The Rise and Fall of James II
James II was the second son of Charles I and Henrietta Maria and was born on October 14, 1633 in St. James' Palace. At a very early age, when he was 11 years old to be exact, he was made a Duke of York which was an auspicious beginning for a monarch who would someday hold no less than three titles as the King of England, King of Scots and King of Ireland. James was granted these three titles simultaneously on February 6, 1685 but he already held a previous title as Duke of Normandy from December 31, 1660.
Much of James' early life was spent in Oxford. The country was then in the grips of the English Civil War between the Monarchy and the Parliament of England. Oxford then was a Royalist enclave, which meant that James could live there in relative safety. But it wasn't long until the city surrendered to the Parliament forces and James was placed under house arrest at his place of birth in St. James' Palace.
In 1648, he managed to escape from the palace and made his way to The Hague in the Netherlands. When his father Charles I was executed after the civil war, the Royalist faction in England proclaimed his older brother Charles II the rightful heir to the English throne. The Parliaments of both Scotland and Ireland supported this claim and officially recognized Charles by King of Scots at Scone in Scotland in 1651. The Crown of England however was out of reach and Charles II was forced to seek refuge in France.
James later joined his brother Charles in France and enlisted in the French army. He later served in the Spanish army under the command of Louis, Prince of Conde when his brother entered into an alliance with Spain. Oddly enough, Spain was at war with France, the country where the brothers were seeking refuge at that time.
Charles was later restored to the throne by an act of Parliament after Oliver Cromwell died in 1660. Although James was next in line to the throne, it did not seem likely that he would actually become King, as his brother was still fairly young and still capable of siring an heir.
In September of that same year, James was given an additional title, Duke of Albany and he married the Lady Anne Hyde, the daughter of one of Charles' closest advisers, Earle of Clarendon, Edward Hyde.
During Charles' reign in England, James was appointed Lord High Admiral and was placed in command of the Royal navy. He saw action during the second and third wars with the Netherlands and when the English forces captured the Dutch territory of New Netherland, the district was renamed New York in his honour. Another territory the English captured, Fort Orange was in turn, renamed Albany, again as homage to James.
When Charles died without having produced an offspring, James ascended to the throne and was crowned James II, King of England and Ireland and James VI of Scotland. The coronation was held at Westminster Abbey on April 23rd, 1685.
The beginning of James' reign as king was fairly uneventful and it seemed that there were no potential hindrances to his continued rule. However, the numerous issues between the Catholics and the Protestants in England, which had been brewing since the reign of James I, threatened to surface once again. James was secretly a Catholic but in the face of his obvious sympathies with the Catholic Church it became clear to everyone that he was indeed a practicing Roman Catholic.
This set off tremors all throughout the Protestant faction in England, many of whom feared a Catholic dynasty in the offing. They prevailed upon William, James own son-in-law to wrest control of the throne. James' army was no match for the Protestant forces and he was forced to abdicate the throne.
William, along with his wife, Mary II then jointly ruled the country beginning in 1689.
It can be said that the end of James' reign ushered in the beginning of a new era in England's history, as he was the last Roman Catholic monarch to rule over the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland.
Original Authors: Doods Pangburn
Edit Update Authors: M.A.Harris
Updated On: 25/07/2008
