James II (1633 – 1701)

The younger son of Charles I and brother of Charles II, James II of England/ James VII of Scotland was the last Roman Catholic King of Britain, deposed after the Glorious Revolution and replaced by Mary and William of Orange.

When Charles II died without a legitimate heir, James his brother succeeded him as king. But James was deeply unpopular, though a renowned soldier, he was a stubborn and impetuous man and an ardent Roman Catholic.

Fearing a Catholic monarchy a group of Protestant Parliamentarians rallied around the Duke of Monmouth, the first illegitimate son of Charles II. But this rebellion was easily quashed in what is known as the ‘Bloody Assizes’, Monmouth was beheaded, his main followers executed and James was installed as King.

But James quickly managed to upset Parliament, by forcefully promoting his religious agenda. He contravened the Test Act barring Catholics from power, by promoting Catholics to leading positions, who then passed the Declaration of Indulgence granting greater tolerance of Catholics and non-conformists.

When James’ wife Mary of Modena gave birth to a male heir, James Francis Edward, Parliament moved to depose James II in favour of his daughter and her Dutch husband, William of Orange, who were both Protestants. In what is known as the Glorious Revolution 0f 1688, William sailed triumphantly up the Thames, as James II fled to France.

James’ own daughter and son in law, William and Mary were installed as joint Monarchs, but there was still some who supported James and these Jacobites (from the Latin for James – Jacobus), were to rise up on three occasions in an attempt to reinstall the line of James II.

The first of these came in March 1689 when James II landed with a French army in Ireland. But despite gaining huge support, James was defeated at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690 and the Battle of Aughrim a year later, which resulted in the capitulation of Gaelic Ireland and James’ permanent retreat to France.

In 1715, James Francis Edward Stuart, the son of James II landed in Scotland to wrestle the throne from King George I, but after defeat at the Battle of Sherrifmuir, the Old Pretender as he was known, returned to his exile in Rome.

The third and final Jacobite uprising came under the illustrious Bonnie Prince Charlie, the young pretender, grandson of James II, in 1745. This rebellion very nearly succeeded, with Bonnie Prince Charlie’s Jacobite army very nearly reaching London, before being utterly defeated at the Battle of Culloden.

After this the Jacobite cause was lost and along with it went the Stuart Dynasty.