chapter twenty Flashcards
in what year did James Catholicism became known
1669
how was James Catholicism further made clear in 1673
when he refused to swear loyalty to the CofE under the test act
his brother Charles II had no illegitimate children , however he was only
three years older than James , thus James could die before Charles
next in line to the succession was who
James two daughters
Mary and anne
both protestants
what happened in 1673 regarding James personal life
he got married a second time to the 15 year old catholic princess Mary of Modena
with James new marriage what loomed
the very real prospect of a catholic line of succession and this threat underpinned the exclusion crisis
concerns about James as heir became a full blown political crisis with the revelation of the
popish plot
what year was the popish plot
1678
outline the popish plot
a plan to assassinate Charles II so that he could be replaced by his catholic brother James II
allegedly supported by an invasion from france and a catholic rebellion in Ireland
why was the popish plot significant
as it raised peoples concerns over the growing power of the crown and of James as a catholic heir to their throne
Charles had to accept a second test act in 1678 which
excluded catholics from parliament
an exemption in the case of James was passed by 2 votes
alongside the second test act Charles agreed to
prosecute the penal laws with more rigour
the popish plot continued to accelerate the exclusion crisis , Edward Coleman , James ex secretary was executed along with
three others
and five catholic peers were set to be impeached
Charles dissolved the cavalier parliament in
January 1679 amid this tension
a new parliament , the first exclusion parliament met in
march 1679 because Charles needed money
the first exclusion parliament took measure to try to secure its freedom and rights in the event of a catholic succession this led to
it granting 200,000 to disband Charles II standing army in peace time
secured Habeas Corpus ammendment act - may 1678 - reinforced common law except treason or felony , the cause of imprisonment had to be stated and a case brought to trial normally within three days
the aim of the first exclusion parliament was to
protect the subject in case of a Catholic heir rather than directly exclude James from the throne
in this parliament the ‘ court ‘ or those who opposed the exclusion was outnumber two to one by those who were
anti court or those who favoured exclusion
in order to defuse some of the tension Charles sent
James to Brussels before parliament met
on 27 April 1678 some of Edward Colemans correspondence became public knowledge which seemed to show
that James had been negotiating with both france and the pope
in response to this correspondence the commons voted that the catholicism of the heir to the throne had to be
’ given the greatest countenance and encouragement of present conspiracies and designs of the papists against the king and the protestant religion ‘
on 30 April Charles had to promise that there would be limitations on a catholic monarch ;
no church patronage
parliament to have power of appointment over civil , legal and military offices
such measures appeased some moderates such as the Marques of Halifax but those more committed to
exclusion pushed their position
on 11 may 1679 one Mp called for James impeachment on charges of
high treason
this was followed bu the reading of the exclusion bill on the
15th may 1679
pushing by whig leading exclusionist , Shaftesbury
on 21st may the exclusion bill passed it second reading by
207-128
throughout the exclusion crisis Charles priority was to protect his potion and his
brothers right to succeed him as monarch
to relive the political pressure after the exclusion bill passed , Charles intervened by
proroguing parliament on 27 may
Monmouth was a protestant and appeared as a possible candidate for the throne despite his
illegitimacy
Charles , wary of Monmouths popularity dissolved the first exclusion parliament in
July 1679
the Dutch war had ended in 1678 and Charles pushed harder on negotiations with both
the French and the dutch
in late august 1679 Charles became seriously ill , his illness made calls for an
exclusion bill more heated
to calm the political atmosphere Charles temporarily exiled the Duke of Monmouth to the Netherland in
September 1679
in addition in sept 1679 the Duke of York was sent to
scotland to re establish order
in england Charles remodelled his privy council in the autumn of
1679
Charles removed those opponents (Shaftesbury,essex,russel) that he has brought into his privy council to appease them and replaced them with
young advisers such as
earl of Sunderland
sidney godolphin
clarions son , Laurence hyde
there were purges of county commissions of peace which put
local power in the hands of loyalists
Charles also knew that he still had a still standing army which he could
turn to
Charles announced the first of many prorogations of parliament that had not even
met
a key element of the exclusion crisis was in non parliamentary pressure especially from London . supporters and opponents of the crisis found
vocal support for the city population
in response the Charles perorations of parliament , shaftesburys whig group organised a petition calling for a meeting of parliament
how many signatures did it get ?
16,000
Charles ignored as had no validity
a censorship act called the licensing act of 1622 lapsed in 1679 allowing for
more freedom for the production of pamphlets
from 1679-81 how many exlusionists pamphlets were produced to attack James and to disseminate anti catholic sentiments
200
SUPPORT EXCLUSION
the usual November processions based on celebrating elizabeths accession and the failure of the gunpowder plot in London focused on
anti catholicism including ;
burning effigies of the pope
harness by whigs as another means of non parliamentary pressure in favour of exclusion
SUPPORT EXCLSUION
the key plot was Oates popish plot but others came forward with anti catholics conspiracy theories , Oates as a result of his lies was responsible for the death of
35 men
SUPPORT EXCLUSION
by 1683 belief in the plot was collapsing and thus Oates was
arrested in 1684 as a result of accusing the Duke of York as being a traitor
SUPPORT EXCLSUION
in June 1680 charges were brought before the middlesex grand hurry in an attempt to prosecute James as recusant , Charles had the jury
dissolved before it could make a judgment
there was a reaction in Charles favour by moderates in 1660 to 1681 against
whig petitioning and their apparent radicalism
the abhorrence movement on 1862 produced addresses stating
abhorrence at shaftesburys organsiation of non parliamentary pressure for exclsioom ; known as ‘abhorrers’, stated their hatred of the perceived racialism of the exclusionists
tory ideology emerged with arguments in support of
divine right
royal perogative
the rule of law
passive obedience
AGAINST EXCLUSION
the royalist pampleteer Roger L’Estrange was probably the most well known for publicising the tory argument against exclusion , there were
64,000 copies of L’Estranges tracts in circulation by 1679
AGAINST EXCLUSION
there was also detailed printed forms of argument against the exclusion , the most significant was the publication of
Filters work patriarchal , Filmer claimed that the absolute monarchy was ordained by the law of nature and agued medieval english history showed that parliament was subordinate to the crown
- tory arguments for absolutism recognised a monarch had to respect the laws and the intrests of their subjects or they would become a tyrant
AGAINST EXCLUSION
the most influential tory newspaper was
L’Estranges Observator , which was published regularly between 1681-8 and was produced as apart of the exclusion crisis propaganda
AGAINST EXCLUSION
there was a government controlled newspaper , the London Gazette and Charles II himself also produced a declaration in
April 1681 attacking the whigs for their radical organisation of non parliamentary pressure for exclusion
AGAINST EXCLUSION
poems and every playing cards were used to
strengthen the tory cause
AGAINST EXCLUSION
the tories also made use of the pulpit and
the playhouse
the second exclusion parliament of 1660
charles used seven provocations to play the opening by a year
another exclusion bill passed through its three readings in HoC and was in HoL by nov
Charles intervened by attending sessions in the lord to show his support for James right to succeed
Marques of Halifax spoke repeatedly in favour of a compromise
HoL rejected exclusion bill
HoC in response offered Charles 600,000 of exclusion , and refused to grant any money until it was passed
Charles dissolved parliament on 18th January 1681
the Oxford parliament march 1681
- Oxford was a loyalist area rather than London to take advantage of reaction of moderates against the radicalism of exclusion
Charles offered that William and Mary would be regents for James , rejected by HoC , who planned an exclusion bill with Shaftesbury calling for Monmouth to be the next monarch
26 March HoC , only 20 dissenters = another exclusion introduced
Charles could dissolve the pro (Oxford) exclusion parliament if he secured finance from abroad which he did in a secret treaty in March 1681 with Louis XIV :
- secure 40,000 immediately and 115,000 annually for three years
- in exchange for the money he promised not to call another parliament for three years
Charles dissolved the Oxford parliament on 28 march 1681 after
securing the French money since he no longer needed MPs to supply him with funds
Charles followed the dissolution with propaganda outlining his moderate stance in particular he released in
April 1681 the declaration touching the reasons that moved him to dissolve the last two parliaments
and was to be read from every pulpit , his clear stance and the general mood among the PN especially those outside of London that had reacted against the radicalism of whigs meant he defeated exclusion
although the threat of exclusion was removed by the dissolution of parliament in 1681 , this was not the end as
Charles had failed to get a settlement with parliament
forced to rely on Louis for finances
why the exclusion failed
- Charles finance
having secured the secret treaty ion march 1681 with france and the French money , Charles could dissolve parliament and stop the exclusion from passing
why the exclusion failed
- conservatism of the lords and the church
exclusion bills would never pass conservative HoL , Charles could rely upon a block of support in the HoL from the bishops
why the exclusion failed
- wider support
genuine popular support for toryism which was strengthened by the propaganda produced
part of Charles strategy was to wait for public opinion to rally to him
why the exclusion failed
- loyalism resurged
tory propaganda portraying exclusionists as men who wanted to establish a republic encouraged loyalism to return in 1680-81
why the exclusion failed
- radicalism of exclusion
the exclusion bills actually called for James to subjected to a traitors death by hanging drawing and quartering - if he tried to take the crown
exclusion was also seen as radical because it was trying to change the divine succession of monarch
why the exclusion failed
- limits of whig support
there were limits to shaftesburys exclusionists political group : there was a body of moderates who did not vote at all
only a minority of MPs voted for exclusion , so while Shaftesbury had vocal whig support there were only a small number of MPs who were prepared to follow this through
even the influence of the whig crowd could be seen as limited : it was dramatic but less of a threat than the London mob under Pym in 1641
why the exclusion failed
- persecution
Charles used persecution and repression against his whig opponents , backed by those who supported the tory agenda
why the exclusion failed
- scotland
an attempted Scottish covenanter rebellion against religious restructions was crushed and Charles II maintained control over Scotland during this period
in the years 1681-5 Charles II was the most powerful he had ever been and some historians believe he even had the confidence to try to impose absolutism , the strength of the stuart monarchy in alliance with
a tory reaction saw the catholic James II come to throne in 1685 in an apparently very strong position when Charles died in 1685
James II was naturally authoritarian and inflexible , what made James position weak was his open catholicism :
his ultimate aim was to improve the position of catholics and give them power , everything else can be seen as a means to achieve his religious goals
he wanted the repeal of the penal laws against catholics and dissenters and part of this entailed the repeal of test and corporation acts
James attitude to dissenters was inconsistent , for example whole he suspended penal laws agaisnt both catholics and dissenters he was not willing to
allow dissenters into universities or to serve as army officers
at the start of his reign James declared that he would ‘never depart from the just right and prerogative of the crown to ease fears about his catholicism and absolutism ‘ however despite his strength by 1685 James failed to
recognise that the tories loyalty was to an essentially intolerant church of england , not to a king who wanted to alter the religious settlement radically
in Scotland the earl of Argyll led a rising in spring 1685 in the southwest highlights against James however
it failed as he did elsewhere , James appointed Catholics to positions of power to assert his control
Charles II illegitimate son the duke on Monmouth also plotted a rebellion in the west f England in respone to James becoming king , the rebels were crushed by the
standing army in July 1685 , and Monmouth was executed
a judge sentenced a further 250 to death and 800 were transported to the West Indies as slaves as what become known as the ‘bloody assizes’
there are several reasons for the failure of the 1685 rebellions including :
military weakness
rapid gov response
lack of support for moderate Presbyterians
limited support for the leaders Argyll and Monmouth
James II first parliament in May 1685 was mainly made up of tories in the context of Monmouths uprising and its own pro-crown makeup , parliament first voted :
substantial funds for James so that he had an income of about 2 million a year during his reign
to extend James army to 20,000 troops by December 1865
James however used his dispensing power to appoint nearly 90 catholic army officers however
parliament protested agsint this
they were concerned that the catholic officers might give James a force that was loyal solely to him
James using his dispensing powers led to a constitutional clash in nov 1685 , as parliament argued only they could
except catholics and dissenters from the test acts to allow them to serve in the army
in repose tot he constitutional clash James
prorogues parliament which had been sitting for less than two weeks
the case of Golden V Hales (June 1686) was a test case of James’ dispensing powers to allow catholics to be in offices of power . Hales was a
catholic who served in the army
James had six judges removed before the trial so that the final judgement would be made in his favour
James made use of the court judgement in Golden V Hales and in July 1686
four catholics were appointed to the privy council
James actions were not supported by Tory Anglicans and anti catholic riots occurred across the country , James issued a declaration to
preaches in march 1686 forbidding attacks on the catholic church by minsters
in July 1686 James set up
‘absolutist lawyers’ to enforce his control
the attempts to restore catholicism across the three kingdoms
- Ireland
James appointed catholic earl of Tyrconnell as his lituentant general
remodelled the Irish army so that by sept 1686 most of the army were catholic
James also remodelled other areas so that catholic controlled corporations , judiciary courts and future parliaments
Tyrconnell sought to improve land ownership of catholics by getting protestants to give up half their land
January 1687 James app Tyrconnell as his lord deputy to try to re establish the power of English Cath in Ireland
James policy of promoting Cath destroyed the balance of forces in Ireland = fragile situation
the attempts to restore catholicism across the three kingdoms
- scotland
scot parliament rejected James proposal for toleration for catholics in 1686 , James proceeded through his prerogative
February 1687 James proclaimed freedom of private worship for catholics and quakers but not Presbyterians
James policy in scot created division among the scot elite , opposition out of a formerly loyal parliament and an increase in anti Cath
when James came into power he focused on building up support through catholics and dissenters across all three kingdoms - a political act to get toleration of Catholics , by the June 1687
deceleration of indulgence there was complete toleration and right to office for catholics
Presbyterian conventicles in Scotland also received the right of private worhship and a relaxation of penal laws
the declaration of indulgence June 1687 was significant for the following reasons :
it showed James was influenced by personal contacts with dissenters such as the quaker William Penn
it showed that James had considered economic implications , the favouring of enterprising dissenters meant moving away from the landed gentry and agriculture to the middling classes , the towns , trade and money
on 2nd July 1687 James officially dissolved his first parliament to try construct another that would
repeal the test and penal laws
James had the lord lieutenants ask JP’s and deputy lieutenants three questions to prove that they would support pro catholic laws , with only x responding positively to James queries , purges of local governments increased and many office holders were replaced by those seen as reliable
1/3 rd
James actions were seen as an attack on
the traditional ruling elites dominance , they resented being replaced by less prominent men wether catholic or dissent
