James 2 of England and Ireland; James 7 of Scotland

An assessment of the policies of James 2 of England and Ireland; James 7 of Scotland, in the 1680's, and, of whether he was "really seeking to become an absolute monarch"

Bret Busby


Copyright:
This material is copyrighted to the author, and may not be reproduced, in part or in total, without his written permission
© 2001 Bret Busby

************************************************************************************************
I intend to show that King James 2 of England and Ireland; James 7 of Scotland, was a victim of of his environment; of circumstances beyond his control, and, he tried, despite the circumstances, to do the right thing by his people.

James was born in October 1633, a son of Charles 1 of England and Henrietta Maria. He was christened a High Anglican. (1)

Before he was 9 years old, he was in the camp at the battle of Edge Hill, the first battle of the rebellion that destroyed the reign of his father. At 13, he was a prisoner of the rebels, at 14 an exile, and, at 15, he heard that his father had been murdered.(2)

While in exile, he interpreted what had happened to his father, Charles 1, as showing that compromise meant failure.(3)

Charles 2 arrived in London and claimed the throne in May, 1660.(4)

In 1667, Buckingham and Berkely persuaded Charles 2 to blame Clarendon, the father in law of James, then Duke of York, for the Dutch invasion of the Medway, and the loss of the English ships. (5) They did this in part to discredit James, in their efforts to destroy him. The court was riddled with conspiracies and betrayals, which caused James many problems.

By the summer of 1670, James had converted to Catholicism, and Charles 2 had announced that he would declare himself a Catholic. (6) This never happened.

James's conversion to Catholicism was probably due significantly to the structure of authority, and a detailed set of rules to guide his conduct, resembling his military background, in which he found security. (7) Given the unstable nature of his childhood, it is not surprising.

This was different to Charles's attitude to Catholicism. To Charles, Catholicism was a useful tool, and Charles did not submit kindly to the will of another, especially a priest. (7)

In 1671, James's first wife, Anne Hyde, died. She had been Anglican as was their daughter, Mary. In 1673, James married the Catholic Mary Beatrice, Princess of Modena. She was 15, he was 40. The marriage was arranged for him, with much messing around politically, both involving the Vatican and otherwise. (8)

When parliament met in 1674, a group of peers, led by Shaftesbury and Holles, hounded James in the House of Lords. A committee of the House of Lords, tried to ensure that children of the royal family be educated as protestants. Carlisle tried to have catholics banned from the throne. The House of Lords accepted James's motion to let the matter drop. (9)

Due to the subversive campaigns of Titus Oates and Danby, Charles 2, on 28 February, sent his brother, James, Duke of York, into exile. (10)

In September 1679, James returned, as Charles 2 was seriously ill. While in England, James promised the bishops that, if he ever became king, he would not try to impose Catholicism using force. Charles recovered, and, James was again sent into exile. Charles repeatedly sent James into exile, due to the political influence that was exerted on Charles by members of the court, who regarded James's being Catholic, as a threat to them, and, who were trying to win more power for themselves. This led James to fell betrayed by those that he had trusted. (11)

In the summer of 1681, James, having been sent to Scotland, summoned the Scottish parliament. He pushed through a number of issues, with little resistance. The most controversial of these, was the Test, which was similar to "Danby's Test" of 1675. "It was to be taken by all office-holders, beneficed clergymen and MP's and included promises to adhere to the Protestant religion, to defend the King's rights and prerogatives and to attempt no alteration in church and state." (12)

Whiles in Scotland, James managed the difficult feat of getting many of the belligerent Scottish nobles to work together, and avoided getting caught up in their feuds. His actions in Scotland were seen as acceptable to those that mattered, and the English Tories saw his actions in Scotland as proof of his sincerity in his assurances of support for the Church of England, as did the people high up in the Anglican church. (13)

In the early 1680's, the operation of the courts was a party-political thing; Whig sheriffs chose Whig juries that found in favour of Whigs, and, Tories did the same. (14)

In May 1684, James took his seat in the English Privy Council, for the first time in eleven years, and resumed direction of admiralty business. (15)

On 6 February, 1685, King Charles 2 died, as a result of a stroke on 2 February. After waiting 22 years, James became king. (16)

King James 2 of England and Ireland, 7 of Scotland, last legitimate king of the three kingdoms, was the first catholic monarch since Mary 1, 100 years before. (17) He was not only the last Stuart king of England, but also the last Catholic king of England. (18)

Prior to Charles dying, Charles had acknowledged that James was a loyal and loving brother. (16)

Within 15 minutes of Charles dying, King James 2 addressed the Privy Council. A copy of the speech (19) is Appendix A to this document. The speech was not prepared by speechwriters; it was a speech expressing the King's feelings at the time. (20)

On taking office as king, James kept most of the servants , officials, and MP's, who had served Charles well, regardless of whether they had previously opposed James, on the basis that they had served Charles well, an, that it was in their interests to also serve him well. For the most part, he was proved right, as they mostly also served James well. (21)

James changed the style of government, from the way Charles had run it. James put more effort into it, and was more business-like. James became more involved in financial administration, monitoring his income and expenses, and cutting his household expenses. (22)

James sought to repay Charles's debts, and devoted almost half his annual revenue, to debt repayments. He also did what he could, to reduce waste and corruption in the administration. He also sought to impose some morality on his staff, and on the court, to try to clean them up, from the whoring and debauchery that Charles had, while king, established in the court and staff. James had no time for men of pleasure. They had helped hound Clarendon into exile, and, in the 1670's had caused Charles to sacrifice his brother, James, to parliament. James had little in common with them, quite apart from his resentment of their conspiracies and betrayals. He was not witty, and did not like their frivolous and self-indulgent attitudes. He drank little, and, as he got older, became increasingly intolerant to alcohol, arguing, in 1685, that the House of Commons should increase the excise on wine. "Who obliges people to make themselves drunk?", he asked. (23)

James's reign could have been more stable and more successful than the reign of Charles 2. James had virtues that Charles lacked; a willingness to work hard at the finer details of government and high standards of personal conduct, which he tried to apply in both his government and his court. (24)

So, what went wrong?

One problem was James's obstinacy (24). Another was his willingness to be persuaded by people, rather than by reason. He was easily manipulated by clever men. (24)

Like Charles 2, James 2 distrusted the privy council and the cabinet council. (24) Given his experiences of the conspiracies and betrayals, by members of parliament, the distrust is not surprising or unreasonable.

James had to deal with the ongoing paranoia of the Anglican majority, to his Catholicism, and the religious bigotry and intolerance of those in power, who eventually brought about his downfall, after his son was born.

I believe that James 2 appears to have been, in his sincere attempts to liberalise religion, as he had been since his conversion to Catholicism, a victim of the religious bigotry and paranoia of the time, and, a victim of the power-grabbing conspirators in parliament, and, in the Anglican church.

He was not a tyrant. He did not seek to try to become an absolute monarch. He did not try to force the Catholic religion on his subjects. He was a sincere king, who tried to do the right thing by his people, and he was the victim of conspiracies and betrayal, involving both the members of parliament, and, the Anglican church.

References

"James II - A Study in Kingship", 1977, John Miller, Wayland Publishers, England, p1
From the Internet (May, 2001); http://www.angelfire.com/va/belloc/james.html

("The Last Stuart" from Hilaire Belloc's James the Second (1928))

Michael Durey - Lecture; 31 May 2001, "James 2"
From the Internet (May 2001); http://www.britannia.com/history/monarchs/mon49.html
"James II - A Study in Kingship", 1977, John Miller, Wayland Publishers, England, pp51-53
"James II - A Study in Kingship", 1977, John Miller, Wayland Publishers, England, pp56-57
"James II - A Study in Kingship", 1977, John Miller, Wayland Publishers, England, p57-58
"James II - A Study in Kingship", 1977, John Miller, Wayland Publishers, England, p75
"James II - A Study in Kingship", 1977, John Miller, Wayland Publishers, England, p76
"James II - A Study in Kingship", 1977, John Miller, Wayland Publishers, England, p91
"James II - A Study in Kingship", 1977, John Miller, Wayland Publishers, England, pp99-103
James II - A Study in Kingship", 1977, John Miller, Wayland Publishers, England, p108
James II - A Study in Kingship", 1977, John Miller, Wayland Publishers, England, pp109, 111
James II - A Study in Kingship", 1977, John Miller, Wayland Publishers, England, pp111-112
James II - A Study in Kingship", 1977, John Miller, Wayland Publishers, England, p117
James II - A Study in Kingship", 1977, John Miller, Wayland Publishers, England, p118
From the Internet (May 2001); http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/sceptred_isle/page/78.shtml?question=78

(BBC Online - "This sceptred isle")

From the Internet (May 2001); http://www.angelfire.com/va/belloc/james.html

("The Last Stuart" from Hilaire Belloc's James the Second (1928))

"The History of England From the Accession of James the Second" by Lord Macaulay, Edited by C H Firth; 1913, MacMillan and Co Ltd, London; vol 1, p437
"The History of England From the Accession of James the Second" by Lord Macaulay, Edited by C H Firth; 1913, MacMillan and Co Ltd, London; vol 1, p436
James II - A Study in Kingship", 1977, John Miller, Wayland Publishers, England, pp120-121
James II - A Study in Kingship", 1977, John Miller, Wayland Publishers, England, p121
James II - A Study in Kingship", 1977, John Miller, Wayland Publishers, England, pp121-122
James II - A Study in Kingship", 1977, John Miller, Wayland Publishers, England, p123

Appendix A

The speech of

King James 2 of England and Ireland; James 7 of Scotland,

to the Privy Council, upon his accession to the throne


"An Account of What His Majesty said at His first coming to Council.

"My Lords, Before I enter upon any other Business, I think fit to say something to you. Since it hath pleased Almighty God to place Me in this Station, and I am now to succeed so Good and Gracious King, as well as so very Kind a Brother: I think it fit to Declare to you, That I will endeavour to follow Hi s Example, and most especially in that of His Great Clemency and Tenderness to His People: I have been Reported to be a Man for Arbitrary Power but that is not the onely Story that has been made of Me; And I shall make it my Endeavours to preserve this Government both in Church and State as it is now by Law Established: I know the Principles of the Church of England are for Monarchy, and the members of it have shewed themselves Good and Loyal Subjects, therefore I shall always take Care to Defend and Support it: I know too That the Laws of England are sufficient to make the King as Great a Monarch as I can wish; And as I shall never Depart from the Just Rights and Prerogative of the Crown, so I shall never Invade any mans Property; I have often heretofore ventured in my Life in Defence of this Nation, and I shall still go as far as any man in Preserving it in all its Rights and Liberties."

Whereupon the Lords of the Council were humble Suiters to His Majesty, That these His Gracious Expressions might be made Publick, which His majesty did Order accordingly.

Printed by the Assigns of John Bill deceased: and by Henry Hills and Thomas Newcomb, Printers to the King's most Excellent Majesty. 1684."

Note: The spelling, and, wording, of the above extract, is verbatim.