I
born Oct. 14, 1633, London, Eng.
died Sept. 16/17, 1701, Saint-Germain, France
King of Great Britain (1685–88).
He was brother and successor to Charles II . In the English Civil Wars he escaped to the Netherlands (1648). After the Restoration (1660) he returned to England and became lord high admiral in the Anglo-Dutch Wars . He converted to Catholicism с 1668, and he resigned in 1673 rather than take the Test Act oath. By 1678 his Catholicism had created a climate of hysteria about a Popish Plot to assassinate Charles and put James on the throne, and successive Parliaments sought to exclude him from succession. By the time Charles died (1685), James came to the throne with little opposition and strong support from the Anglicans. Rebellions caused him to fill the army and high offices with Roman Catholics and suspend a hostile Parliament. The birth of his son, a possible Catholic heir, brought about the Glorious Revolution in 1688, and he fled to France. In 1689 he landed in Ireland to regain his throne, but his army was defeated at the Battle of the
II
born Oct. 16, 1430, Edinburgh, Scot.
died Aug. 3, 1460, Roxburgh Castle, Roxburgh
King of Scotland (1437–60).
He succeeded to the throne on the assassination of his father, {{link=James">James I of Scotland. Because he was so young, the strong central authority his father had established quickly collapsed, and his first adult task was the restoration of monarchical authority. He strove to dominate the powerful Douglas family, and in 1452 he stabbed to death William, earl of Douglas, at Stirling Castle. He established a strong central government and improved the administration of justice. Turning his attention to the English, who had renewed their claims to rule Scotland, he attacked English outposts in Scotland and was killed during a siege of Roxburgh Castle.
III
Spanish Jaime known as James the Just
born с 1264
died Nov. 3, 1327, Barcelona, Aragon
King of Aragon (1295–1327) and king of Sicily (as James I, 1285–95).
He inherited the Sicilian crown on the death of his father (1285); when his brother died (1291) he inherited Aragon. He resigned Sicily (1295) and married the daughter of the king of Naples in order to make peace with the Angevins. Sardinia and Corsica were given to him in compensation for Sicily, but he was able to occupy only Sardinia (1324).