James II's Response to the League of Augsburg

The Duke of Berwick was a son of King James II of England and, after his father was dethroned by William of Orange (later William III), became a famous general in French service.  Berwick wrote out his Memoirs, and included this interesting exchange between the league of Augsburg (supporting William of Orange) and his father James II (then King of England).

"Pope Innocent XI, the Emperor, and the King of Spain, were in the secret of the Prince of Orange's intended invasion; and connived at it in the view of obliging the King of England to renounce the alliance he had with France, and to unite with the league lately made at Augsburg against that nation.  But they never had an intention of dethroning the King of England; as a proof of which, Don Pedro Ronquillo, the Spanish ambassador at London, in private audience which he demanded for that purpose, made the King clearly see that the storm threatened him; but at the same time assured him, in the name of the House of Austria, that if he would enter into the league, he would have nothing more to fear for himself, and that all the effort would turn against France."  

"The King's answer, though not very consonant with what policy might perhaps have required of him in his present situation, was dictated by the uprightness of his heart and of his conscience.  He assured the ambassador that it was his intention to live upon good terms with everybody, and never to depart from the laws of equity and justice; and that by these very laws, he was bound not to break with a Prince, who was his relation and ally, and from whom he had always received marks of friendship.  Ronquillo pressing him strongly, and representing to him the misfortunes to which he was going to expose himself, if he persisted in his resolution, the King replied, that he would rather lose his crown, than be guilty of an unjust action."--Berwick's Memoirs vol. 1 pp. 22-26, as cited on pg. 41 of The Marshal Duke of Berwick by Charles Petrie 

Queen Maria Clementina (Sobieska) Stuart

"Therefore as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing."--Ephesians 5:24

Maria Clementina Sobeska was born on July 18, 1702.  She was the granddaughter of King John Sobieski, who had rescued Vienna from the Turks in 1683.

In 1718, Maria Clementina agreed to marry the Jacobite king-in-exile, James III.  However, news of the marriage leaked out and the Princess was arrested and confined in Inspruck.  Chevalier Wogan (who had negotiated the marriage) was commissioned to free her.  The mission seemed nearly impossible.  However, Wogan and his little expedition located and freed the Princess, then set out back to Rome.

"...the Princess was able to proceed on her journey, during which she charmed her companions by her affability and cheerfulness."--pg. 312, History of the Irish Brigades in the Service of France

"The Princess appears to have borne with a patience and courage beyond her years."--pg. 84, Memoirs of the Pretenders by John Heneage Jesse

Maria Clementina Sobieska married James III on September 3, 1719.  He said that his new bride had "the loveliness of seventeen with the sound sense and discrimination of thirty." She had two sons, Charles Edward (a.k.a. Bonnie Prince Charlie), and Henry Benedict.  She died January 18, 1765.

James Radcliffe, Earl of Derwentwater

The Earl of Derwentwater was one of the noblemen who joined James III during the Jacobite Rising of 1715.  He was captured after the Battle of Preston, tried, and condemned to death.  His wife visited George I in person and pleaded for her husband, but to no avail.  Lord Derwentwater was executed on February 24, 1716.

"'Lord Derwentwater,' says his associate, the Rev. Robert Patten, 'was formed by nature to be universally beloved; for his benevolence was so unbounded, that he seemed only to live for others.  He resided among his own people, spent his estate among them, and continually did them kindnesses.  His hospitality was princely, and none in that country came up to it.  He was very charitable to the poor, whether known to him or not, and whether Papists or Protestants.  His fate was a misfortune to many who had no kindness for the cause in which he died.'  Smollett also has awarded a passing encomium to the memory of Lord Derwentwater, which deserves to be his epitaph. 'He was an amiable youth,' he says; 'brave, open, generous, hospitable, and humane: his fate drew tears from the spectators, and was a great misfortune to the country in which he lived; he gave bread to multitudes of people whom he employed on his estate; the poor, the widow, and the orphan rejoiced in his bounty.'"--pgs. 61-62, Memoirs of the Pretenders and their Adherents by John Heneage Jesse

Louisa Maria Teresa Stuart

"The father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice; and he that begetteth a wise child shall have joy of him.  Thy father and thy mother shall be glad, and she that bare thee shall rejoice"--Proverbs 23:24-25

"Adieu, my dear child.  Serve your creator in the days of your youth.  Consider virtue as the greatest ornament of your sex.  Follow close the great pattern of it, your mother, who has been, no less than myself, over-clouded with calumny.  But time, the mother of truth, will, I hope, at last make her virtues shine as bright as the sun."--advice from James II to his young daughter Louisa Maria Teresa Stuart

Louisa Maria Teresa Stuart was born on June 28, 1692 to James II, King of England and Mary of Modena.  She was born in France, as by 1692 King James had been forced to flee there following the "Glorious Revolution".  James himself said that Louisa had been sent by God to him as a consolation in his distress.  The young princess in exile became very popular with the French for her kind nature.  There were plans for her to marry Charles XII of Sweden, but they fell through. 

She died on April 18, 1712, regretted by many, French and English alike. 

A French noble wrote this to a friend: "My Lord, I send to you by these the sad and deplorable news of the much lamented death of the Princess Royal of England who died of the smallpox the 18th of this month at St Germains who as she was one of the greatest ornaments of that afflicted court, so she was the admiration of all Europe; never Princess was so universally regretted. Her death has filled all France with sighs, groans and tears. She was a Princess of a majestical mien and port; every motion spoke grandeur, every action was easy and without any affectation or meanness, and proclaim'd her a heroine descended from the long race of so many paternal and maternal heroes..."

Even Louis XIV himself, the "Sun King", personally wrote a letter to Queen Anne to inform her of the death of her sister.  Lord Dartmouth records that the letter contained "the highest character that ever was given to any princess of her age."

Despite her short life (living almost twenty years) Louisa Maria Teresa Stuart was loved by all for her uprightness.

Jean Graham, Viscountess of Dundee

"These things have I spoken unto you, that in me you might have peace.  In this world ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world"--John 15:33

Jean Cochrane was born c. 1662 to a Covenanting family.  In 1684, she was courted by a young colonel of the Royal (Scottish) Regiment of Horse named John Graham of Claverhouse.  On June 10 of the same year, she married him.

In 1688, the "Glorious Revolution" broke out and Graham, now Viscount Dundee drew sword in defense of King James II.  When he departed from his house, his wife encouraged him in his mission. 

"Follow your glorious fate, where King and Country call you; where honour, and loyalty, and the ardour of your own noble nature, prompt you.  Go where glory waits you!"  Thus spake she, all unconscious of a last farewell.  Yet the heavy sigh, and sad countenance belied her lips.  And as far as her eyes could penetrate through space, she strained them after the departing figure of her heroic husband.--selection from The Grameid by James Philip of Dalimericlose, quoted on pg. 541, Mark Napier, Memorials and Letters Relative to the Life and Times of John Graham of Claverhous, Viscount of Dundee.

His wife was not wanting in her support to him.  She secretly sent him money to fund his campaign. and even corresponded with William Livingstone (lieutenant-colonel of the Scots Dragoons) to join Dundee; the plan, however, was defeated.

In 1689, Dundee was killed at Killiecrankie.  Five years later, Jean Graham married William Livingstone.  She did not have long to live after her second marriage, being killed by the collapse of a house in 1695.

Her dauntless spirit against all odds, and her tireless endeavors to aid her husband should inspire those who hear of the deeds of Jean Graham.

Queen Mary of Modena

"But let it be the hidden man of the heart in that which is not corruptible even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit which is in the sight of God of great price"--1 Peter 3:4

"She was 'the model of what a queen should be, and she bore her misfortunes heroically.'"--Demetrius C. Boulger, The Battle of the Boyne

"And there hope is, that when the Spouse of Christ shall have summoned her grand array to meet the Bridegroom, among the humblest of her handmaidens may be numbered the names of Francoise de Maintenon and Marie of Modena and England."--George S. Smythe, Historic Fancies

Mary of Modena was born on October 5, 1658 to the Duke and Duchess of Modena, a small state in Italy. On November 23, 1673, Mary married James, Duke of York. For over ten years she lived quietly, until February 6, 1685. Charles II died, and the English throne passed to his brother James.

James was crowned as James II and Mary of Modena became Queen. They ruled for three years until on June 10, 1688, the Queen gave birth to a son, triggering William III's invasion. I have already studied the Revolution which drove James, Mary, and their son into exile.

Mary of Modena "bore her misfortunes heroically" as she fled England and sailed to France. Her heroism won praise from Louis XIV, as she endured disaster after disaster including defeats at the Boyne (1690) and Aughrim (1691), and the death of James II (1702). Mary of Modena had one more child: Louisa Maria Teresa Stuart, born on June 28, 1692.

She died in exile on May 7, 1718, but her legacy of perseverance lives on.

The Not-So-Glorious Revolution

Remember, remember, the fifth of November
The Williamite treason and plot!—author's adaptation of traditional rhyme

On November 5, 1688, Prince William of Orange set foot on English soil, beginning the struggle for power that would ultimately be known as the “Glorious Revolution.”
Most Protestants see it much as R. M. Ballantyne put it: “The great Revolution of 1688, which set William and Mary on the throne, also banished the tyrannical and despotic house of Stuart for ever; opened the prison gates to the Covenanters; restored to some extent the reign of justice and mercy; crushed, if it did not kill, the heads of Popery and absolute power, and sent a great wave of praise and thanksgiving over the whole land. Prelacy was no longer forced upon Scotland. The rights and liberties of the people were secured, and the day had at last come which crowned the struggles and sufferings of half a century.”

So…was William of Orange justified?

James (future James II) had married Anne Hyde, and had two daughters: Mary and Anne. Mary married William, Prince of Orange (in the Netherlands), and Anne married George, Prince of Denmark. In 1671, Anne Hyde died, and in 1673, James, a Catholic, married Mary of Modena, a Catholic. In 1685, James II succeeded to the throne upon Charles II’s death. On June 10, 1688, Mary of Modena had a son named James Francis Edward Stuart, or James III.

In the English law, a younger son would succeed to the throne before an older daughter. This rule was used with Henry VIII’s children: Edward VII, the youngest child, was first on the throne, then Mary, the oldest, then Elizabeth, the youngest daughter. This meant that James III would become king of England before his sisters, Mary and Anne.

Perhaps this would have been tolerable for William, had it not been for one more factor: France. William had devoted his life to building a “Grand Alliance” against France and her “Sun King”, Louis XIV. The Grand Alliance comprised the Catholic Hapsburg Empire (roughly Austria and Germany), Catholic Spain, the Duchy of Savoy, and the Protestant Netherlands. But one country was missing: England. William of Orange desperately wanted England in his Grand Alliance, but James—remembering that France had kept him safe from Cromwell—refused. Instead, he stayed neutral in the war that was brewing.

When James III was born, seven noblemen asked William to claim the crown in his wife’s name. They said that James III was not the real son of the King, but that the King intended to foist him on the English people to create a Catholic dynasty.

William was glad to oblige (though he had congratulated the King and Queen on the birth of their heir, and later said he believed James III was their lawful son), for this would draw England into his “Grand Alliance”. He prepared a fleet and army to land in England, which they did on November 5. His declaration when he landed said that he was here, not to claim the crown, but to persuade James to dismiss his Catholic councilors. However, he met with a cold welcome from the English, who did not like a foreign power on English soil.

James’s army was around him, but many treacherous officers such as John Churchill, Earl of Marlborough, deserted to William. Mary of Modena and James III fled to France, escorted by the Duc de Lauzen. James II was captured by William, and entered London, then was moved to Rochester. While in Rochester, James attended Mass…with the supposedly Protestant Dutch Blue Guards. He told the colonel that “…while in the English army not 1000 men in every 180,000 were Catholics, the invading army, professedly to vindicate the Protestant liberties, was two-thirds of it composed of Catholics.” After, he escaped to France, not trusting himself in England.

Now, Parliament declared the throne vacant, and offered—not to James’s daughter Mary—but to William and Mary! In fact, Mary ruled in name only; the real power was William. James II had brought liberty of conscience to England, but William III made life intolerable for the Irish Catholics by breaking the Treaty of Limerick. Incidentally, this would strengthen the French because young Irish soldiers went to France to fight in the Irish Brigade against the English.

While life would seem bad for James II, he consoled himself by saying that it was the will of God. An excellent way to see the unfortunate “Glorious Revolution”.

James II's Instructions to his Son on Warfare

James II (left) was King of England from 1685 to 1688, when William III of Orange invaded England and took the crown. James fled to France, and then to Ireland, where he waged war against William. The Jacobites (followers of King James) were defeated at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. Also in 1690, James II began to draft these instructions to his son James Francis Edward Stuart, who was then two years old. My selections for this article represents James's view on war. Read the full instructions here, along with a multitude of other original documents from James II, James Francis Edward Stuart, and more.

If it please God to restore me (which I trust in his goodness he will do) I may then hope to settle all things so as may make it easier for you to govern all my dominions with safety to the monarchy, and the satisfaction of all the subjects; no king can be happy without his subjects be at ease, and the people cannot be secure of enjoying their own without the King be at his ease also, and in a condition to protect them and secure his own right; therefore preserve your prerogative, but disturb not the subjects in their property, nor conscience, remember the great precept, Do as you would be done to, for that is the law and the prophets. Be very careful that none under you oppress the people, or torment them with vexations, suits, or projects: Remember a king ought to be the father of his people, and must have a fatherly tenderness for them. Live in peace and quiet with all your neighbours, and know that kings and princes may be as great robbers as thieves and pirates, and will receive their punishment for taking anything unjustly from them, at the great tribunal, and be not carried away by ambition or thoughts of glory in this world, to make you forget that divine precept, and never be persuaded to go about to enlarge your territories by unjust acquisitions, be content with what is your own.

. . .

And now I must give you warning not to let yourself at any time be carried away by heat of youth, ambition or flattering interest to embark yourself in an offensive war, none of which can be justified by Christianity or morality. Kings and princes can no more justify their taking from their neighbours, but by way of reprisal towns or provinces, than thieves of highway men their unlawful gains.

Remember that maxim of Christ: "That one must not do ill that good may follow," and the other, "Be content with what is your own," which does not hinder kings and states from preserving and defending what is justly theirs by taking arms and repelling force by force; they owe that to themselves and to their subjects, but it is a terrible thing to begin unjust war.

Consider the consequences of it, both as to this world and the next, no forgiveness without restitution. Besides what desolation does it not bring upon whole kingdoms and provinces, and though armies that are well paid and under good discipline may be hindered from committing great disorders even in an enemy's country, yet what devastations does it not cause in an active war, which cannot be avoided to the ruin of thousands of poor people.

The young James Francis Edward Stuart and his mother, Queen Mary of Modena

Jacobite White Rose Day

On June 10, 1688, James Francis Edward Stuart (to his supporters James III, to his detractors the "Old Pretender") was born to James II and his second wife, Mary of Modena. According to English law, a son would take precedence over an older daughter in the succession of the throne. Those who looked forward to James II's death so that his daughter Mary, who was married to William of Orange, would succeed to the throne, had their hopes shattered. Seven men wrote a letter to William, asking him to invade England for the throne.William was more than happy to oblige, and landed in England. Mary of Modena and her son fled to France, and James II followed shortly.

Now there were two opposing camps in England. The Williamites believed that William III had a right to sit on the throne. The Jacobites believed that William III was a usurper, and continued to pledge allegiance to James II, and when he died, to James III. The Jacobites remained a force to be reckoned with in European politics for nearly a century.

The white rose or white cockade was a symbol of Jacobitism. To symbolize their unity with France, James II's army wore white cockades (Williamites wore green plants or orange clothing), and the symbolism of the white rose/cockade carried over for centuries to the present day.

Happy White Rose Day!