Venning, Timothy Born to be Kings?

The Jacobites, their Sovereigns and their People

A detailed scholarly account that reads like a firsthand report, illuminating the British state following its rise to great-power status in the wake of the Peace of Utrecht (1713). The Jacobite challenge arose from within, accompanied by the fear of invasion by rival great powers France and Spain, both of which supported the Stuart cause. This threat struck at the very heart of the British establishmentspanning the period following the defeat and exile of James II and the accession of William and Mary (the "Glorious Revolution" of 1688) through the reigns of the Hanoverian monarchs George I and II. It was perceived as an existential threat to Britain's status as a great power. Fears among English Tories that the new Hanoverian heir would be hostile toward them led to an attempt to preempt the Hanoverian succession by installing James IIs son; however, the latter refused to facilitate this plan by renouncing Catholicism. At a critical juncturewith the new King George I unpopular and plots to overthrow him already being hatched among the Tory rank and fileLouis XIV, the Jacobite patron, died; shortly thereafter, the ships chartered for the invasion were destroyed by a storm in the English Channel. A similar fate befell "Bonnie Prince Charlie" in 1744. The following issues caused great anxiety for successive governments and left lingering doubts even after the conflicts were finally resolvedat times, the Hanoverians even contemplated returning to Germany: the birth of a male heir to James II; religious and political tensions (the Trial of the Seven Bishops); Williams successful invasion, accompanied by efforts to install Mary as sole Queen of England; the War of the Palatine Succession (Nine Years' War); and resistance to William III. A "Grand Alliance" of Protestant powers alongside covert support for the Catholic Stuarts; the fear of a French invasion, a coup d'état, and the assassination of William III; the Hanoverian succession and Scottish Stuart resistance backed by the great powers of France, Sweden, Russia, and Spain; the suppression of the Jacobite uprisings and invasion attempts of 1715/16 ("the Fifteen") and 1745/46 ("the Forty-five")which nonetheless triggered panic within the government at Westminsteras well as continued support for the Jacobites and planned attempts to overthrow George II.