James II & VII1 King of England Scotland and Ireland (more...) Reign 6 February 1685 11 December 1688 Coronation 23 April 1685 Predecessor Charles II Successor William III & II and Mary II (William and Mary) Spouse Anne Hyde m. 1660; dec. 1671 Mary of Modena m. 1673; wid. 1701 among others Issue Mary II Anne James FitzJames 1st Duke of Berwick James Prince of Wales Louisa Maria Teresa Stuart House House of Stuart Father Charles I of England Mother Henrietta Maria of France Born 14 October 1633(1633-10-14) (N.S.: 24 October 1633) St. James's Palace London Died 16 September 1701(1701-09-16) (aged 67) (N.S.) Saint-Germain-en-Laye France Burial Saint-Germain-en-Laye Signature Religion Roman Catholicism

James II & VII (14 October 1633 16 September 1701)2 was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII1 from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England Scotland and Ireland. Increasingly members of Britain's political and religious elite opposed him as too pro-French too pro-Catholic and too much of an absolute monarch. When he produced a Catholic heir the tension exploded and leading nobles called on William III of Orange (his son-in-law and nephew) to land an invasion army from the Netherlands. James fled England (and thus held to have abdicated) in the Glorious Revolution of 1688.3 He was replaced by William of Orange who became king as William III ruling jointly with his wife (James's daughter) Mary II. Thus William and Mary both Protestants became joint rulers in 1689. James made one serious attempt to recover his crowns when he landed in Ireland in 1689 but after the defeat of the Jacobite forces by the Williamite forces at the Battle of the Boyne in the summer of 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 is best known for his belief in absolute monarchy and his attempts to create religious liberty for his subjects against the wishes of the English Parliament. Parliament opposed to the growth of absolutism that was occurring in other European countries as well as to the loss of legal supremacy for the Church of England saw their opposition as a way to preserve what they regarded as traditional English liberties. This tension made James's four-year reign a struggle for supremacy between the English Parliament and the Crown resulting in his deposition the passage of the English Bill of Rights and the Hanoverian succession. Contents 1 Birth and early life 1.1 Civil War 1.2 Exile in France 2 Restoration 2.1 First marriage 2.2 Military and political offices 2.3 Conversion to Roman Catholicism and second marriage 2.4 Exclusion Crisis 2.5 Return to favour 3 Reign 3.1 Ascension to the throne 3.2 Two rebellions 3.3 Absolutism and religious liberty 4 Glorious Revolution 5 Later years 5.1 War in Ireland 5.2 Return to exile and death 6 Succession 7 Historiography 8 Titles and styles 9 Arms 10 In popular culture 11 Ancestors 12 Issue 13 See also 14 Notes 15 References 16 External links Birth and early life The future James II with his father Charles I

James the second surviving son of Charles I and Henrietta Maria of France was born at St. James's Palace in London on 14 October 1633.4 Later that same year James was baptized by William Laud the Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury.5 James was educated by tutors along with his brother the future King Charles II and the two sons of the Duke of Buckingham George and Francis Villiers.6 At the age of three James was appointed Lord High Admiral; the position was initially honorary but would become a substantive office after the Restoration when James was an adult.7 Civil War

James was invested with the Order of the Garter in 16428 and created Duke of York on 22 January 1644.5 As the King's disputes with the English Parliament grew into the English Civil War James stayed in Oxford a Royalist stronghold.9 When the city surrendered after the siege of Oxford in 1646 Parliamentary leaders ordered the Duke of York to be confined in St. James's Palace.10 In 1648 he escaped from the Palace and from there he went to The Hague in disguise.11 When Charles I was executed by the rebels in 1649 monarchists proclaimed James's older brother Charles II of England.12 Charles II was recognized by the Parliament of Scotland and the Parliament of Ireland and was crowned King of Scotland at Scone in Scotland in 1651. Although he was proclaimed King at Jersey Charles was unable to secure the crown of England and consequently fled to France and exile.12 Exile in France Turenne James's commander in France

Like his brother James sought refuge in France serving in the French army under Turenne against the Fronde and later against their Spanish allies.13 In the French army James had his first true experience of battle where according to one observer he "ventures himself and chargeth gallantly where anything is to be done".13 In 1656 when his brother Charles entered into an alliance with Spainan enemy of FranceJames was expelled from France and forced to leave Turenne's army.14 James quarrelled with his brother over the diplomatic choice of Spain over France. Exiled and poor there was little that either Charles or James could do about the larger diplomatic situation and James ultimately travelled to Bruges and (along with his younger brother Henry) joined the Spanish army under Louis Prince of Cond fighting against his former French comrades at the Battle of the Dunes.15 During his term of service in the Spanish army James became friendly with two Irish Catholic brothers in the Royalist entourage Peter and Richard Talbot and began to be somewhat estranged from his brother's Anglican advisers.16 In 1659 the French and Spanish made peace. James doubtful of his brother's chances of regaining the throne considered taking a Spanish offer to be an admiral in their navy.17 Ultimately he declined the position; by the next year the situation in England had sufficiently changed and Charles II was proclaimed King.18 Restoration First marriage James and Anne Hyde in the 1660s by Sir Peter Lely

After Oliver Cromwell's death in 1658 and the subsequent collapse of the Commonwealth in 1660 Charles II was restored to the English throne. Although James was the heir-presumptive it seemed unlikely that he would inherit the Crown as Charles was still a young man capable of fathering children.19 Upon his brother's restoration James was created Duke of Albany in Scotland to go along with his English title Duke of York. Upon his return to England James produced an immediate controversy by announcing his engagement to Anne Hyde the daughter of Charles's chief minister Edward Hyde.20 In 1659 while attempting to seduce her James promised he would marry Anne.21 Anne became pregnant in 1660 but following the Restoration and James's return to power no one at the royal court expected a prince to marry a commoner no matter what he had pledged beforehand.22 Although nearly everyone including Anne's father urged the two not to marry they did so.22 The couple was married secretly then went through an official marriage ceremony on 3 September 1660 in London. Their first child Charles was born less than two months later but died in infancy as did five further sons and daughters.22 Only two daughters survived: Mary (born 30 April 1662) and Anne (born 6 February 1665).23 Samuel Pepys wrote that James was fond of his children and his role as a father writing that he played with them "like an ordinary father" a contrast to the distant parenting common to royals at the time.24 James's wife was devoted to him and influenced many of his decisions.25 Even so he kept a variety of mistresses including Arabella Churchill and Catherine Sedley and was reputed to be "the most unguarded ogler of his time."26 With Catherine Sedley James II had a daughter Catherine Darnley (so named because James II was a descendant of Henry Stuart Lord Darnley). Anne Hyde died in 1671. Military and political offices

After the Restoration James was confirmed as Lord High Admiral an office that carried with it the subsidiary appointments of Governor of Portsmouth and Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports.27 James commanded the Royal Navy during the Second (16651667) and Third Anglo-Dutch Wars (16721674). Following the raid on the Medway in 1667 James oversaw the survey and re-fortification of the southern coast.28 The office of Lord High Admiral combined with his revenue from post office and wine tariffs (granted him by Charles upon his restoration) gave James a sufficient salary to keep a sizeable court household.29

In 1664 Charles granted American territory between the Delaware and Connecticut Rivers to James. Following its capture by the English the former Dutch territory of New Netherland was named the Province of New York in James's honour. After the founding the duke gave part of the colony to proprietors George Carteret and John Berkeley. Fort Orange 240 kilometres (150 miles) north on the Hudson River was renamed Albany after James's Scottish title.22 In 1683 he became the governor of the Hudson's Bay Company but did not take an active role in its governance.22 James also headed the Royal African Company a slave trading company.30

In September 1666 his brother Charles put him in charge of firefighting operations for the Great Fire of London in the absence of action by Mayor Thomas Bloodworth. While this was not strictly a political office his actions and leadership were noteworthy. "The Duke of York hath won the hearts of the people with his continual and indefatigable pains day and night in helping to quench the Fire" wrote a witness in a letter on 8 September.31 Conversion to Roman Catholicism and second marriage Mary of Modena James's second wife James's time in France had exposed him to the beliefs and ceremonies of Catholicism; he and his wife Anne became drawn to that faith.32 James took Eucharist in the Roman Catholic Church in 1668 or 1669 although his conversion was kept secret for some time and he continued to attend Anglican services until 1676.33 In spite of his conversion James continued to associate primarily with Anglicans including John Churchill and George Legge as well as French Protestants such as Louis de Duras the Earl of Feversham.34 Growing fears of Catholic influence at court led the English Parliament to introduce a new Test Act in 1673.35 Under this Act all civil and military officials were required to take an oath (in which they were required not only to disavow the doctrine of transubstantiation but also denounce certain practices of the Catholic Church as superstitious and idolatrous) and to receive the Eucharist under the auspices of the Church of England.36 James refused to perform either action instead choosing to relinquish the post of Lord High Admiral. His conversion to Catholicism was thereby made public.35 Charles II opposed the conversion ordering that James's daughters Mary and Anne be raised as Protestants.37 Nevertheless he allowed James to marry the Catholic Mary of Modena a fifteen-year-old Italian princess.38 James and Mary were married by proxy in a Catholic ceremony on 20 September 1673.39 On 21 November Mary arrived in England and Nathaniel Crew Bishop of Oxford performed a brief Anglican service that did little more than recognise the Catholic marriage.40 Many of the British people distrustful of Catholicism regarded the new Duchess of York as an agent of the Pope.41 Exclusion Crisis In 1677 James reluctantly consented to his daughter Mary's marriage to the Protestant William of Orange (who was also James's nephew). James acquiesced after his brother Charles and William had agreed upon the marriage.42 Despite the Protestant marriage fears of a potential Catholic monarch persisted intensified by the failure of Charles II and his wife Catherine of Braganza to produce any children. A defrocked Anglican clergyman Titus Oates spoke of a "Popish Plot" to kill Charles and put the Duke of York on the throne.43 The fabricated plot caused a wave of anti-Catholic hysteria to sweep across the nation. The Duke of Monmouth was involved in plots against James 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.44 Some members of Parliament even proposed that the crown go to Charles's illegitimate son James Scott 1st Duke of Monmouth.45 In 1679 with the Exclusion Bill in danger of passing Charles II dissolved Parliament.46 Two further Parliaments were elected in 1680 and 1681 but were dissolved for the same reason.47 The Exclusion Crisis contributed to the development of the English two-party system: the Whigs were those who supported the Bill while the Tories were those who opposed it. Ultimately the succession was not altered but James was convinced to withdraw from all policy-making bodies and to accept a lesser role in his brother's government.48 On the orders of the King James left England for Brussels.49 In 1680 he was appointed Lord High Commissioner of Scotland and took up residence at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh in order to suppress an uprising and oversee royal government.50 James returned to England for a time when Charles was stricken ill and appeared to be near death.51 The hysteria of the accusations eventually faded but James's relations with many in the English Parliament including the Earl of Danby a former ally were forever strained and a solid segment turned against him.52 Return to favour In 1683 a plot was uncovered to assassinate Charles and James and spark a republican revolution to re-establish a government of the Cromwellian style.53 The conspiracy known as the Rye House Plot backfired upon its conspirators and provoked a wave of sympathy for the King and James.54 Several notable Whigs including the Earl of Essex and the King's illegitimate son the Duke of Monmouth were implicated.53 Monmouth initially confessed to complicity in the plot implicating fellow-plotters but later recanted.53 Essex committed suicide and Monmouth along with several others was obliged to flee into Continental exile.55 Charles reacted to the plot by increasing repression of Whigs and dissenters.53 Taking advantage of James's rebounding popularity Charles invited him back onto the privy council in 1684.56 While some in the English Parliament remained wary of the possibility of a Catholic king the threat of excluding James from the throne had passed. Reign Ascension to the throne Statue of James II in Trafalgar Square London Charles died in 1685 after converting to Catholicism on his deathbed.57 Having no legitimate children Charles was succeeded by his brother James who reigned in England and Ireland as James II and in Scotland as James VII. There was little initial opposition to his succession and there were widespread reports of public rejoicing at the orderly succession.58 James wanted to proceed quickly to the coronation and was crowned at Westminster Abbey on 23 April 1685.59 The new Parliament that assembled in May 1685 which gained the name of "Loyal Parliament" was initially favourable to James and the new King sent word that even most of the former exclusionists would be forgiven if they acquiesced to his rule.58 Most of Charles's officers continued in office the exceptions being the promotion of James's brothers-in-law the Earls of Clarendon and Rochester and the demotion of Halifax.60 Parliament granted James a generous life income including all of the proceeds of tonnage and poundage and the customs duties.61 James worked harder as king than his brother had but was less willing to compromise when his advisers disagreed.62 Two rebellions Main article: Monmouth Rebellion 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.63 Argyll and Monmouth both began their expeditions from Holland where James's nephew and son-in-law William of Orange had neglected to detain them or put a stop to their recruitment efforts.64 Argyll sailed to Scotland and on arriving there raised recruits mainly from amongst his own clan the Campbells.65 The rebellion was quickly crushed and Argyll himself was captured at Inchinnan on 18 June 1685.65 Having arrived with fewer than 300 men and unable to convince many more to flock to his standard Argyll never posed a credible threat to James.66 Argyll was taken as a prisoner to Edinburgh. A new trial was not commenced because Argyll had previously been tried and sentenced to death. The King confirmed the earlier death sentence and ordered that it be carried out within three days of receiving the confirmation. Monmouth's rebellion was coordinated with Argyll's but the former was more dangerous to James. Monmouth had proclaimed himself King at Lyme Regis on 11 June.67 He attempted to raise recruits but was unable to gather enough rebels to defeat even James's small standing army.68 Monmouth's rebellion attacked the King's forces at night in an attempt at surprise but was defeated at the Battle of Sedgemoor.68 The King's forces led by Feversham and Churchill quickly dispersed the ill-prepared rebels.68 Monmouth himself was captured and executed at the Tower of London on 15 July.69 The King's judgesmost notably George Jeffreyscondemned many of the rebels to transportation and indentured servitude in the West Indies in a series of trials that came to be known as the Bloody Assizes.70 Some 250 of the rebels were executed.69 While both rebellions were defeated easily enough the effect on James was to harden his resolve against his enemies and to increase his suspicion of the Dutch.71 Absolutism and religious liberty To protect himself from further rebellions James sought safety in an enlarged standing army.72 This alarmed his subjects not only because of the trouble soldiers caused in the towns but because it was against the English tradition to keep a professional army in peacetime.73 Even more alarming to Parliament was James's use of his dispensing power to allow Roman Catholics to command several regiments without having to take the oath mandated by the Test Act.72 When even the previously supportive Parliament objected to these measures James ordered Parliament prorogued in November 1685 never to meet again in his reign.74 In the beginning of 1686 two papers were found in Charles II's strong box and his closet in his own hand stating the arguments for Catholicism over Protestantism. James published these papers with a declaration signed by his sign manual and challenged the Archbishop of Canterbury and the whole Anglican episcopal bench to refute Charles's arguments: "Let me have a solid answer and in a gentlemanlike style; and it may have the effect which you so much desire of bringing me over to your church". The Archbishop refused on the grounds of respect for the late king.75 Rochester once amongst James's supporters turned against him by 1688 along with most Anglicans James advocated repeal of the penal laws in all three of his kingdoms but refused to allow those dissenters who did not petition for relief to receive it.76 In his own words James expressed indignation that men had the impudence to advocate repeal of the penal laws against Protestants.77 James sent a letter to the Scottish Parliament at its opening in 1685 declaring his wish for new penal laws against refractory Presbyterians and lamented that he was not there in person to promote such a law. In response the Parliament passed an Act which stated that "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".78 In March 1686 James sent a letter to the Scottish Privy Council advocating toleration for Catholics but that the persecution of the Presbyterian Covenanters should continue calling them to London when they refused to acquiesce his wishes.79 The Privy Councillors explained that they would grant relief to Catholics only if a similar relief was provided for the Covenanters and if James promised not to attempt anything which would harm the Protestant religion. James agreed to a degree of relief to Presbyterians but not to the full toleration he wanted for Catholics declaring that the Protestant religion was false and he would not promise not to prejudice a false religion.79 James allowed Roman Catholics to occupy the highest offices of the Kingdoms and received at his court the papal nuncio Ferdinando d'Adda the first representative from Rome to London since the reign of Mary I.80 James's Jesuit confessor Edward Petre was a particular object of Protestant ire.81 When the King's Secretary of State the Earl of Sunderland began replacing office-holders at court with Catholic favourites James began to lose the confidence of many of his Anglican supporters.82 Sunderland's purge of office-holders even extended to the King's Anglican brothers-in-law and their supporters.82 Catholics made up no more than one fiftieth of the English population.83 In May 1686 James sought to obtain from the English common-law courts a ruling which showed that his power to dispense with Acts of Parliament was legal. He dismissed judges who disagreed with him on this matter as well as the Solicitor General Heneage Finch.84 The case Godden v. Hales affirmed his dispensing power85 with eleven out of the twelve judges in Godden ruling in favour of the dispensing power.86 In 1687 James issued the Declaration of Indulgence also known as the Declaration for Liberty of Conscience in which he used his dispensing power to negate the effect of laws punishing Catholics and Protestant Dissenters.87 He attempted to garner support for his tolerationist policy by giving a speaking tour in the West of England in the summer of 1687. As part of this tour he gave a speech at Chester where he said "suppose... there should be a law made that all black men should be imprisoned it would be unreasonable and we had as little reason to quarrel with other men for being of different religious opinions as for being of different complexions."88 At the same time James provided partial toleration in Scotland using his dispensing power to grant relief to Catholics and partial relief to Presbyterians.89 In 1688 James ordered the Declaration read from the pulpits of every Anglican church further alienating the Anglican bishops against the Catholic governor of their church.90 While the Declaration elicited some thanks from Catholics and dissenters it left the Established Church the traditional ally of the monarchy in the difficult position of being forced to erode its own privileges.90 James provoked further opposition by attempting to reduce the Anglican monopoly on education.91 At the University of Oxford James offended Anglicans by allowing Catholics to hold important positions in Christ Church and University College two of Oxford's largest colleges. He also attempted to force the Protestant Fellows of Magdalen College to elect Anthony Farmer a man of generally ill repute who was believed to be secretly Catholic92 as their president when the Protestant incumbent died a violation of the Fellows' right to elect a candidate of their own choosing.91 In 1687 James prepared to pack Parliament with his supporters so that it would repeal the Test Act and the penal laws. James was convinced by addresses from Dissenters that he had their support and so could dispense with relying on Tories and Anglicans. James instituted a wholesale purge of those in offices under the crown opposed to James's plan appointing new lords-lieutenant and remodeling the corporations governing towns and livery companies.93 In October James gave orders for the lords-lieutenant in the provinces to provide three standard questions to all members of the Commission of the Peace: would they consent to the repeal of the Test Act and the penal laws; would they assist candidates who would do so; and would they accept the Declaration of Indulgence. During the first three months of 1688 hundreds of those asked the three questions who gave hostile replies were dismissed.94 Corporations were purged by agents given wide discretionary powers in an attempt to create a permanent royal electoral machine.95 Finally on 24 August 1688 James ordered writs to be issued for a general election.96 However upon realising in October that William of Orange was going to land in England James withdrew the writs and wrote to the lords-lieutenant to inquire over allegations of abuses committed during the regulations and election preparations as part of the concessions James made in order to win support.97 Glorious Revolution Main article: Glorious Revolution James's nephew and son-in-law William was invited to "save the Protestant religion" In April 1688 James re-issued the Declaration of Indulgence subsequently ordering Anglican clergymen to read it in their churches.98 When seven Bishops including the Archbishop of Canterbury submitted a petition requesting the reconsideration of the King's religious policies they were arrested and tried for seditious libel.99 Public alarm increased when Queen Mary gave birth to a Catholic son and heir James Francis Edward on 10 June of that year.100 When James's only possible successors were his two Protestant daughters Anglicans could see his pro-Catholic policies as a temporary phenomenon but when the Prince's birth opened the possibility of a permanent Catholic dynasty such men had to reconsider their position.101 Threatened by a Catholic dynasty several influential Protestants claimed the child was "supposititious" and had been smuggled into the Queen's bedchamber in a warming pan.102 They had already entered into negotiations with William Prince of Orange when it became known the Queen was pregnant and the birth of James's son reinforced their convictions.103 On 30 June 1688 a group of seven Protestant nobles invited the Prince of Orange to come to England with an army.104 By September it had become clear that William sought to invade.105 Believing that his own army would be adequate James refused the assistance of Louis XIV fearing that the English would oppose French intervention.105 When William arrived on 5 November 1688 many Protestant officers including Churchill defected and joined William as did James's own daughter Princess Anne.106 James lost his nerve and declined to attack the invading army despite his army's numerical superiority.107 On 11 December James tried to flee to France first throwing the Great Seal of the Realm into the River Thames.108 James was captured in Kent; later he was released and placed under Dutch protective guard. Having no desire to make James a martyr the Prince of Orange let him escape on 23 December.108 James was received by his cousin and ally Louis XIV who offered him a palace and a pension. John Churchill had been a member of James's household for many years but defected to William of Orange in 1688 William convened a Convention Parliament to decide how to handle James's flight. 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.109 To fill this vacancy James's daughter Mary was declared Queen; she was to rule jointly with her husband William who would be King. The Parliament of Scotland on 11 April 1689 declared James to have forfeited the throne.110 The English Parliament passed a Bill of Rights that denounced James for abusing his power. The abuses charged to James included the suspension of the Test Acts the prosecution of the Seven Bishops for merely petitioning the crown the establishment of a standing army and the imposition of cruel punishments.111 The Bill also declared that henceforth no Catholic would be permitted to ascend to the English throne nor could any English monarch marry a Catholic.112 Later years War in Ireland Main article: Williamite War in Ireland With the assistance of French troops James landed in Ireland in March 1689.113 The Irish Parliament did not follow the example of the English Parliament; it declared that James remained King and passed a massive bill of attainder against those who had rebelled against him.114 At James's urging the Irish Parliament passed an Act for Liberty of Conscience that granted religious freedom to all Catholics and Protestants in Ireland.115 James worked to build an army in Ireland but was ultimately defeated at the Battle of the Boyne on 1 July 1690 when William arrived personally leading an army to defeat James and reassert English control.116 James fled to France once more departing from Kinsale never to return to any of his former kingdoms.116 Because he deserted his Irish supporters James became known in Ireland as Samus an Chaca or 'James the be-shitten'.117 Return to exile and death The Chteau de Saint-Germain-en-Laye James's home during his final exile In France James was allowed to live in the royal chteau of Saint-Germain-en-Laye.118 James's wife and some of his supporters fled with him including the Earl of Melfort; most but not all were Catholic.119 In 1692 James's last child Louisa Maria Teresa was born.120 Some supporters in England attempted to restore James to the throne by assassinating William III in 1696 but the plot failed and the backlash made James's cause less popular.121 Louis XIV's offer to have James elected King of Poland in the same year was rejected for James feared that acceptance of the Polish crown might (in the minds of the English people) render him incapable of being King of England. After Louis concluded peace with William in 1697 he ceased to offer much in the way of assistance to James.122 During his last years James lived as an austere penitent.123 He wrote a memorandum for his son advising him on how to govern England specifying that Catholics should possess one Secretary of State one Commissioner of the Treasury the Secretary at War with the majority of the officers in the army.124 He died of a brain hemorrhage on 16 September 1701 at Saint-Germain-en-Laye.125 His body was laid to rest in a coffin at the Chapel of Saint Edmund in the Church of the English Benedictines in the Rue St. Jacques in Paris with a funeral oration by Henri-Emmanuel de Roquette.125 In 1734 the Archbishop of Paris heard evidence to support James's canonization but nothing came of it.125 During the French Revolution James's tomb was raided and his remains scattered.126 Succession James's son was known as "James III and VIII" to his supporters and "The Old Pretender" to his enemies James's younger daughter Anne succeeded to the throne when William III died in 1702. The Act of Settlement provided that if the line of succession established in the Bill of Rights were to be extinguished then the crown would go to a German cousin Sophia Electress of Hanover and to her Protestant heirs.127 Sophia was a granddaughter of James VI and I through his eldest daughter Elizabeth Stuart the sister of King Charles I. Thus when Anne died in 1714 (fewer than two months after the death of Sophia) the crown was inherited by George I Sophia's son the Elector of Hanover and Anne's second cousin.127 James's son James Francis Edward was recognised as King at his father's death by Louis XIV of France and James's remaining supporters (later known as Jacobites) as "James III and VIII."128 He led a rising in Scotland in 1715 shortly after George I's accession but was defeated.129 Jacobites rose again in 1745 led by Charles Edward Stuart James II's grandson and were again defeated.130 Since then no serious attempt to restore the Stuart heir has been made. Charles's claims passed to his younger brother Henry Benedict Stuart the Dean of the College of Cardinals of the Catholic Church.131 Henry was the last of James II's legitimate descendants and no relative has publicly acknowledged the Jacobite claim since then.132 Historiography Macaulay wrote in the Whig tradition Belloc was a notable apologist for James II. Historical analysis of James II has gone through considerable change since he was overthrown. Initially Whig historians led by Lord Macaulay cast James as a cruel absolutist and his reign as "tyranny which approached to insanity".133 Subsequent scholars such as G. M. Trevelyan (Macaulay's great nephew) and David Ogg while more balanced than Macaulay continued Macaulay's tradition into the twentieth century characterizing James as a tyrant his attempts at religious tolerance as a fraud and his reign as an aberration in the course of British history.134 In 1892 A. W. Ward wrote for the Dictionary of National Biography that James was "obviously a political and religious bigot" although never devoid of "a vein of patriotic sentiment"; "his conversion to the church of Rome made the emancipation of his fellow-catholics in the first instance and the recovery of England for catholicism in the second the governing objects of his policy."135 Hilaire Belloc broke with this tradition in 1928. Belloc cast James as an honorable man and a true advocate for freedom of conscience and his enemies as "men in the small clique of great fortunes ... which destroyed the ancient monarchy of the English."136 Belloc's thesis failed to alter the course of historical opinion at the time but by the 1960s and 1970s Maurice Ashley and Stuart Prall began to reconsider James's motives in granting religious toleration while still taking note of James's autocratic rule.137 These modern authors moved away from the school of thought that preached inevitability of the Glorious Revolution and the continuous march of progress and democracy. "History is" Ashley wrote "after all the story of human beings and individuals as well as of the classes and the masses."138 He cast James II and William III as "men of ideals as well as human weaknesses."138 John Miller writing in 2000 accepted the claims of James's absolutism but argued that "his main concern was to secure religious liberty and civil equality for Catholics. Any 'absolutist' methods ... were essentially means to that end."139 In 2004 W. A. Speck wrote in the new Oxford Dictionary of National Biography that "James was genuinely committed to religious toleration but also sought to increase the power of the crown."140 He added that unlike the government of the Netherlands "James was too autocratic to combine freedom of conscience with popular government. He resisted any check on the monarch's power. That is why his heart was not in the concessions he had to make in 1688. He would rather live in exile with his principles intact than continue to reign as a limited monarch."140 Tim Harris's conclusions from his 2006 book summarize the crossroads of modern scholarship on James II: The jury will doubtless remain out on James for a long timeWas he an egotistical bigota tyrant who rode roughshod over the will of the vast majority of his subjects (at least in England and Scotland)simply nave or even perhaps plain stupid unable to appreciate the realities of political powerOr was he a well-intentioned and even enlightened ruleran enlightened despot well ahead of his time perhapswho was merely trying to do what he thought was best for his subjects141 Titles and styles Royal styles of King James II of England Reference style His Majesty Spoken style Your Majesty Alternative style Sire Royal styles of James VII King of Scotland Reference style His Grace Spoken style Your Grace Alternative style Sire 14 October 1633 6 February 1685: Prince James 27 January 1644 6 February 1685: The Duke of York 10 May 1659 6 February 1685: The Earl of Ulster 31 December 1660 6 February 1685: The Duke of Albany before 1 January 1665 6 February 1685: His Royal Highness142 6 February 1685 11 December 1688: His Majesty The King 11 December 1688 16 September 1701: His Majesty King James IIcitation needed Jacobite: His Majesty The King The official style of James in England was "James the Second by the Grace of God King of England Scotland France and Ireland Defender of the Faith etc." (The claim to France was only nominal and was asserted by every English King from Edward III to George III regardless of the amount of French territory actually controlled.) In Scotland he was James the Seventh by the Grace of God King of Scotland England France and Ireland Defender of the Faith etc..143 James was created "Duke of Normandy" by King Louis XIV of France 31 December 1660. This was a few months after the restoration of his brother Charles II to the English and Irish thrones (Charles II had been crowned King of Scotland in 1651) and probably was done as a political gesture of support for James since his brother also would have claimed the title "Duke of Normandy". Arms Half-Crown coin of James II 1686 Prior to his accession James's arms were those of the kingdom (which he later inherited) differenced by a label argent of three points ermine although it is noted that when it become clear that his position as heir-presumptive was not under threat a label argent of three points was sometimes used.144 His arms as King were: Quarterly I and IV Grandquarterly Azure three fleurs-de-lis Or (for France) and Gules three lions passant guardant in pale Or (for England); II Or a lion rampant within a tressure flory-counter-flory Gules (for Scotland); III Azure a harp Or stringed Argent (for Ireland). Coat of arms of James II of England  Coat of arms of James VII in Scotland  In popular culture James is a character in the novel The Man Who Laughs by Victor Hugo. He was portrayed by Josef Moser in the 1921 Austrian silent film Das Grinsende Gesicht and by Sam De Grasse in the 1928 silent film The Man Who Laughs. He has also been portrayed by Gibb McLaughlin in the 1926 silent film Nell Gwynne based on a novel by Joseph Shearing Lawrence Anderson in the 1934 film Nell Gwyn Vernon Steele in the 1935 film Captain Blood based on the novel by Rafael Sabatini Douglas Matthews in the 1938 BBC TV drama Thank You Mr. Pepys Henry Oscar in the 1948 film Bonnie Prince Charlie John Westbrook in the 1969 BBC TV series The First Churchills Guy Henry in the 1995 film England My England the story of the composer Henry Purcell and Charlie Creed-Miles in the 2003 BBC TV miniseries Charles II: The Power & the Passion. Ancestors Ancestors of James II of England                                     16. Matthew Stewart 4th Earl of Lennox               8. Henry Stuart Lord Darnley                       17. Margaret Douglas               4. James I of England                             18. James V of Scotland               9. Mary Queen of Scots                       19. Mary of Guise               2. Charles I of England                                   20. Christian III of Denmark               10. Frederick II of Denmark                       21. Dorothea of Saxe-Lauenburg               5. Anne of Denmark                             22. Ulrich III of Mecklenburg-Schwerin               11. Sofie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin                       23. Elizabeth of Denmark               1. James II of England                                         24. Charles de Bourbon Duke of Vendme               12. Antoine of Navarre                       25. Francoise d'Alencon               6. Henry IV of France                             26. Henry II of Navarre               13. Jeanne III of Navarre                       27. Marguerite de Navarre               3. Henrietta Maria of France                                   28. Cosimo I de' Medici Grand Duke of Tuscany               14. Francesco I de' Medici Grand Duke of Tuscany                       29. Eleonora di Toledo               7. Marie de' Medici                             30. Ferdinand I Holy Roman Emperor               15. Johanna of Austria                       31. Anna of Bohemia and Hungary             Issue Main article: Descendants of James II of England Children of James II of England Scottish and English Royalty House of Stuart James II & VII    Mary II    Anne    James Stuart Grandchildren    Charles Edward Stuart    Henry Benedict Stuart Name Birth Death Notes By Anne Hyde Charles Duke of Cambridge 22 October 1660 5 May 1661   Mary II 30 April 1662 28 December 1694 married 1677 William III Prince of Orange; no issue James Duke of Cambridge 12 July 1663 20 June 1667   Anne 6 February 1665 1 August 1714 married 1683 Prince George of Denmark; no surviving issue Charles Duke of Kendal 4 July 1666 22 May 1667   Edgar Duke of Cambridge 14 September 1667 8 June 1671   Henrietta 13 January 1669 15 November 1669   Catherine 9 February 1671 5 December 1671   By Mary of Modena Catherine Laura 10 January 1675 3 October 1676 died of convulsions.145 Isabel 28 August 1676 2 March 1681   Charles Duke of Cambridge 7 November 1677 12 December 1677 died of smallpox146 Elizabeth 1678 c. 1678   Charlotte Maria 16 August 1682 16 October 1682 died of convulsions147 James Prince of Wales Old Pretender 10 June 1688 1 January 1766 married 1719 Mary Sobieski; had issue Louisa Maria Teresa 28 June 1692 20 April 1712   By Arabella Churchill Henrietta FitzJames 1667 3 April 1730 Married first Henry Waldegrave; had issue. Married secondly Piers Butler 3rd Viscount Galmoye; no issue. James FitzJames 1st Duke of Berwick 21 August 1670 12 June 1734 Henry FitzJames 1st Duke of Albemarle August 1673 December 1702 Arabella FitzJames 1674 7 November 1704 Became a nun. By Catherine Sedley Catherine Darnley c. 1681 13 March 1743 Alleged daughter. Married firstly James Annesley 3rd Earl of Anglesey and had issue married secondly John Sheffield 1st Duke of Buckingham and Normanby and had issue. James Darnley 1684 1685 See also Touch Pieces List of James II deserters to William of Orange Notes a b In Scotland he was called James VII as there were six previous kings of that nation named James. An assertion found in many sources that James II died 6 September 1701 (17 September 1701 New Style) may result from a miscalculation done by an author of anonymous "An Exact Account of the Sickness and Death of the Late King James II as also of the Proceedings at St. Germains thereupon 1701 in a letter from an English gentleman in France to his friend in London" (Somers Tracts ed. 18091815 XI pp. 339342). The account reads: "And on Friday the 17th instant about three in the afternoon the king died the day he always fasted in memory of our blessed Saviour's passion the day he ever desired to die on and the ninth hour according to the Jewish account when our Saviour was crucified." As 17 September 1701 New Style falls on a Saturday and the author insists that James died on Friday "the day he ever desired to die on" an inevitable conclusion is that the author miscalculated the date which later made it to various reference works. See "English Historical Documents 16601714" ed. by Andrew Browning (London and New York: Routledge 2001) 136138. The Convention Parliament of England deemed James to have abdicated on 11 December 1688. The Parliament of Scotland on 11 April 1689 declared him to have forfeited the throne. Miller 1 a b Callow 31 Callow 34 Miller 10; Callow 101 Callow 36 Callow 42; Miller 3 Callow 45 Callow 4850 a b Royle 517 a b Miller 1617 Miller 1920 Miller 1925 Miller 2223 Miller 24 Miller 25 Callow 89 Callow 90 Miller 44 a b c d e Miller 4445 Waller 4950 Miller 46. Miller 4546. Miller 46. Samuel Pepys recorded in his diary that James "did eye my wife mightily". Ibid. 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." Miller 59. Callow 101. Callow 104. Miller 42. Miller 434. Spelling modernised for clarity; quoted by Adrian Tinniswood (2003). 80. By Permission of Heaven: The Story of the Great Fire of London. London: Jonathan Cape. Miller 5859; Callow 144145. Callow writes that Anne "made the greatest single impact upon his thinking" and that she converted shortly after the Restoration "almost certainly before her husband". Ibid. 144. Callow 143144; Waller 135 Callow 149 a b Miller 6971 Kenyon 385 Waller 92 Waller 1617 Miller 73 Turner 110111 Waller 3031 Miller 84; Waller 9497. 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". Turner 132. Miller 87 Miller 99105 Harris 74 Miller 9395 Miller 103104 Miller 90 Miller 8791 Miller 95 Miller 9899 Miller 89; Callow 180183 a b c d Miller 115116 Miller 116; Waller 142143 Miller 116117 Miller 117 Miller 118119 a b Miller 120121 Harris 45. The English coronation only crowned James King of England and Ireland; James was never crowned in Scotland but was proclaimed King of Scotland around the same time. Miller 121 Harris 4445 Miller 123 Miller 140143; Harris 7386 Miller 139140 a b Harris 7576 Harris 76 Harris 8285 a b c Miller 141 a b Harris 88 Miller 141142 Miller 142 a b Miller 142143 Harris 95100 Miller 146147 Macaulay 349-50. Macaulay 242; Harris 480481. Covenanters as they did not recognise James (or any uncovenanted king) as a legitimate ruler would not petition James for relief from the penal laws. Macaulay 242 Macaulay 242; Harris 70 a b Macaulay 385-86; Turner 373 Miller 142; Macaulay 445 Harris 195196 a b Miller 150152 Macaulay 444. Macaulay 368. Miller 156157; Harris 192195 Macaulay 368-69; Harris 192 Kenyon 389391 Sowerby 32 Macaulay 429; Harris 480-82 a b Harris 216224 a b Harris 224229 Farmer's exact religious affiliation is unclear. Macaulay says Farmer "pretended to turn Papist". Prall at 148 calls him a "Catholic sympathizer". Miller at 170 says "although he had not declared himself a Catholic it was believed he was no longer an Anglican." Ashley at 89 does not refer to Farmer by name but only as the King's Catholic nominee. 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. See e.g. Prall 148. Jones 132. Jones 132-33. Jones 146. Jones 150. Jones 159. Harris 258259 Harris 260262; Prall 312 Miller 186187; Harris 269272 Harris 271272; Ashley 110111 Gregg Edward. Queen Anne. Yale University Press (2001) 58. Waller 4346; Miller 186187 Ashley 201202 a b Miller 190196 Waller 236239. Miller 201203 a b Miller 205209 Miller 209. Harris 320328 analyses the legal nature of the abdication; James did not agree that he had abdicated. Devine 3; Harris 402407 Ashley 206209; Harris 329348 Harris 349350 Miller 222224 Miller 226227 Harris 440 a b Harris 446449 Szechi Daniel (1994). The Jacobites Britain and Europe 16881788. 48: Manchester University Press. ISBN 0-7190-3774-3.  Miller 235 Miller 235236 SCOTTISH ROYAL LINEAGE THE HOUSE OF STUART Part 4 of 6 online at burkes-peerage.net (accessed 9 February 2008) Miller 238; Waller 350 Miller 239 Miller 234236 Macaulay 445 a b c Miller 240 Miller 240; Waller 401; MacLeod 349. MacLeod and Waller say all of James's remains were lost. McFerran says parts of his bowel sent to the parish church of St. Germain-en-Laye were rediscovered in 1824 and are the only known remains left. The English Illustrated Magazines article on St. Germain from September 1901 concurs. a b Harris 493 MacLeod 349 MacLeod 361363 MacLeod 365371 MacLeod 371372 MacLeod 373374 Macaulay 239 See Prall viixv for a more detailed historiography.  "James II of England". Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith Elder & Co. 18851900.  Belloc vii See Ashley 196198; Prall 291293 a b Ashley 9 Miller ix a b W. A. Speck "James II and VII (16331701)" Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Oxford University Press Sept. 2004; online edn May 2006 accessed 15 October 2007. Speck elaborated that James "wished that all his subjects could be as convinced as he was that the Catholic church was the one true church. He was also convinced that the established church was maintained artificially by penal laws which proscribed nonconformity. If these were removed and conversions to Catholicism were encouraged then many would take place James underestimated the appeal of protestantism in general and the Church of England in particular. His was the zeal and even bigotry of a narrow-minded convert...." Harris 478479 London Gazette: no. 1693. p. 2 6 February 1681.; London Gazette: no. 1728. p. 4 8 June 1682.; London Gazette: no. 1849. p. 1 6 August 1683. London Gazette: no. 2009. p. 1. Marks of Cadency in the British Royal Family Stuart Catherine Laura Stuart Charles of Cambridge Duke of Cambridge Stuart Charlotte Maria References Ashley Maurice The Glorious Revolution of 1688 Charles Scribner's Sons New York 1966. ISBN 0-340-00896-2. Belloc Hilaire James the Second J.B. Lippincott Co Philadelphia 1928 popular; Catholic perspective Callow John The Making of King James II: The Formative Years of a King Sutton Publishing Ltd Stroud Gloucestershire 2000. ISBN 0-7509-2398-9. Clarke James S. (Editor) The Life of James II London 1816 Dekrey Gary S. "Between Revolutions: Re-appraising the Restoration in Britain" History Compass 2008 6(3): 738773 Devine T. M. The Scottish Nation 17002007 Penguin Books London 2006. ISBN 0-14-102769-X Glassey Lionel ed. The Reigns of Charles II and James VII and II (1997) Goodlad Graham. " Before the Glorious Revolution: The Making of Absolute Monarchy" History Review. Issue: 58; 2007. pp 10+. Examines the Controversies Surrounding the Development of Royal Power under Charles II and James II. in Questia Hallam Henry The Constitutional History of England from the Accession of Henry VII to the Death of George II W. Clowes & Sons London 1855. Harris Tim Revolution: The Great Crisis of the British Monarchy 16851720 Penguin Books Ltd. 2006. ISBN 0-7139-9759-1. "James II" Encyclopdia Britannica 11th ed. London 1911: Cambridge University Press. Jones J. R. The Revolution of 1688 in England Weidenfeld and Nicolson 1988. ISBN 0-297-99467-0. Kenyon J.P. The Stuart Constitution 16031688 Documents and Commentary 2d ed. Cambridge University Press Cambridge 1986. ISBN 0-521-31327-9. MacLeod John Dynasty the Stuarts 15601807 Hodder and Stoughton London 1999. ISBN 0-340-70767-4. Macaulay Thomas Babington The History of England from the Accession of James the Second. Popular Edition in Two Volumes. Longmans London 1889. Miller John. James II (3rd ed. 2000) ISBN 0-300-08728-4 Miller sees James as more interested in his own survival and tolerance for Catholics and suggests he did not have a grand plan to Catholicize England Miller John. The Stuarts (2004) 320pp; standard scholarly survey Miller John. The Glorious Revolution (2nd ed. 1997) ISBN 0-582-29222-0 McFerran Noel S. (2003). "James II and VII." Mullett M. James II and English Politics 16781688 (1993) ISBN 0-415-09042-3 Pincus Steve. 1688: The First Modern Revolution (2009) ISBN 0-300-11547-4 influential new interpretation Prall Stuart The Bloodless Revolution: England 1688 Anchor Books Garden City New York 1972. Royle Trevor The British Civil Wars: The Wars of the Three Kingdoms 16381660 Little Brown 2004. ISBN 0-312-29293-7. Sowerby Scott "Of Different Complexions: Religious Diversity and National Identity in James II's Toleration Campaign" English Historical Review vol. 124 (2009) pp. 2952. Speck W.A. James II (2002) argues James did not seek to impose Catholicism but his ambitions went far beyond equal treatment for Catholics. Turner Francis C. James II Eyre and Spottiswoode London 1948 Waller Maureen Ungrateful Daughters: The Stuart Princesses who Stole Their Father's Crown Hodder & Stoughton London 2002. ISBN 0-312-30711-X. External links Find more about James II of England on Wikipedia's sister projects: Definitions from Wiktionary Images and media from Commons Learning resources from Wikiversity News stories from Wikinews Quotations from Wikiquote Source texts from Wikisource Textbooks from Wikibooks King James II on Find-A-Grave James II of England House of Stuart Born: 14 October 1633 Died: 16 September 1701 Regnal titles Preceded by Charles II King of England King of Ireland King of Scotland 16851688 Vacant Title next held by William III/II and Mary II British royalty Preceded by Charles Prince of Wales (became Charles II) Heir to the English Scottish and Irish Thrones as heir presumptive30 January 1649 6 February 1685 Succeeded by Mary Princess of Orange (became Mary II) Honorary titles Preceded by The Earl of Winchilsea Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports 16601673 Succeeded by John Beaumont Political offices Vacant Lord High Admiral 16601673 Succeeded by Charles II Preceded by The Duke of Lennox Lord High Admiral of Scotland 16731701 Succeeded by The Duke of Richmond Preceded by The Duke of Lauderdale Lord High Commissioner to the Parliament of Scotland 16801685 Succeeded by The Duke of Queensberry Preceded by Charles II Lord High Admiral 16851688 Succeeded by William III Peerage of England New creation Duke of York 5th creation 16441685 Merged in the Crown Peerage of Scotland New creation Duke of Albany 6th creation 16601685 Merged in the Crown Peerage of Ireland New creation Earl of Ulster 3rd creation 16591685 Merged in the Crown Titles in pretence Loss of title Deposed in Glorious Revolution  TITULAR  King of England and Ireland 16881701 Reason for succession failure: Succession overruled by English Parliament Succeeded by James III  TITULAR  King of Scotland 16881701 Reason for succession failure: Succession overruled by Scots Parliament Preceded by Charles II of England  TITULAR  King of France 16851688 Reason for succession failure: Capetian Succession Failure Succeeded by William III and Mary II v d eEnglish Scottish and British monarchs Monarchs of England before 1603 Monarchs of Scotland before 1603 Alfred the Great  Edward the Elder  lfweard  Athelstan the Glorious  Edmund the Magnificent  Eadred  Eadwig the Fair  Edgar the Peaceable  Edward the Martyr  thelred the Unready  Sweyn Forkbeard  Edmund Ironside  Cnut  Harold Harefoot  Harthacnut  Edward the Confessor  Harold Godwinson  Edgar the theling   William I  William II  Henry I  Stephen  Matilda  Henry II  Henry the Young King  Richard I  John  Henry III  Edward I  Edward II  Edward III  Richard II  Henry IV  Henry V  Henry VI  Edward IV  Edward V  Richard III  Henry VII  Henry VIII  Edward VI  Jane  Mary I with Philip  Elizabeth I Kenneth I MacAlpin  Donald I  Constantine I  ed  Giric  Eochaid  Donald II  Constantine II  Malcolm I  Indulf  Dub  Cuiln  Amlab  Kenneth II  Constantine III  Kenneth III  Malcolm II  Duncan I  Macbeth  Lulach  Malcolm III Canmore  Donald III  Duncan II  Donald III  Edgar  Alexander I  David I  Malcolm IV  William I  Alexander II  Alexander III  Margaret   (First Interregnum)  John  (Second Interregnum)  Robert I  David II  Edward  Robert II  Robert III  James I  James II  James III  James IV  James V  Mary I  James VI Monarchs of England and Scotland after the Union of the Crowns in 1603 James I & VI  Charles I  (Commonwealth)  Charles II  James II & VII  William III & II and Mary II  Anne British monarchs after the Acts of Union 1707 Anne  George I  George II  George III  George IV  William IV  Victoria  Edward VII  George V  Edward VIII  George VI  Elizabeth II Debatable or disputed rulers are in italics. v d eDukes of Albany Robert Stewart (13981420)  Murdoch Stewart (14201425)  Alexander Stewart (c. 14581485)  John Stewart (14851536)  Arthur Stewart (1541)  Lord Darnley (15651567)  James VI (1567)  Charles I (16031625)  James VII (16601685)  Prince Leopold (18811884)  Prince Charles Edward (18841919) v d eDukes of York HRH The Prince Andrew Duke of York Edmund of Langley (13851402) Edward of Norwich (14021415) Richard Plantagenet (1415-1460) Edward of York (1460-1461) Richard of Shrewsbury (1474-1483) Henry (1494-1509) Charles (1605-1625) James (1633/1644-1685) Ernest Augustus (1716-1728) Edward (1760-1767) Frederick (1784-1827) George (1892-1910) Albert (1920-1936) Persondata Name James II Alternative names Stuart James Short description King of England King of Ireland King of Scotland Date of birth 14 October 1633 Place of birth London Date of death 5 September 1701 Place of death Saint-Germain-en-Laye France