John P. Lord High Commissioner to the Parliament of Scotland — Monarchs of England until According to Turner, James's reaction to the agreement was "The King shall be obeyed, and I would be glad if all his subjects would learn of me to obey him". Unlike his brother, James II did not dissimulate for the sake of policy. Was he an egotistical bigot

Henry IV of France Monarchs of England and Scotland after the Union of the Crowns from Was he an egotistical bigot Anne Hyde m. Prall, at , calls him a "Catholic sympathizer". Like his brother, James sought refuge in France, serving in the French army under Turenne against the Fronde , and later against their Spanish allies. This involved not only trying to Catholicize England The following year, he commanded the defeat of Dutch forces at the Battle of Lowestoft. James continued to reign in Ireland until the Battle of the Boyne on July 1, Ashley, Maurice

Mary, Queen of Scots []. Plumb, J. Thousands of his slaves were branded on the forehead with the letters 'DY'. English monarchs. Prall, at , calls him a "Catholic sympathizer". In the event his optimism was misplaced, for few converted. London: Jonathan Cape. Vacant Title next held by The Duke of Hamilton. He died aged 67 of a brain haemorrhage on 16 September at Saint-Germain-en-Laye.

Soon after becoming king, James faced a rebellion in southern England led by his nephew, the Duke of Monmouth , and another rebellion in Scotland led by Archibald Campbell , the Earl of Argyll. James's Palace , London, England. Ashley, at 89, does not refer to Farmer by name, but only as the King's Catholic nominee. Hilliam, James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick. Alleged daughter. Monarchs of England until Charlotte Maria Stuart - August 16, - October 16, All sources agree that Farmer's bad reputation as a "person of scandalous character" was as much a deterrent to his nomination as his uncertain religious loyalties. Hilliam disputes that his remains were either scattered or lost, stating that when revolutionaries broke into the church, they were amazed at the body's preservation and it was put on public exhibition where miracles were said to have happened.

By the s and s, Maurice Ashley and Stuart Prall began to reconsider James's motives in granting religious toleration, while still taking note of James's autocratic rule. Prior to his accession, James's coat of arms was the royal arms which he later inherited , differenced by a label of three points Ermine. Main article: Exclusion Crisis. Monarchs of England and Scotland after the Union of the Crowns from He was crowned on April 23, , at Westminster Abbey. Callow, John Meanwhile, on June 10, in slightly mysterious circumstances, the queen gave birth to a son. After being overthrown, James II attempted to regain his throne by invading Ireland and was repulsed in the Battle of the Boyne , still celebrated by Protestants in Northern Ireland.

Henry III Buy. Retrieved 24 April Blood Roses Buy. In return for an annual gift to the king of 40 beaver skins, the duke of York and his resident board of governors were given extraordinary discretion…. When Charles I was executed by the rebels in , monarchists proclaimed James's older brother king. During the first three months of , hundreds of those who gave negative replies to these questions were dismissed. Miller, at , says "although he had not declared himself a Catholic, it was believed he was no longer an Anglican". Charles I of England After being overthrown, James II attempted to regain his throne by invading Ireland and was repulsed in the Battle of the Boyne , still celebrated by Protestants in Northern Ireland.

Sign up for our newsletter Enter your email address below to get the latest news and exclusive content from The History Press delivered straight to your inbox. However, it also involved the principles of absolutism and divine right of kings , and his deposition ended a century of political and civil strife by confirming the primacy of Parliament over the Crown. The spark was touched off by James himself, when he reissued his Declaration of Indulgence on April 27, , and on May 4 ordered it to be read in the churches. Hilaire Belloc , a writer and Catholic apologist, broke with this tradition in , casting James as an honourable man and a true advocate for freedom of conscience, and his enemies "men in the small clique of great fortunes He commanded the fleet in the opening campaigns of the Second and Third Dutch wars. James, doubtful of his brother's chances of regaining the throne, considered taking a Spanish offer to be an admiral in their navy. James's time in France had exposed him to the beliefs and ceremonies of the Roman Catholic Church; he and his wife, Anne, became drawn to that faith. Leading members of the English political class invited William of Orange to assume the English throne; after he landed in Brixham on 5 November , James's army deserted, and he went into exile in France on 23 December. Weidenfeld and Nicolson. Anthony, Duke of Vendôme [] 6.

The Dublin King Buy. Any 'absolutist' methods James did not desire to establish Catholicism or absolutism and offered what looked like ironclad guarantees for the…. Married first Henry Waldegrave ; had issue. Some of his citizens did not like his religious ideas, leading a group of them to disobey and fight against him. King of England , Scotland and Ireland — Alleged daughter. Edinburgh: John Donald.

James landed in Ireland on 14 March in an attempt to recover his kingdoms, but despite a simultaneous rising in Scotland , in April a Scottish Convention followed that of England by finding that James had "forfeited" the throne and offered it to William and Mary. Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye , France. The rest of James's body was laid to rest in a triple sarcophagus consisting of two wooden coffins and one of lead at the St Edmund's Chapel in the Church of the English Benedictines in the Rue St. The Royal African Company first ed. William sailed under cover of the general war that had by then broken out in Europe, evaded the English fleet, and landed at Brixham on Tor Bay on November 5 November 15, New Style , Lord High Admiral of England — Charles, Duke of Cambridge. Pincus claims that James's reign must be understood within a context of economic change and European politics, and makes two major assertions about James II. Yale University Press ,

This was not a political office, but his actions and leadership were noteworthy. In , W. Unfortunately for him, the English people viewed Catholicism with great fear and mistrust. The following year, he commanded the defeat of Dutch forces at the Battle of Lowestoft. For other uses, see James II disambiguation. Pincus claims that James's reign must be understood within a context of economic change and European politics, and makes two major assertions about James II. Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley [] 4. James II converted to Roman Catholicism before coming to the throne. Henrietta Maria of France

What is a king to do, when he no longer has a crown? Article Media. Turner, James II of England Biography. Hilliam states that the body was then kept "above ground" until George IV heard about it and ordered the body buried in the parish church of St Germain-en-Laye in As far as Parliament was concerned, only the fifty-eighth in line to the throne — the year-old Electress Sophia of Hanover — appeared fit to wear the crown, once the job description had been changed to exclude Catholics. Sophia of Mecklenburg [] 1. Married George of Denmark 2 April — 28 October in James inherited the thrones of England, Ireland and Scotland from his elder brother Charles II with widespread support in all three countries, largely based on the principles of divine right or birth. Plumb, J.

Scottish and English Royalty. Their petition was subsequently published, and James made the mistake of prosecuting its authors for seditious libel. He "wished that all his subjects could be as convinced as he was that the Catholic church was the one true church. The Irish Review. William of Orange The dissatisfaction with James, coupled with alarm at the birth of a Catholic heir, led to a conspiracy to replace him with his estranged daughter Mary and her husband William of Orange, both dedicated Protestants. With the assistance of French troops, James landed in Ireland in March Sign up here to see what happened On This Day , every day in your inbox! Main article: Williamite War in Ireland. Speck, W. Waller, Maureen

Covenanters , as they did not recognize James or any uncovenanted king as a legitimate ruler, would not petition James for relief from the penal laws. Retrieved 20 June The issue listed are the children of James II who survived into adulthood. Ó Ciardha, Éamonn While the Parliament refused to depose him, they declared that James, having fled to France and dropped the Great Seal into the Thames, had effectively abdicated the throne, and that the throne had thereby become vacant. Lord High Commissioner to the Parliament of Scotland — Dublin: Four Courts. Hilliam states that the body was then kept "above ground" until George IV heard about it and ordered the body buried in the parish church of St Germain-en-Laye in

Views Read Change Change source View history. James resigned all of his offices in rather than take an anti-Catholic oath imposed by the so-called Test Act and thus made his position known publicly. King of England , Scotland and Ireland — Cambridge University Press. Subscribe today. Married firstly, James Annesley, 3rd Earl of Anglesey and had issue. In return for an annual gift to the king of 40 beaver skins, the duke of York and his resident board of governors were given extraordinary discretion…. The fall of James II was dramatic as it was unexpected.

Miller, John Cambridge University Press. London: Longmans. When his brother Charles II concluded an alliance with Spain against France in he reluctantly changed sides, and he commanded the right wing of the Spanish army at the Battle of the Dunes in June In April , James re-issued the Declaration of Indulgence, subsequently ordering Anglican clergy to read it in their churches. Help Learn to edit Community portal Recent changes Upload file. In , while trying to seduce her, James promised he would marry Anne. Lea, see under Duke of York. Their first child, Charles, was born less than two months later, but died in infancy, as did five further sons and daughters. James resigned all of his offices in rather than take an anti-Catholic oath imposed by the so-called Test Act and thus made his position known publicly.

Ancestors of James II of England 8. Ó Ciardha, Éamonn James II , 3rd ed. Exiled and poor, there was little that either Charles or James could do about the wider political situation, and James ultimately travelled to Bruges and along with his younger brother, Henry joined the Spanish army under the Prince of Condé in Flanders, where he was given command as Captain-General of six regiments of British volunteers [18] and fought against his former French comrades at the Battle of the Dunes. Henry IV of France. Despite the lack of popular support for Monmouth, the public's fears remained and were compounded by James's efforts to secure religious tolerance for all minorities, including Catholics, and by his apparent preference for Catholic officials, especially in Ireland. In response, the Parliament passed an Act that stated, "whoever should preach in a conventicle under a roof, or should attend, either as preacher or as a hearer, a conventicle in the open air, should be punished with death and confiscation of property". Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye , France. John Balliol.

Vacant Title last held by The Lord Cottington. Pincus claims that James's reign must be understood within a context of economic change and European politics, and makes two major assertions about James II. However, he never took the Scottish coronation oath. Meanwhile, on June 10, in slightly mysterious circumstances, the queen gave birth to a son. Loss of title Glorious Revolution. The rest of James's body was laid to rest in a triple sarcophagus consisting of two wooden coffins and one of lead at the St Edmund's Chapel in the Church of the English Benedictines in the Rue St. Kenyon, J. After being overthrown, James II attempted to regain his throne by invading Ireland and was repulsed in the Battle of the Boyne , still celebrated by Protestants in Northern Ireland. After his defeat at the Battle of the Boyne in the summer of , he returned to France , living the rest of his life under the protection of King Louis XIV.

In , he became an officer in the French army and saw active service under the Vicomte de Turenne. He instituted a wholesale purge of those in offices under the crown opposed to his plan, appointing new lord-lieutenants of counties and remodelling the corporations governing towns and livery companies. The Stuart Constitution —, Documents and Commentary , 2nd ed. Main articles: Monmouth Rebellion and Argyll's Rising. The Sister Queens Buy. Any 'absolutist' methods James underestimated the appeal of Protestantism in general and the Church of England in particular. Ireland and the Jacobite Cause, —

Joan III of Navarre []. Scottish and English Royalty. This was to be his last taste of active military command until Lord High Commissioner to the Parliament of Scotland — Thank you for your feedback. Loss of title Glorious Revolution. Ancestors of James II of England 8. The King confirmed the earlier death sentence and ordered that it be carried out within three days of receiving the confirmation. He "wished that all his subjects could be as convinced as he was that the Catholic church was the one true church.

Plumb, J. James's exile on the continent exposed him to Roman Catholicism, and he and his first wife eventually converted to that religion. Samuel Pepys recorded in his diary that James "did eye my wife mightily". Later that year, his first wife having died, he gave further offense by marrying a Roman Catholic princess, Mary of Modena. Debatable or disputed rulers are in italics. The Scottish Nation — London: Little, Brown. Attempts had already been made, unsuccessfully, to exclude him from the succession.

Kenyon, J. She was the daughter of Edward Hyde, later Earl of Clarendon. If these were removed, and conversions to Catholicism were encouraged, then many would take place. Views Read Change Change source View history. According to Turner, James's reaction to the agreement was "The King shall be obeyed, and I would be glad if all his subjects would learn of me to obey him". Hidden categories: Pages using infobox royalty with unknown parameters All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from December This last act of policy provoked a quarrel between king and Parliament, which was prorogued in November , never to meet again. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Notice. When his brother Charles II concluded an alliance with Spain against France in he reluctantly changed sides, and he commanded the right wing of the Spanish army at the Battle of the Dunes in June While the Parliament refused to depose him, they declared that James, having fled to France and dropped the Great Seal into the Thames, had effectively abdicated the throne, and that the throne had thereby become vacant.

He dismissed judges who disagreed with him on this matter, as well as the Solicitor General, Heneage Finch. James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick. Henry III Buy. In England, the Earl of Shaftesbury , a former government minister and now a leading opponent of Catholicism, attempted to have James excluded from the line of succession. In , he became an officer in the French army and saw active service under the Vicomte de Turenne. On January 28, , the Parliament of England decided that James' flight was an abdication of the throne and therefore gave William and Mary the legal right to assume power. Download as PDF Printable version. Would they assist candidates who would do so? Soon after becoming king, James faced a rebellion in southern England led by his nephew, the Duke of Monmouth , and another rebellion in Scotland led by Archibald Campbell , the Earl of Argyll. By this author.

Scottish and English Royalty. Email address. Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports — Joan III of Navarre [] 3. Miller, at , says "although he had not declared himself a Catholic, it was believed he was no longer an Anglican". By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Notice. Anne has the distinction of being the last Englishwoman to marry the heir to the English throne before Lady Diana Spencer. Germains thereupon, , in a letter from an English gentleman in France to his friend in London" Somers Tracts , ed. He instituted a wholesale purge of those in offices under the crown opposed to his plan, appointing new lord-lieutenants of counties and remodelling the corporations governing towns and livery companies.