Distributed for University of Wales Press
James II and Wales
Studies the unsuccessful rule of King James II in seventeenth-century Wales.
The reign of James II was a dramatic failure in Wales. He became King when Welsh loyalty to the crown and church was strong. However, his attacks on the church and his own adherents in Wales meant that loyalty to him quickly drained away. James’s treatment of the Welsh gentry, lawyers, and politicians stimulated a spirit of opposition that strengthened as his Catholicizing policies became more strident. Clergy members were at the forefront of resistance to the King; Bishop William Lloyd of St Asaph became one of the conspirators who sought to overthrow James and replace him with William of Orange; and, when it came, the Revolution of 1688 was much more turbulent in Wales than in England. This comprehensive study of a ruined reign shows how opinion turned against James in Wales, providing an account of a neglected period in Welsh history.
The reign of James II was a dramatic failure in Wales. He became King when Welsh loyalty to the crown and church was strong. However, his attacks on the church and his own adherents in Wales meant that loyalty to him quickly drained away. James’s treatment of the Welsh gentry, lawyers, and politicians stimulated a spirit of opposition that strengthened as his Catholicizing policies became more strident. Clergy members were at the forefront of resistance to the King; Bishop William Lloyd of St Asaph became one of the conspirators who sought to overthrow James and replace him with William of Orange; and, when it came, the Revolution of 1688 was much more turbulent in Wales than in England. This comprehensive study of a ruined reign shows how opinion turned against James in Wales, providing an account of a neglected period in Welsh history.
Table of Contents
Abbreviations
Timeline of James II’s reign in Wales
Genealogy of the Later Stuarts
Foreword and acknowledgements
Chapter 1 Introduction
Chapter 2 Before James: Whig Wales or Tory Wales?
Chapter 3 The reign of James II in Wales
Chapter 4 Wales in Parliament under James
Chapter 5 The Law, Judges and Lawyers
Chapter 6 Wales, the Three Questions and Quo Warranto Proceedings
Chapter 7 Welsh Peers under James II
Chapter 8 Bishop William Lloyd of St Asaph
Chapter 9 The Revolution
Chapter 10 The Aftermath
Bibliography
Timeline of James II’s reign in Wales
Genealogy of the Later Stuarts
Foreword and acknowledgements
Chapter 1 Introduction
Chapter 2 Before James: Whig Wales or Tory Wales?
Chapter 3 The reign of James II in Wales
Chapter 4 Wales in Parliament under James
Chapter 5 The Law, Judges and Lawyers
Chapter 6 Wales, the Three Questions and Quo Warranto Proceedings
Chapter 7 Welsh Peers under James II
Chapter 8 Bishop William Lloyd of St Asaph
Chapter 9 The Revolution
Chapter 10 The Aftermath
Bibliography