Monmouth Rebellion
The Monmouth Rebellion, also known as the Pitchfork Rebellion, the Revolt of the West or the West Country rebellion, was an attempt to depose James II, who in February 1685 succeeded his brother Charles II as king of England, Scotland and Ireland. A group of dissident Protestants led by James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, eldest illegitimate son of Charles II, opposed James largely due to his Catholicism.
The failure of Parliamentary efforts to exclude James from the succession in 1681 resulted in the 1683 Rye House Plot to assassinate Charles II and James. Monmouth, implicated as a co-conspirator, went into exile in the Dutch Republic.
On 11 June 1685, Monmouth landed at Lyme Regis in South West England where he had widespread popular support, planning to take control of the area and march on London. His rebellion was coordinated with a simultaneous rising in Scotland led by Archibald Campbell, 9th Earl of Argyll. In the next few weeks, Monmouth's growing army of nonconformists, artisans and farm workers fought a series of skirmishes with local militias and regular soldiers commanded by Louis de Duras, 2nd Earl of Feversham, and John Churchill. However, his recruits were unable to compete with the regular army and failed to capture the city of Bristol. The rebellion ended with his defeat at the Battle of Sedgemoor on 6 July 1685 by a royal army commanded by Feversham and Churchill.
Monmouth was beheaded for treason on 15 July 1685. Many of his supporters were tried during the Bloody Assizes, led by Judge Jeffreys, and were condemned to death or transportation. James II consolidated his power and reigned until 1688, when he was deposed by another nephew, William III of Orange, in the Glorious Revolution.
Context[edit]
The English Civil War had left resentment among some of the population about the monarchy and the penalties which had been imposed on the supporters of the Commonwealth. The South West of England contained several towns where opposition remained strong.[4] Fears of a potential Catholic monarch persisted, intensified by the failure of Charles II and his wife to produce any children.[5] A defrocked Anglican clergyman, Titus Oates, spoke of a "Popish Plot" to kill Charles and to put the Duke of York on the throne.[6] The Earl of Shaftesbury, a former government minister and a leading opponent of Catholicism, attempted to have James excluded from the line of succession.[7] Some members of Parliament even proposed that the crown go to Charles's illegitimate son, James Scott, who became the Duke of Monmouth.[8] In 1679, with the Exclusion Bill – which would exclude the King's brother and heir presumptive, James, Duke of York, from the line of succession – in danger of passing, Charles II dissolved Parliament.[9] Two further Parliaments were elected in 1680 and 1681, but were dissolved for the same reason.[10]
After the Rye House Plot of 1683, an attempt to assassinate both Charles and James, Monmouth went into self-imposed exile in the Netherlands, and gathered supporters in The Hague.[11] Monmouth was a Protestant and had toured the South West of England in 1680, where he had been greeted amicably by crowds in towns such as Chard and Taunton.[12] So long as Charles II remained on the throne, Monmouth was content to live a life of pleasure in Holland, while still hoping to accede peaceably to the throne. The accession of James II and coronation at Westminster Abbey on 23 April 1685 put an end to these hopes.[13]
Literary references[edit]
The Monmouth Rebellion and the events surrounding it have formed the basis for several works of fiction. John Dryden's work Absalom and Achitophel is a satire partially concerned with equating biblical events with the Monmouth Rebellion.[80] It also plays an important role in R. D. Blackmore's novel Lorna Doone. Arthur Conan Doyle's historical novel Micah Clarke deals directly with Monmouth's landing in England, the raising of his army, its defeat at Sedgemoor, and the reprisals which followed.[81] The Monmouth Rebellion plays a key role in Peter S. Beagle's novel Tamsin, about a 300-year-old ghost who is befriended by the protagonist.[82] Several characters in Neal Stephenson's trilogy The Baroque Cycle, particularly Quicksilver and The Confusion, play a role in the Monmouth Rebellion and its aftermath.[83]
In Lorna Doone, Richard Doddridge Blackmore's romantic novel of 1869, Farmer John Ridd rescues his brother-in-law Tom Faggus from the battlefield of Sedgemoor, but is captured as a rebel, and is brought before Judge Jefferies. Another novel, of 1889, covering the events of the Rebellion was Sir Walter Besant's For Faith and Freedom. John Masefield's 1910 novel Martin Hyde: The Duke's Messenger tells the story of a boy who plays a central part in the Monmouth Rebellion, from the meeting with Argyll in Holland to the failed rebellion itself.[84] Dr. Peter Blood, main hero of Rafael Sabatini's 1922 novel Captain Blood, was sentenced by Judge Jeffreys for aiding wounded Monmouth rebels. Transported to the Caribbean, he started his career as a pirate there.[85] Another of Sabatini's novels, Mistress Wilding, also takes place during this time, as the hero, Anthony Wilding, is a supporter of Monmouth. The Royal Changeling, (1998), by John Whitbourn, describes the rebellion with some fantasy elements added, from the viewpoint of Sir Theophilus Oglethorpe.[86]
The events immediately before and after the Battle of Sedgemoor, and leading up to James II's exile following The Glorious Revolution provide the setting for Robert Neill's historical novel Lilliburlero.[87] The aftermath of the Rebellion is the setting for A.E.W. Mason's 1896 novel The Courtship of Morrice Buckler.