Are you serious? There can't be many Scottish Catholics who don't know James II. He was James VII of Scotland, James II of England, the second son of Charles I who was executed following the English Civil War.Originally Posted by JPaul
Charles II, Charles I eldest son, who was handed back the throne, was protestant, and England had laws prohibiting Catholicism, some of which still stand today. Before his death, his brother James converted to Catholicism. The government of the day, still largely controlled by the monarch, tried, unsuccessfully, to persuade Charles II not to allow James to secede to the throne. It caused so much trouble that Charles II ruled the last four years of his life without parliament.
When James II took over the crown on the death of Charles II he set about repealing the anti-Catholic laws. This had a marked effect in Ireland where Catholics replaced Protestants in the Government, Law, Army etc.. But it caused a lot of bitterness, and members of the English parliament approached William of Orange, who was married to James' daughter Mary to come to England and claim the throne, this was despite the fact that James had a younger son, born a Catholic, who was the rightful heir.
When William arrived, the king's army and navy refused to oppose him and James fled. He was caught pretty quickly and exiled to France. His last action was to lead a joint Irish \ French assault on Williams forces in Ireland, but they were defeated at the famous Battle of the Boyne, which led to the formation of the "Orangemen".
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