Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 11.djvu/119

* JAMES I. 103 JAMES II. ■was completed between 1004 and 1611, and the oik was encouraged by the King. His vacillat- ing policy and complete subserviency to the will of his favorites caused hini to be regarded with con- tempt, and he was pithily described by the gieat French statesman Sully as the 'wisest fool in Christendom.' He believed fully in the divine right of kings, and desired an absolute monarchy, but did not know how to manage his ijarliaments, and was compelled to dissolve them on several occasions, iloreover, the House of Commons im- peached his ministers, a notable case being that of his great chanceHor, Francis Bacon (q.v.). In Scotland the reign of James was fairly success- ful, for he understood the temper and spirit of that country better than that of England. The reign of .James is also notable for the beginning of permanent English colonization in America, and some unsuccessful expeditions, as that of Sir Walter Ralegh to the mouth of the Orinoco in 1610. (See tUstory, under United States.) Consult: his Works (London, 1616); his Correspondence icilh Sir Robert Cecil (West- minster, 1S61) ; Letters to King James the Sixth from the Queen, etc. (Edinburgh, 1835) : Harris, An Historical and Critical Account of the Lives and ^^'ritings of James I. and Charles I. (Lon- don, 1814) ; Journal of Transactions in Scotland During the Contest Hetu'een the Adherents of Queen Mary and Those of Her Son, 1570-73 (Edinburgh, 1800); History and Life of King James, Being an Account of the Affairs of Scot- land from the Year IUGG to the Year 1396, with a short continuation to the year 1617 (Edin- burgh, 1825) ; Xarrativc History of King James for the First Fourteen Years (4 pts., London, 1651) : Secret History of the Four Last ilonarchs of Great Britain, James I., etc. (London, 1691) ; Aikin, ilemoirs of the Court of King James the First (London, 1822) ; Birch, Court and Times of James the First (London, 1848) ; Durham, Relations of the Croun to Trade Under James I. (London, 1844) ; Frankland, Annals of King James and King Charles the First (Lon- don, 1681) : Goodman, Court of King James the First (London, 18.30) ; ilackenzie. An Historical Account of the Conspiracies by the Earl of Cloicry and Robert Logan Against King James ^ I. (Edinburgh, 1713) ;" Weldon, Court and Char- acter of King James I. (London, 1651) ; ilelvil. Memoirs of His Oun Life (Edinburgh, 1827) ; Burton, History of Scotland (London, 1873) ; Macaulay, History of England (Xew York, 1S58) : and especiallv Gardiner, History of Eng- land (London, 1895)'. JAMES II. OF EXGI,.XD AND VII. OF SCOT- LAND (1033-1701). The .son of Charles I. and Henrietta Maria, he was bom October 14, 1633. While a mere infant he was created Duke of York and Albany. In 1646 he was surrendered along with his father to the Parliamentary authorities, who held him in custody till he managed to escape in 1648. He served in sev- eral campaigns under Turenne : but as the treaty between Cromwell and Louis XIV. provided for the removal of the English royal family from France, .James entered the military service of Spain. Appointed Lord High Admiral of Eng- land at the Restoration, he twice commanded the English fleet in the ensuing wars with Hol- land. Although he showed some ability in this oflfice. his weak, inconsistent character stood in the way of much-needed naval reform. On the death of his wife Anne— daughter of Sir Edward Hydt — as an avowed Catholic, lie declared him- self a convert to her faith. The Test Act of 1073, accordingly, compelled him to resign his otKce. His marriage in this year with Mary Beatrice, sister of the Duke of ilodena. led him to favor close connection with Louis XIV. When great irritation against the Roman Catholics arose in England on the publication of Titus Oates's supposed discoveries, the Duke of York retired for a short time to Holland. The bill for his exclusion from the throne was twice read before the House of Commons, and prevented from passing only bv the prorogation of Parlia- ment, May 26, 1079.' In 1680 the Exclusion Bill I'assed the House of Commons, but was rejected by the Lords. On his return from abroad, and while this bill was before Parliament, the Duke was sent to govern Scotland. But when Charles II. died, February 6, 1085, James succeeded to the crown without opposition. Incurring the hostility of Parliament by favoring the Catholics, and on account of his scheme for maintaining a standing army, the new King, in order to obtain money, had to become a ])ensioner of Louis XIV. In Passion Week, 1085, the rites of the Church of Rome were openly celelirated at Westminster with full splendor. In the same year the sup- pression of the Duke of ilonmouth's rebellion in England, and that of the Earl of Argyll in Scotland, was followed by great severities. On the western circuit alone, well known as the Bloody Assize, presided over by the infamous Jeffreys, 320 persons were hanged. When Parlia- ment met, Xovember 9, .James requested extra supplies to maintain a standing army: but after a stormy debate he was refused. To aid his endeavors in favor of the Roman Catholics, he resolved to conciliate the Puritans, much as ha hated them. On April 4. 10S7, appeared the memorable Declaration of Indulgence, in which he announced his intention of protecting dis- senters in the free exercise of their religion; and the nation beheld the extraordinary spec- tacle of the House of Stuart leagued with re- publican and regicide sects against the old Cavaliers of England. The attempt to conciliate the Puritans, however, was unsuccessful : and in March, 1687, it began to be evident that the war between King and Church must soon reach a climax. At that time, a vacancy having occurred in the presidency of Magdalen College. Oxford, a royal letter recommended Anthony Farmer, a Roman Catholic, to the vacant place; For Farmer was afterwards substituted Parker, a Bishop of Oxford, who, in addition to other legal disqualifi- cations, was knowni to be a Roman Catholic, though not avowed. To place him in the office the King resorted to military force. On April 27. I68S. .James published a second Declaration of Indulgence, which he ordered to be read in all the churches in the Kingdom. The clergy generally disobeyed, and seven of the bishops, for venturing on a written remonstrance, were committed to the Tower on a charge of seditious libel. On .June lOth of the same year James's luckless son. known in history as the Pretender, was born. The certainty that the young heir to the throne would be trained in the Roman Catholic faith determined the country to be rid of the King. Public sentiment compelled the Court to acquit the seven bishops. .June 30. 1688. Tliat very night an invitation was dispatched