James II of England

James II of England
Name	James II
Succession	King of England, Scotland and Ireland
Reign	6 February 1685 – 23 December 1688
Predecessor	Charles II
Successor	William III and Mary II
Full name	James Stuart
House	House of Stuart
Father	Charles I of England
Mother	Henrietta Maria of France
Birth date	14 October 1633
Birth place	St James's Palace, London
Death date	16 September 1701
Death place	Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France
Burial place	Saint-Germain-en-Laye

James II of England was the second surviving son of Charles I of England and Henrietta Maria of France, who reigned as king of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 1685 until his deposition in 1688. His reign, marked by attempts to expand religious toleration for Roman Catholicism and to strengthen royal prerogative, precipitated the Glorious Revolution and ushered in the joint rule of William III of Orange and Mary II. After fleeing to France, he became the focus of Jacobite resistance and spent his remaining years as a claimant supported by Louis XIV of France.

Early life and education

Born at St James's Palace in 1633, he was baptized in the Church of England and titled Duke of York in infancy. His father, Charles I of England, entrusted his upbringing to tutors connected to the Royal Household and the Court of St James's, exposing him to courtiers like George Goring, 1st Earl of Norwich and military figures such as Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron during the English Civil War. During the Interregnum, he lived in exile at courts including The Hague and Saint-Germain-en-Laye, where he encountered diplomats from France and Spain and observed the naval traditions of Admiral Robert Blake and sailors tied to the Royal Navy. His education combined classical instruction, martial training with officers associated with the New Model Army era, and exposure to continental Catholic courts such as that of Louis XIV of France.

Marriage, family, and conversion to Catholicism

He married twice: first to Anne Hyde, daughter of Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon, producing heirs including Mary II of England and Anne, Queen of Great Britain, who later ruled jointly and singly; and second to Mary of Modena, daughter of Alfonso IV d'Este, Duke of Modena, with whom he had a son, James Francis Edward Stuart. His marriages connected him to political networks including the Hyde family and the House of Este, and created dynastic tensions with courtiers such as Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury and George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham. Originally raised Anglican, his conversion to Roman Catholicism—influenced by time at the courts of Louis XIV of France and by advisers like Edward Petre—became a central factor in political conflict with Protestant politicians linked to Parliament of England factions and to clergy aligned with William Laud's legacy.

Political and military career before accession

As Duke of York he served as Lord High Admiral and fought in engagements of the Second Anglo-Dutch War and the Third Anglo-Dutch War, confronting admirals such as Michiel de Ruyter and Cornelis Evertsen the Younger. He oversaw the Royal Navy's administration and was involved with naval reforms associated with figures like Samuel Pepys and shipwrights of the Navy Board. Domestically he held high offices including Lord High Commissioner to the Scottish Parliament and engaged with Scottish magnates such as John Maitland, 1st Duke of Lauderdale and legal authorities like Sir George Mackenzie. Political opponents including John Locke's patrons and Whig leaders—Shaftesbury among them—criticized his advocacy of royal prerogative, aligning with parliamentary debates over the Test Acts and succession. His reputation was shaped by incidents like the Popish Plot atmosphere and by alliances with Catholic officers such as James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde.

Reign as King of England, Scotland, and Ireland

Succeeding Charles II of England in 1685, he faced the Monmouth Rebellion, led by James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, and ordered judicial responses involving judges like Judge Jeffreys and military commanders such as Henry Somerset, 1st Duke of Beaufort. In Ireland he relied on the support of Richard Talbot, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell and pursued policies favoring Catholic officers and landholders, provoking conflicts with Protestant landowners connected to William Sancroft and the Anglican hierarchy. In Scotland he used instruments of royal authority that engaged figures such as Archibald Campbell, 9th Earl of Argyll. His Declaration of Indulgence attempted to suspend the Test Acts and extend liberty to Catholics and dissenters, clashing with Parliamentarians including William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Devonshire and jurists like Sir Matthew Hale. Foreign policy tied him to France and the diplomacy of Louis XIV of France, while antagonists courted the Dutch Republic and William of Orange.

Glorious Revolution and deposition

Growing opposition by leaders of the Whig and Tory factions culminated in an invitation to William III of Orange from English nobles including the Immortal Seven—among them Charles Talbot, 1st Duke of Shrewsbury and Edward Russell, 1st Earl of Orford—to intervene. William landed in England in 1688, precipitating defections by commanders such as John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough and naval officers like Sir Cloudesley Shovell. Parliamentary and ecclesiastical resistance coordinated with legal arguments advanced by scholars influenced by John Locke and pamphleteers associated with The Observator. Facing collapsing support, he attempted to muster loyalists including regiments commanded by Patrick Sarsfield, 1st Earl of Lucan but ultimately fled to France, where Louis XIV of France received him, and Parliament declared the throne vacant, offering it to William and Mary in the Bill of Rights 1689 settlement and related acts by the Convention Parliament.

Exile and claim to the throne (Jacobite activities)

In exile at Saint-Germain-en-Laye, he maintained a court supported by Louis XIV of France and became the focal point for the Jacobite movement, with supporters including French diplomats, Irish exiles such as the Wild Geese regiments, and Scottish Highland clans led by figures like John Graham of Claverhouse, Viscount Dundee earlier in the uprising. His son, James Francis Edward Stuart, was proclaimed by Jacobites in Britain and Ireland, prompting attempts such as the Battle of the Boyne campaign in later years under Williamite War in Ireland dynamics. Diplomatic negotiations involved the Treaty of Limerick and shifting Franco-British relations shaped by wars including the War of the Grand Alliance. James’s court in exile issued proclamations, engaged with agents like Atterbury-linked networks, and coordinated with continental allies, but failed to regain the throne before his death in 1701; his legacy informed the succession disputes resolved under his daughter Anne, Queen of Great Britain and the continuing Jacobite risings culminating in events such as the Jacobite rising of 1715 and Jacobite rising of 1745.

Category:Monarchs of England Category:House of Stuart Category:17th-century English monarchs