In 1701 deposed King James II of England, Scotland and Ireland died and his son, James Francis Edward Stuart (“The Old Pretender”), attempted to claim the thrones.
On the 27th of March 1625 James I of the United Kingdoms died and his son Charles I became King aged 25.
On the 13th of June 1625 Charles Married a Catholic, Henrietta Maria of France which became a contributing factor in the belief of a royal plot to return the country to Catholicism. Added to this was the fact that Charles withdrew his forces from the Thirty Years War thus not supporting the Protestants of Europe. This union brought more religious tolerance for Catholics in Britain and this led many Puritans (Protestant Christians with strict religious beliefs) to flee for Ireland, New England, the West Indies and the Netherlands (with about 20,000 migrating to each destination between 1630 and 1640).
On the 22nd of August 1642 Civil War broke out in England with predominantly the North and West supporting the King (“Cavaliers”) while the South and East including London supported Parliament (the “Roundheads”) led by Oliver Cromwell. By the middle of 1643 the Royalists were gaining ground and it looked like the Parliamentarians’ would loose. But the Parliamentarians’ made a military alliance with the Scots who sent troops to defeat Royalists in the north and a year later Cromwell’s “New Model Army” defeated the Cavaliers at Naseby, Northamptonshire on the 14th of June 1645. Charles I headed for Scotland and handed himself in, hoping for better treatment than he would receive in England but the Scottish handed him over to the English Parliament.
King Charles was tried for treason and found guilty on the 30th of January 1649. He was beheaded on the 6th of February 1649. On the same day, Scotland, Ireland and many royalists in England proclaimed Charles’s son, Charles II of England Scotland and Ireland. This proclamation was condemned as illegal by the English Parliament who declared the end of the monarchy making England a Republic for the first time in its history.
Oliver Cromwell became army commander and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, crushing any resistance including the massacres of Wexford in October 1649 where he killed 2,000 soldiers and 1,500 civilians. In 1651 Charles II, who was exiled on the death of his father, had been gathering support and an army in Scotland. On the 3rd of September 1651 Charles’s forces met with Cromwell’s army in battle but Charles lost and he and his brother James fled to France.
Cromwell proclaimed himself Lord High Protector of England in 1653 and began to establish Puritanism in England. He allied himself with France against Spain and at the Battle of Dunes on the 14th of June 1658 he defeated the Spanish forces. On the 3rd of September 1658 Oliver Cromwell died and his son Richard became Lord High Protector of England.
On the 25th of May 1660 Charles II returns to England by invitation and takes his place as King of England, Scotland and Ireland. The republic of England is over after 11 years in what is known as “The English Restoration”. He has all involved in his father’s death tried for regicide (Except the executioner who wore a mask keeping their identity secret).
On the 6th of February 1685 Charles II died and his younger brother James II became the new King of the United Kingdoms. In 1669 James converted to Catholicism and, like his grandfather, when he became king he attempted to bring more religious tolerance opposing many anti-catholic laws. James II had two daughters, both of which were protestant, and this gave Protestants hope that one day Protestants would return to the throne. On the 10th of June 1688 James’ second wife Mary of Macedonia gave birth to their son James Francis Edward Stuart. The birth of his first son brought fear to many influential Protestants in the Kingdoms who now saw a Catholic line of succession assured. They planned to overthrow the King through Protestant William of Orange (whose wife was King James II eldest daughter).
On the 9th of December 1688 William of Orange defeated James II at the Battle of Reading and soon after he and his wife Mary became joint monarchs of England, Ireland and Scotland in what became known as “the Glorious Revolution”. He was deeply opposed to French King Louise XIV who had tried to invade his homeland of the Dutch Republic. James was placed in custody in the Netherlands but escaped shortly after on the 23rd of December 1688 and he fled to France. He was welcomed by his cousin Louise XIV. The following year James sailed to Ireland to build an army and on the 1st of July 1690 his army was defeated by William III at the battle of the Boyne. James returned to France and died on the 16th of September 1701. His son, James Francis Stuart, was immediately proclaimed James III (VIII in Scotland) of the Kingdoms by the French King Louise XVI and his supporters who later became known as “Jacobites”. In 1715 James led a Jacobite uprising in Scotland which failed. In 1745 his son, Charles Edward Stuart (known as the Young Pretender), led another Jacobite rising which ended in his defeat on the 16th of April 1745 at the Battle of Culloden.
