James VII (1685 - 1689)

James VII by Peter Lely

James VII was 52 when he inherited the throne from his brother Charles II. During his life he was married twice, the first to Anne Hyde, daughter of the Earl of Clarendon. Anne had become pregnant with James' first child in 1659 and he kept his promise to marry her, they eventually had six children together. Four of the children died young but the surviving daughters, Mary and Anne both became queens. There was hostility to the marriage and this increased when she converted to Catholicism and was accused of trying to get James to follow her, she died in 1671. Two years later he married the 14 year old Mary of Modena with whom he had a further five children of which two survived, James and Louisa Maria Theresa. James also had four children by his mistress, Arabella Churchill. While in exile in Europe James proved himself to be an able soldier and he fought under the French commander Turenne as well as for Spain in 1658 against the English Republic. After he returned to England after the Restoration he served as Lord High Admiral from 1660 to 1673 and fought in the two Dutch Wars of 1665-7 and 1672-4. In 1664 the English seized New Amsterdam from the Dutch and the king granted the colony to James, who renamed it New York. In 1669 James joined the Roman Catholic Church but he did not make this public until 1672. This news was greeted with great trepidation as Catholicism was associated with many of the evils in society. The problems reached a head with the Popish Plot and Exclusion Crisis of 1678-81 and there was pressure on Charles II to exclude his Catholic brother, James, from the succession. James was twice sent to Scotland for his own safety.

Charles came to Scotland in 1679 and he returned in 1680 and on this occasion he persuaded the Scottish Parliament to accept him as the heir apparent, despite his religion. James was never crowned in Scotland, the first monarch for 400 years not to undergo this ceremony. After he became king he never returned to Scotland although he did carry on the persecution of the Covenanters. Many of them were locked up in Dunnottar Castle where they were kept in terrible conditions.

Although there were probably only around 2,000 Catholics in Scotland at this time James was accepted as king. His major project was that of Catholic emancipation, first Catholics were permitted to worship in private houses and then two Letters of Indulgence they were allowed to worship as they wished. In 1687 the Presbyterians were allowed toleration, except the Cameronians.

James' policy was a failure and the English drove the king abroad in 1688 and invited Mary, and her husband William of Orange, to replace him. James was still King of Scots, however, even though the Scots themselves were divided over the issue. In Edinburgh a mob had attacked the Jesuit free school and Catholic chapel which had been attached to the nave of Holyrood Abbey. At a meeting of the estates on 14th March 1689 they were approximately divided equally, the Jacobites and Williamites were headed by the Duke of Hamilton and Viscount Dundee respectively. The Jacobite cause was lost when a letter from James was read out, it was a bitter letter which basically stated that the Scots should renew their allegiance to the king or face the consequences. To make matters worse the Jacobites then removed themselves from the convention and in their absence, on the 4th April, it was decided that James had forfeited the throne. By 11th May William was William II of Scotland and his wife Mary II.

James now plotted to regain his throne although Dundee's Highland rebellion came to nothing after the defeat at Killiecrankie and his intervention in Ireland came to an end at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. Support remained strong in parts of Scotland and after James' death in 1701 that allegiance was transferred to his son, 'James VIII'.

History Books on James VII:

Author	Title	Published	Price	Order Now From:
Glassey, Lionel K.J.(Ed)	The Reigns of Charles II and James VII & II: 1660-1689	1997	£18.50	Amazon.co.uk
British history in the period from the restoration of 1660 to the revolution of 1688, no less than in other periods, has been subject to 'revisionism'. This volume examines and analyses some of the challenging new theories relating to politics, society, religion and culture that have attracted attention in recent years. It provides both a wide-ranging survey of the principal themes of the post-restoration era, and a series of insights derived from the detailed research of individual contributors.

History Books on this time period

Author	Title	Published	Price	Order Now From:
Donaldson, G.	Scotland: James V - VII	1965	£16.99	Amazon.co.uk
The four-volume Edinburgh History of Scotland is the most important project in Scottish historical writing for more than half a century; each volume is written by an expert on the period who brings to his work the direct acquaintance with original sources on which authoritative historical writing can alone be based. This, the third volume, deals with the time when many of the most significant and familiar episodes in Scottish history took place. The period was one in which Scotland was transformed, partly as a result of conspicuous events but largely because of more subtle and less perceptible changes in the constitutional, ecclesiastical and economic structure, the end result of which was an emergence of life more akin to that we know today. Since the early years of the 20th century much research has been done into this period. Its results form the foundation of this major work, which makes available information hitherto only found scattered throughout numerous books and periodicals.
Mitchison, R.	Lordship to Patronage: Scotland 1603-1745	1990	£9.95 or $20.00	Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Drawing on political, constitutional, religious, economic and social studies, Professor Mitchison outlines the growing bonds between England and Scotland, beginning with James VI's succession and culminating in the Act of Union in 1707. She argues that the union of the two states has had a distorting effect on Scottish history, constantly prompting comparisons of the constitutions and achievements of the two countries, rather than placing Scotland in a European context. This book attempts to redress the balance. First published as part of the New History of Scotland series this is a highly readable and straightforward introduction to early modern Scotland.