James II was the brother of Charles II of England and shared in his government and many of his adventures. They were exiled to France during the Commonwealth, and during this time James served in both the French and Spanish armies. Soon after Charles II came to the throne, James was appointed Lord High Admiral and served in the Anglo Dutch Wars. Of the two brothers he was far more interested in military matters, and a competent and respected administrator.
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Charles II, however, continued to support his brother and was able to fend off the 'exclusionists' in parliament that sought to deny James the right to the throne. Since James had not produced a male heir, and his daughters were both reliable Protestants, he was restored to his position as Lord High Admiral and permitted to ascend to the throne on the death of Charles. In his short reign as king, James sought to pass laws permitting religious tolerance, hoping to attract the support of protestant dissenters as well as Catholics. The Puritans however, were too rabidly anti-catholic to fall for such measures and preferred to support the Anglicans who opposed James, rather than permit the toleration of Catholics. Instead of dividing his protestant opponents therefore, his efforts at "toleration" ended up united them against him.
The situation did not become a crisis however, until his Catholic second wife produced a male heir, in 1688. This precipitated a succession crisis and James was quickly deposed in favor of his daughter and son in law, William III and Mary II. Although Ireland declared in his favor, he deserted their cause after the Battle of the Boyne, because he recognized that the Irish were too disorganized and ill-equipped to stand against William's forces. He spent the rest of his life in exile in France.
It is interesting to note that neither his son, nor his grandson was willing to renounce their Catholic faith as a condition of making good their claim to the English throne. The Stuart claim was far stronger than that of any of their Hanoverian cousins, and there were many factions in England that would gladly have supported their claim had they been willing to renounce their faith.
Birth of James II to Charles I and Henrietta. | |
Created Duke of York. | |
Escaped to Holland after capture during English Civil War. | |
Served in French army under Turenne. | |
Marriage to Anne Hyde | |
Charles II restored to throne of England. | |
Lord High Admiral during Anglo-Dutch Wars. | |
Secretly converted to Catholicism. | |
Marries Mary of Modena, a Catholic Princess. | |
Daughter Mary, marries William of Orange, a Protestant Prince. | |
Protestant conspiracies against James fail. | |
Ascends to the throne of England | |
Monmouth mounts a rebellion to depose James II, but fails. | |
Declaration of Indulgence grants freedom of religion to Catholics and dissenters. | |
Birth of son precipitates a succession crisis. | |
Deposed in England, in favor of daughter Mary II. Declared King of Ireland. | |
Departs Ireland after the Battle of Boyne. | |
Death of James II. |
James II. and the 'Glorious Revolution' in | The Story of England by Samuel B. Harding |
Institution of the Penal Code in | Ireland: Peeps at History by Beatrice Home |
Fiery Cross in | Our Island Story by H. E. Marshall |
James VII.—A Forlorn Hope in | Scotland's Story by Henrietta Elizabeth Marshall |
William's Invitation in | The Awakening of Europe by M. B. Synge |
James II and the Glorious Revolution in | The Tudors and the Stuarts by M. B. Synge |
Image Links | ||
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![]() James II. receiving the News of the Landing in The Story of the English |
![]() James II. landing at Kinsale in Ireland: Peeps at History |
![]() James II in Ireland: Peeps at History |
![]() The flight of James II.: After the Battle of Boyne in Ireland: Peeps at History |
Restored to the throne after death of Cromwell. Presided over the great fire and plague of London. | |
King of Netherlands, called to be king of England when James II, his father-in-law, was deposed. | |
Last of the Stuart queens, lived during the War of the Spanish Succession. | |
Mary II | Daughter of James II, Queen of England with her husband William III of Orange. |
Most renowned general of his age. Prevailed against the French at the Battle of Blenheim. | |
Old Pretender | Son of James II, led Jacobites in a bid to restore Stuarts to the throne of England. |
Henrietta | Daughter of Henry IV of France, and Queen of Charles I, and mother of Charles II and James II. |