 |
The House Of Stuart |
|
James II and VII
1685-1701
Early Life
The future James II was born at midnight on 14 October, 1633 at St. James' Palace, London. The second surviving son of King Charles I and Henrietta Maria of France. As the
monarch's second son, he was created Duke of York in accordance with
established tradition.
James had fought in the Civil War along with his brother Charles in support of the Royalist cause and had at one point escaped from the clutches of parliament by resorting to dressing as a woman. He shared his brother's long years of exile after their father's execution.
The Duke of Buckingham coined a phrase that summed up the inherrent differences in the two brothers, Charles he said, "could see things if he would" while James on the other hand, "would see things if he could." Like his brother, James had a reputation as a womanizer, but Charles thought little of his brother's tastes and once joked that he believed James had his mistresses given to him by his priests for a penance.
A tall man like his elder brother, Charles II, James was described as being 'two yards high', though much fairer complexioned and less foreign looking, he had the fairer colouring of his Danish grandmother. Obstinate and inflexible, James II was not a man to compromise, he completely lacked his brothers endearing sense of humour. Charles II, who knew him well, predicted that after his own demise his brother would soon "go on his travels again" and such proved to be the case.
James' Marriages
James' first wife, Anne Hyde, was the daughter of Charles II's advisor,
Edward Hyde, Earl of Clarendon and a Lady-in-Waiting to his sister, Mary,
Princess of Orange. The Duke of York was forced into the marriage after
Anne was found to be pregnant with his child. He attempted to extricate himself by casting doubts on Anne's chastity but Charles II prevailed on him to enter into the marriage, much to the chagrin of his mother, Henrietta Maria, who felt her son had married far beneath him.
Despite such an inauspicious start, it proved to be a happy marriage, although James continued to stray, Anne turned a blind eye to his affairs. She later converted to Catholicism and encouraged her husband to do the same, it was not a popular move. Anne Hyde bore her husband many children, but of these only two daughters survived, Mary and Anne. Charles II insisted that the couple's children, as heirs to the throne, should be brought up in the Anglican faith. Mary was married to her Protestant Dutch cousin, William of Orange.
James proffessed Catholicism became the subject of mounting unrest, in 1673 Parliament passed the Test Act which prohibited Catholics from holding public office which forced James to surrender his appointment as Lord High Admiral. The hysteria engendered by Titus Oates by his allegations surrounding the Popish Plot led in 1679 to the Exclusion Crisis when vigorous attempts were made to exclude James from the succession to the throne. Charles II resisted all attempts to have his brother disinherited and eventually his wishes for the legitimate succession of his brother were respected.
src="images/stuart/Anne_Hyde_of_York.jpg" alt="Anne Hyde, first wife of James II" width="165" height="239" /> After the death of his first wife, James remarried the beautiful young
Italian Catholic, Mary Beatrice of Modena, in the hope of producing a male heir to
the Stuart throne. Mary Beatrice was the daughter of Alfonso IV d'Este, Duke of Modena and Laura Martinozzi, the niece of Cardinal Mazarin. The marriage was percieved as a threat by the Protestant element, James's new
wife was known to be a bigoted Catholic and was even rumoured to be the daughter of the Pope.
Reign
On the death of his brother Charles II in 1685, King James II and VII ascended the throne at fifty one years old. Opposition to his rule was widespread, and was lead in the early stages by his main rival, Charles II's unruly and unprincipled illegitimate son, James, Duke of Monmouth. Monmouth claimed that his father had actually undergone a marriage ceremony with his mother, Lucy Walter, which Charles, in his own lifetime, had actually denied.
Monmouth's Rebellion
Monmouth landed in the West Country, but
the majority of the gentry did not rise in his support as he
had expected they would. James II set out with an army to meet the rebels
and as Monmouth advanced toward Bristol the royal army began to close in, at which he lost his nerve and ordered a retreat to Bridgewater.
Monmouth attempted to attack the enemy under cover of darkness, while they were encamped on Sedgemoor. His army were halted over night at a wide ditch which ran across Sedgemoor and first light revealed them to the royalists. Slaughter ensued, Monmouth deserted his followers and fled. He was later captured in the New Forest, hiding in a ditch. He begged his uncle the King for mercy.
The King adamantly refused to receive him and cast aspersions on Monmouth's mother, Lucy Walter, known to have been a promiscuous woman, raising doubts that his brother was ever Monmouth's father, commenting that Lucy died of 'a disease incident to her profession'. Labelling her as little more than a common whore.
Monmouth wrote in desperation to his step-mother, Catherine of Braganza, soliciting her aid. She generously attempted to intercede for his life, but James refused to be swayed. On 15th July Monmouth went to the block. His execution was bungled by the headsman, Jack Ketch, who took five chops to sever his handsome but unruly head. He had to finish off with a knife to completely sever it. He was buried in the Chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula, within the Tower of London.
James' Policies
James proceeded to appoint Catholics to positions of power. He was met with staunch opposition when he arrogantly called Parliament to ask for funds to strengthen the army. Opposition to his wishes always infuriated him and he characteristically prorogued Parliament. Heedlessly, he appointed more Catholics to commissions in the army. The army was then posted on Hounslow Heath, a constant and threatening reminder to London and to Parliament of James' strength.
He seemed oblivious to the fact that his acceptance was based on the fact that most of his Protestant subjects resigned themselves that James was an ageing man and his daughter and heiress, Mary, was a staunch Protestant who would reverse the changes introduced by her father. When Queen Mary of Modena announced she was pregnant most Protestant Englishmen prayed fervently that it would be a daughter, who would not replace the Princess Mary in the succession.
On 27th April 1688, the King issued an order to the Anglican clergy that his 'Declaration of Indulgence' was to be read aloud from the pulpit of every church in the country for a period of four successive Sundays. Seven Anglican Bishops presented him with a petition, explaining their reasons for disobeying the royal edict. The incensed James, throwing caution to the wind, had them arrested on a charge of seditious libel and sent to the Tower, by which he succeeded in outraging public opinion against himself.
Mary of Modena was delivered of a son, christened James Francis Edward, James II now had an heir, who would be brought up a Catholic and who would continue his policies. The thoroughly disenchanted Protestants were now not prepared to tolerate their Catholic King any longer.