English King James II and VII
Compiled by D. A. Sharpe
;
James II and
VII (14 October 16 Ð
16 September 1701) was King
of England and Ireland
as James II and King
of Scotland as James VII,
from 6 February 1685 until he was deposed in the Glorious
Revolution of 1688. He was the last Roman
Catholic monarch of England,
Scotland
and Ireland.
James II is the
8th cousin of Edward Carlton, the husband of Ellen Newton, the stepdaughter
of Danette Abney (born about 1712), who is my 6th great grand uncle
The second surviving
son of Charles I, he ascended the throne upon the death of his
brother, Charles II. Members of Britain's Protestant political elite
increasingly suspected him of being pro-French and pro-Catholic and of having
designs on becoming an absolute monarch. When he produced a Catholic heir, a son
called James Francis Edward, leading nobles called on his
Protestant son-in-law and nephew William
III of Orange to land an invasion army from the Dutch
Republic, which he did in the Glorious Revolution of 1688. James
fled England (and thus was held to have abdicated). He was replaced by his
eldest, Protestant daughter Mary II
and her husband, William III. James made one serious attempt to recover his
crowns from William and Mary when he landed in Ireland in 1689. After the
defeat of the Jacobite forces by the Williamites at the Battle
of the Boyne in July 1690, James returned to France.
He lived out the rest of his life as a pretender
at a court sponsored by his cousin and ally, King Louis
XIV.
James was deposed in 1688, and died
from a cerebral hemorrhage in1701.
"James stood in dark contrast
to his predecessor, Charles: James, although valiant in battle until his later
years, lacked his brother's good nature, and remained a staunch adherent to the
Roman Catholic faith. His accession was greeted with enthusiasm; Charles had leftJames a strong executive office and a loyal
Tory-dominated Parliament.James, however, acted
recklessly attempting to restore royal prerogative and turn England back to the
Catholic faith, costing him the crown.
"Religion and politics were
intertwined throughout James' public life. He openly opposed the Test Act of
1673, which barred all Catholics andDissenters from
holding administrative positions; James relinquished the post of Lord High
Admiral and went abroad. The Whig Parliament of1679 strove to exclude James
from the succession, and failed only because Charles II dissolved Parliament.
Within months of his accession, James had to crush a rebellion of Protestants
who rallied around his nephew James, Duke of Monmouth and son of Charles II.
The Protestants were easily defeated, and James exhibited little toleration:
Monmouth was captured and beheaded. James appointed JudgeJeffries
to preside over the "Bloody Assizes" which executed
,tortured, or sent into slavery the Protestant rebels. James ambitiously
appointed Catholics to high positions although loyal Tory councilors advised
against it. As a result, both Tories and Whigs turned against him.
"Within three years, both the
old nobility and emerging commercial class had been totally alienated by James.
Mary of Modena gave birth to a male heir, James Francis Edward, which
interfered with Parliament's wish that James' Protestant daughter, Mary, would
succeed to the throne upon the death of her father. Protestant members of
Parliament, thoroughly disgusted with James, invited Mary and her husband,
William of Orange, to take the throne. James, haunted by recollections of
Richard II and Henry IV, chose to flee London rather than be captured. James
was captured, but William ensured a successful flight to France for James.
James garnered Irish forces (which were supported by French troops provided by
Louis IX), but was defeated by William's forces. James lived the remainder of
his life in France.
"James' attempts to force
Catholicism on England and regain prerogative doomed his reign. Parliament
emerged supreme: royal lineage was still a major consideration, but
Protestantism became the main factor in choosing a monarch - a decision now
left to Parliament. Bishop Burnet offered a glimpse of James II's character in
History of his Own Time: "He was naturally candid and sincere, and a firm
friend, till affairs and his religion wore out all his first principles and
inclinations."
Source:http://www.britannia.com/history/monarchs/mon50.html
Compiled by:
Dwight Albert (D. A.) Sharpe
805 Derting Road East
Aurora, TX 76078-3712
817-504-6508