Like many of the great men of history, King James II has been treated unfairly by many historians, having an image attributed to him that is far from the actual reality. All too often, he is portrayed as ignorant, tyrannical and intolerant. All of these accusations are untrue, and the record will show that James II was, in fact, quite the opposite. His short reign was dominated by an effort to restore the traditional constitutional monarchy of England and Scotland, in opposition to the arbitrary tyranny of Parliament that was still lingering from the Cromwellian dictatorship; he also pushed for religious tolerance and broke new ground in insisting that no one should be deprived of their rights because of their religious beliefs. As far as his intelligence goes, King James II undoubtedly made mistakes in his policies, however his record leaves no doubt about his mental abilities. He was a renowned military leader, earning an illustrious reputation for skill and bravery while in the service of England as well as France and Spain during the Stuart exile.
James, Duke of York, second son of King Charles I of Britain, was born on October 14, 1633 and was raised largely in Oxford, with the English Civil War raging about him. When that city was conquered by the "Roundheads" he was taken prisoner to St James' palace in London at age 12. He escaped, disguised as a little girl, in 1648 and was taken to Holland to his sister, Princess Mary. When his elder brother succeeded as King Charles II, following the regicide, he became Lord High Admiral, but fearful of his safety, was not allowed to sail with the fleet. Not being the kind to be content doing nothing, he decided to join the French army, where he soon earned considerable prestige, becoming a lieutenant general at the age of 21 and was praised by the famous Marshal of France Turenne, the most renowned military engineer of the time. He later joined the Spanish army when France signed an agreement with the usurper Cromwell and continued to gain honor and fame in battle.
Even more significant than this though, was James' religious growth. His mother, Queen Henrietta Maria, was a devout Catholic, and eventually James became convinced of the truth of the Catholic Church and secretly began the process of conversion. It is safe to say that his was no conversion of convenience, but rather one of heartfelt sincerity. He certainly had nothing to gain by it, and was indeed putting his political future at risk by embracing the Church that was the most despised of all by the Puritan rulers of England. It was also during these years of exile that he secretly married Anne Hyde, daughter of Charles II's Lord Chancellor, the Earl of Clarendon. His playboy older brother liked to tease James II for being attracted to women Charles considered rather plain in appearance.
When his brother was finally restored as King Charles II, James, Duke of York, was an important member of Charles' inner circle during his reign. He was vocal with his opinions and in the first Anglo-Dutch War, James was able to command the navy in person and won a smashing victory over the Dutch at Lowestoft in 1665. Charles II grounded him after this, but James went to sea again in the second war where he fought quite bravely alongside his men, but was nevertheless defeated at Solebay in 1672, along with the French who were allied with England. In 1668 James was officially accepted into the Roman Catholic Church, although he continued to attend Anglican services for eight more years so as not to endanger the recently restored throne of his brother. Even Charles II admitted privately that he believed the Catholic Church to be the true church, but that it was not prudent for him to say so.
From this time on, James' Catholicism would become an obsession for the radical Protestants. Ultimately, Charles II was forced to pass the "Test Act" which equated Catholicism with treason, a measure which outraged Charles considering that his wife, Queen Catherine, as well as his brother and numerous other trusted officials were devout and unquestionably loyal Roman Catholics. Nonetheless, James was forced to resign from his office of Lord High Admiral because of this. James was consoled, but the Protestants made even more furious, by his marriage to the Italian Princess Mary of Modena (his previous wife having died). Charles had tried, for politican reasons, to convince his brother to marry a Protestant, but James was adamant that he would marry a Catholic and that any children of theirs would be raised Catholic. The fact that this was coming from the King's heir (Charles having no legitimate children of his own) caused a wave of anti-Catholic hysteria across the country. It was created and encouraged in large part by the Whig party, who saw an opportunity to fan the flames of anti-Catholic prejudice to weaken the Crown and increase the power of the liberal party. |
