The King Over the Water: A Complete History of the Jacobites

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This entry was posted in Art, Belgium, Biography, History, London, Museums and Galleries and tagged Bruges, Brugge, Charles II, Civil War, Guilds, Restoration, Scotland, Spanish Netherlands.

It has been suggested that a repeal of the Act of Settlement 1701 could allow him to claim the throne, although he has expressed no interest in doing so. Two events turned discontent into rebellion, the first being the birth of James's son on 10 June 1688, which created the prospect of a Catholic dynasty.Doing so threatened to re-open disputes over religion, reward those who rebelled in 1685 and undermine his own supporters. But as the plaque says, he and his brothers joined three Brugge guilds, and raised from among their members the first recruits for two legendary British regiments.

Its basis was divine right, which claimed his authority came from God, and the crown's descent by indefeasible hereditary right: James and his supporters emphasised his right to the throne by blood to forestall controversy over his appointment by Elizabeth I as her successor.Only France, Spain and the Papacy acknowledged James II's son as 'James III' on his father's death in 1701. Defeat in 1652 led to the mass confiscation of Catholic and Royalist land, and its re-distribution among English Parliamentary soldiers and Protestant settlers.