King James II

James II was a stuart king of England, Scotland and Ireland from 1685 until 1688. At the beginning of his reign, he had to face a rebellion, which failed, resulting in savage punishments of all of those involved. Later on, the king clashed with the parliament for trying to give civic equality to catholics and protestants. So, he decided to dissolve it and ruled alone. He attempted to promote Catholicism by signing up Catholics to military, political positions and into universities. In 1687 he even issued a Declaration of Indulgence aiming at complete religious toleration .


When his second wife’s son was born, and fearing that a Catholic succession was now assured, a group of Protestant aristocrats appealed to William of Orange, husband of James's older, and Protestant, daughter Mary. In November, William landed with an army in Devon. But the King was abandoned by an army and navy who he had completely alienated; James completely lost his nerve and fled abroad. In February 1689, parliament declared that James's flight represented an abdication (or abandonment) and William and Mary were crowned joint monarchs.

When James landed in Ireland, with French support, he raised an army. Despite of this, he was defeated at the Battle of the Boyne in July 1690. Dying in exile in France on September 1701.



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http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/james_ii.shtml
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_II_of_England