The New Student's Reference Work/James II

James II of England and VII of Scotland, second son of Charles I and Henrietta Maria, was born on Oct. 15, 1633. In 1643 he was made duke of York. During the Civil War he escaped into France. He served in the French and Spanish armies. In 1661 he married Anne, daughter of Lord-chancellor Hyde. When Charles II died, James was made king, Feb. 6, 1685. He was most unpopular, because he was a Roman Catholic and utterly failed to understand the temper of the English people. He levied, without warrant from parliament, from the customs-duties. He became, as his brother Charles had been, a mere puppet in the hands of the French king, Louis XIV. The Covenanters of Scotland were persecuted even worse than they had been when Charles had handed Scotland over to the tender mercies of James. After the unsuccessful rebellion of the king’s nephew, Monmouth, came the “Bloody Assize,” the court held by the wicked, in which 320 persons were hanged. Such acts roused the anger of the nation to the highest pitch. An invitation was sent to William, Prince of Orange, signed by seven of the leading English statesmen, to come over to England and take the crown and throne. At the head of a powerful army William landed at Torbay on the English Channel, on Nov. 5, 1688, and began his march toward London. He was everywhere hailed as a deliverer, while James was deserted, not only by his ministers and troops, but even by his daughter, Princess Anne. The king had feared danger, and had sent his wife and infant son to France, where he soon joined them at St. Germain. He was kindly received by Louis XIV, who settled a revenue upon him. Next year he made a hopeless attempt to regain his throne, with an army furnished by France. He invaded Ireland, but was totally defeated at the battle of the Boyne (1690), He died at St. Germain, Sept. 6, 1701. See Macaulay’s, Ranke’s and Lingard’s histories and Burnet’s History of his Own Time.