The crucial dilemma of the latter part of Charles II's reign was who was to succeed him. The legal heir was his younger brother James, but he was an avowed Catholic and so not to the taste of many of the English, who wanted to 'exclude' him from the succession.
But the Exclusionists themselves were divided over who should succeed Charles. The more moderate favoured William of Orange, Charles's nephew by marriage, while the earl of Shaftesbury and the more radical members of Parliament backed Charles's eldest– and Protestant – bastard son, the duke of Monmouth.
Born in 1649 to Lucy Walter, a Welsh courtesan who had met the king-in-exile in the Netherlands, James Scott, duke of Monmouth, was handsome and charming but also spoiled, badly educated and possessed of an ugly streak of violence. But despite these negative aspects to his character, there was really only one overriding problem with Monmouth's candidacy for the throne: he was illegitimate.
Rumours were therefore carefully circulated that Monmouth's mother and Charles had been secretly married. There were supposed to be witnesses – and a black box containing irrefutable written evidence. But Charles, fond though he was of the strapping first fruit of his loins, was not prepared to allow him to shunt the legitimate James aside. In early January 1679, at the height of the anti-Catholic/anti-James hysteria of the Popish Plot, Charles summoned the Privy Council and solemnly declared that he had only ever been married to his wife Catherine of Braganza.
Factionalism and intrigue now surrounded the issue of succession and became a key preoccupation for Charles. While trouble brewed, both rivals to the throne – first, James and then Monmouth – were dispatched abroad in a vain attempt to lower the political temperature. Then the Rye House Plot came to light, in which some disaffected Whigs were planning to murder the king and his brother. Monmouth was among those who fled into exile in the Netherlands.
In February 1685, Charles died and was succeeded by James. The group of Protestant exiles that Monmouth had gathered around him in the Dutch republic were in despair at the complacency of those in the Church of England and in Parliament who now supported a Catholic king. Only an armed invasion, they thought, could save England from Catholic absolutism – and its natural leader was Monmouth.
Persuaded to lead an expedition to dethrone James II, on 24 May the duke set sail to England at the head of a pathetically small force of 83 supporters and 300 armed men in three ships. The little band of aristocrats made for the coast of Dorset, an area where the cause of English republicanism had always been strong. James, worried about insurrection elsewhere, was able to spare only about 2,500 troops against Monmouth, led by Lord Feversham and the future duke of Marlborough John Churchill. But at least they were professional soldiers, and that proved decisive.
After landing at Lyme Regis on 11 June, Monmouth was concerned at not finding the large army that his supporters had promised him. Instead of marching straight to London at the head of this illusory force, he and his men marched north into Somerset, picking up a disorganised group of about 6,000 farm workers (including the young Daniel Defoe) armed with pitchforks and the like (hence the uprising's alternate name: Pitchfork Rebellion). On 18 June, Monmouth proclaimed himself king at Taunton, but after about a week of wandering, skirmishes and the capture of his ships by the Royal Navy, the rebel forces turned back.
The show-down came at Sedgemoor on 6 July. Boxed in by the royal troops, Monmouth to decided that his only chance was to launch a surprise night-time attack. This tactic made sense, but his scratch forces were incapable of carrying it out. Instead, when dawn broke, they were routed by the king's troops: 500 of them were killed and 1,500 captured.
By then Monmouth himself had fled. Two days later he was discovered in a ditch disguised as a shepherd, taken prisoner and transported to London. There was no need for a trial: Monmouth had already been condemned as a traitor by Act of Parliament. He was brought to Tower Hill, where he was beheaded on 15 July.
In the subsequent trials known as the 'Bloody Assizes' ruled over by Judge Jeffreys, 320 of those who had supported Monmouth were condemned to death and a further 800 transported to the West Indies.
|
|
 Monmouth's Rebellion
www.battlefieldstrust.com/resource-centr
e/stuart-rebellions/campainview.asp?camp
ainId=3
Extremely thorough coverage of the rebellion and the battle of Sedgemoor, from the UK Battlefields Resource Centre.
| |
Sedgemoor 1685: Marlborough's first victory by John Tincey (Leo Cooper Ltd, 2005)
Focuses on the confrontation between Monmouth and John Churchill, and challenges some of the common assumptions about the actions of the commanders and the nature of the armies involved. Includes a tour of the battlefield.
Get this book
|
 Sedgemoor Battlefield
Three miles east of Bridgwater, Somerset
The battle was fought on low-lying land between the villages of Chedzoy and Westonzoyland. On Blake Street in Bridgwater itself, the Blake Museum (open Tues–Sat, 10am–4pm, free) has relics, models and a video-documentary relating to the battle of Sedgemoor.
Channel 4 Television takes no responsibility for the content of third-party sites. |
|
