Monmouth Rebellion
The Monmouth Rebellion , also known as the Pitchfork Rebellion , Revolt of the West or West Country Rebellion , was an attempt to overthrow King James II . Jacob became King of England, Scotland and Ireland on February 6, 1685 after the death of his older brother Charles II . He was of Catholic faith, which is why some Protestants opposed his rule. James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth , the eldest illegitimate son of Charles II, claimed that he was the rightful heir to the throne and tried to depose James II.
The Morning of Sedgemoor (1905) by Edgar Bundy
| date | May to July 1685 |
|---|---|
| place | South West England |
| output | Rebellion put down |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
|
Royal Army of James II |
Rebel Army of the Duke of Monmouth |
| Commander | |
|
Louis de Duras, 2nd Earl of Feversham |
James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth † |
| Troop strength | |
| 3000 | 4000 |
| losses | |
|
200 |
1300 killed |
After the failure of the Rye House conspiracy , which aimed to assassinate Charles II and Jacob in 1683, plans were discussed to overthrow the monarch. Thereupon Monmouth went into self-chosen exile in the Netherlands . The Monmouth Rebellion was coordinated with the Argyll's Rising, a rebellion in Scotland where Archibald Campbell, Earl of Argyll, landed with a small force. The Duke of Monmouth was particularly popular in the southwest of England, which is why he planned to recruit local troops there and get the area under his control before marching to London.
Monmouth landed at Lyme Regis on June 11, 1685 . In the weeks that followed, his growing army of nonconformists, artisans and farm laborers fought in some clashes against local militias and the army led by Louis de Duras, 2nd Earl of Feversham and John Churchill, 1st Baron Churchill of Sandridge , later the Duke of Marlborough , was commanded. Monmouth's troops could not keep up with the English army and failed to take the city of Bristol . The rebellion ended with the defeat of Monmouth's army at the Battle of Sedgemoor on July 6, 1685.
Monmouth was executed for high treason on July 15, 1685. Many of his supporters were tried and sentenced to death or exiled during the Bloody Assizes . James II was able to consolidate his power and ruled until 1688 when he was overthrown by William of Orange in the Glorious Revolution .
James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth
James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth , was the illegitimate son of Charles II. There were rumors that Karl Monmouth's mother had married Lucy Walter , but there was no evidence of this and Karl himself always said of himself that he had only one wife, Catherine of Braganza .
Monmouth was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the English Army by his father in 1672 and Captain-General in 1678 , as he was able to achieve some successes as the commander of a British brigade in the French army in the Third Anglo-Dutch War .
Background of the rebellion
The English Civil War had left parts of the population unhappy with the monarchy and the penalties that had been imposed on supporters of the Commonwealth . In the southwest of England in particular, there were still a few cities where the opposition remained strong. The fear of a potential Catholic monarch persisted, compounded by the fact that Charles II and his wife had no descendants. A dismissed clergyman, Titus Oates , even reported on an alleged " papist conspiracy " aimed at killing Charles II and making his brother James, the Duke of York and later James II, king. The Earl of Shaftesbury , a former government minister and leading opponent of Catholicism, tried to exclude James from the line of succession. Some MPs even suggested that Charles's illegitimate son, James Scott, who later became the Duke of Monmouth, should be declared heir to the throne. When in 1679 the Exclusion Bill , which was supposed to exclude the king's brother, James, Duke of York, from the line of succession, was about to be adopted in parliament, Charles II dissolved parliament. Two other parliaments were elected in 1680 and 1681, but both were also dissolved by the king before they could pass the bill.
After the Rye House conspiracy in 1683, an attempt to murder both Karl and James, Monmouth voluntarily went into exile in the Netherlands and gathered his followers in The Hague . Monmouth was a Protestant and had traveled through the south-west of England in 1680, where he had been warmly received by the crowd in cities like Chard or Taunton . During his father's lifetime, Monmouth was content with an enjoyable life in the Netherlands, while he still had the hope of being able to ascend the throne peacefully. Jacob II's accession to the throne and his coronation at Westminster Abbey on April 23, 1685 put an end to these hopes.
Planning the rebellion
The Monmouth Rebellion was planned in the Netherlands and coordinated with another rebellion in Scotland led by Archibald Campbell, Earl of Argyll. Several regions in England were considered as possible locations for the rebellion, in addition to the southwest, including Cheshire and Lancashire , as most opponents of the monarchy were suspected there. Argyll and Monmouth both began their expeditions in the Netherlands, where Jacob's nephew and son-in-law, the governor William III. of Orange , did not prevent them from being recruited. Argyll sailed to Scotland and after his arrival there mainly recruited members of his own clan, the Campbells , for the Scottish revolt. He had previously been involved in the Rye House Conspiracy.
Another important member of the rebellion was Robert Ferguson, a fanatical Scottish Presbyterian minister known as "the plotter" ( the conspirator ). It was Ferguson who drafted Monmouth's proclamation and who most advocated that Monmouth should be crowned king. Thomas Hayward Dare was a Taunton goldsmith and Whig politician who had considerable wealth and influence. He had fled to Holland and became the paymaster of the rebellion.
In order to raise funds for ships and weapons, Monmouth pawned many of its properties. His wife Anne Scott, 1st Duchess of Buccleuch, and her mother also pawned their jewelry to borrow the Dutch warship Helderenberg .
From Lyme Regis to Sedgemoor
On May 30, 1685, Monmouth set sail with three small ships, four light cannons and 1,500 muskets on board. His destination was the region of South West England , which was strongly Protestant. There he landed on June 11th with 82 supporters, including Lord Gray of Warke, Nathaniel Wade and Andrew Fletcher of Saltoun . On the first day they recruited about 300 men at Lyme Regis , Dorset , where a statement prepared by Ferguson denounced the king.
King Jacob had previously received information about the impending conspiracy and was warned immediately after Monmouth landed. The city's Mayor Gregory Alford briefed local militias while Samuel Damsell and another customs officer rode from Lyme to London, where they arrived on June 13. In order to counter Monmouth's rebels, John Churchill was given command of the professional foot soldiers and the Earl of Feversham was appointed leader of the campaign. It took a few days to assemble the army and march from London to the west of the country, so the first defense was left to the local militias.
In the days that followed, a growing number of volunteers came to Lyme to volunteer at Monmouth. On June 15 he was more than 1,000 men. On June 13, he lost two of his key supporters when Dare and Fletcher argued over who should ride one of the best horses. Fletcher shot Dare and was then placed under arrest and sent back to the frigate Helderenberg . The next day, 40 cavalry and 400 foot soldiers under the command of Lord Gray and Wade marched to the nearby town of Bridport , where they encountered 1,200 men from the local royalist Dorset militia. The argument ended with Grey's and Wade's withdrawal. Many of the militiamen deserted and joined Monmouth's army. After this confrontation, Christopher Monck, 2nd Duke of Albemarle led a royalist force from Exeter in the direction of Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset , who were approaching Lyme Regis from the opposite side.
Monmouth learned of the approach of royalist reinforcements and withdrew, but did not march to London, but led his troops north to Somerset . On June 15, he fought with the militia in Axminster and captured the city before the militia could rally. More recruits joined his unorganized troops, in the meantime there were around 6,000 men, mostly nonconformists, artisans and farm workers, who were armed with tools such as pitchforks. A famous supporter was the young Daniel Defoe .
In Taunton Monmouth was unofficially crowned on June 20, 1685, contrary to the wishes of some of his Republican supporters. Many other supporters also arrived in Taunton and formed a new regiment of 800 men. The King's Dragoons under Churchill continued to approach Monmouth and arrived at Chard on June 19th. With the help of local militias, they tried to prevent new recruits arriving in Taunton from joining Monmouth. Meanwhile, Feversham moved his troops to Bristol, according to his suspicion that this town would be Monmouth's next destination.
Monmouth and his growing force moved further north towards Bridgwater , where he settled at Bridgwater Castle (June 21), Glastonbury (June 22) and Shepton Mallet (June 23) as the weather deteriorated. In the meantime, the Royal Navy captured Monmouth's ships, putting an end to all hopes of escaping to the continent. In addition, Churchill, now in Chard, and Feversham, in Bristol, received further reinforcements from London.
On June 24, Monmouth's army camped at Pensford and a small force fought with the Gloucester militia to gain control of Keynsham , a major crossroads over the River Avon . Monmouth intended to attack Bristol (the second largest and most important city after London at the time). However, he learned that the city was occupied by Henry Somerset, 1st Duke of Beaufort . There were fruitless fights with a bodyguard commanded by Feversham. These attacks gave the impression that there was a much larger royalist force nearby than was actually the case. Several historians have speculated that, had Monmouth marched into Bristol as soon as possible at this point, as long as it was defended by the Gloucestershire militia, the city could possibly have conquered and the end result of the rebellion might have been different. If Bristol had been captured, more recruits would likely have joined the rebellion and a later march to London would have been possible.
Monmouth left its headquarters at Keynsham Abbey and headed for Bath , which was also occupied by royalist troops, which made entry into the city impossible. He camped in Philips Norton (now Norton St Philip), where his forces were attacked on June 27 by parts of Feversham's forces. The Duke of Grafton led cavalry, dragoons and 500 musketeers into the village, where they were surrounded by the rebels and had to flee through hedges before being rescued by Churchill. Each side had about 20 casualties, but both sides believed that the enemy had suffered greater losses.
Monmouth then marched overnight to Frome, where he arrived on June 28th. When news of the defeat of the rebellion in Scotland reached Monmouth's armed forces, the troops visibly lost morale. Argyll's small force had fought in Scotland in several small skirmishes at Greenock and Ellangreig and captured Ardkinglas Castle . However, after disagreements with his key supporters about when and where to fight against the royalists led by Rosse and William Cleland, his supporters dwindled and the Scottish Rebellion failed.
The rebels who wanted to move to Warminster came as far as Trowbridge , where royalist forces cut the route. Monmouth turned back and arrived in Wells on July 1st . The soldiers damaged the Bishop's Palace and the west wall of Wells Cathedral , where they tore lead from the roof to make balls, broke windows, smashed the organ and furniture, and temporarily sheltered their horses in the aisle.
Feversham wanted to keep the rebels in the southwest until the rest of his troops, including three battalions of British mercenaries sent by William of Orange, arrived. In the face of propaganda suggesting that the rebels had an army of 40,000 men and that 500 royalist troops had been lost at Norton St Philip, Feversham was ordered to attack Monmouth. On June 30, the last parts of Feversham's army, including the artillery, arrived and Monmouth was pushed back to the Somerset Levels. Arrested at Bridgwater , on July 3rd he ordered his troops to fortify the city.
Battle of Sedgemoor
Monmouth was ultimately defeated by Feversham and John Churchill on July 6th at the Battle of Sedgemoor.
After Monmouth's troops began to fortify Bridgwater, he sent parts of his cavalry to Minehead to fetch six cannons. He planned to stay in Bridgwater until they returned, and then march on to Bristol. Feversham and his army of 500 horses and 1500 militiamen camped on the edge of Sedgemoor near the village of Westonzoyland. Monmouth could see them from the tower of St Mary's Church and could have inspected them closely from St Mary's Church in Chedzoy before deciding to attack.
Monmouth led his untrained and ill-equipped troops out of Bridgwater at 10:00 p.m. to attack the King's army at night. They were led along the old Bristol Road towards Bawdrip by Richard Godfrey, a servant to a local farmer. With their limited cavalry in the vanguard, they headed south along Bradney Lane and Marsh Lane and came to the open moor with its deep and dangerous rhynes (drainage ditches).
There was a delay when they crossed a Rhyne and the first men on the other side started a royalist patrol. A shot was fired and a patrol rider galloped off to report to Feversham. Lord Gray of Warke led the rebel cavalry forward, they were attacked by the royal cavalry regiment, which alerted the remaining royalist troops. The superior training of the royal army drove the rebels to flight. Monmouth's untrained supporters were quickly defeated, and hundreds were struck down by cannon and rifle shots.
The number of deaths on the side of the rebels has been given as between 727 and 2700, the casualties of the royalists at 27, buried in the cemetery of the church of St Mary the Virgin in Westonzoyland, which also served as a prison for the rebel soldiers.
To Sedgemoor
Monmouth fled the battlefield but was trapped in a trench on July 8th (either in Ringwood, New Forest , or Horton, Dorset). Parliament had passed a Bill of Attainder and on June 13, Monmouth had been sentenced to death as a traitor, so there was no trial before his execution. Despite pleading for mercy and allegedly converted to Catholicism, he was beheaded on July 15, 1685 on Tower Hill by Jack Ketch . It is said that it took several strokes of the ax to sever his head. Although some sources say it was eight strikes, the official website of the Tower of London writes that it was five, while Charles Spencer claims in his book Blenheim that it was seven. The hangman in " Punch and Judy " is named after Monmouth's hangman, Jack Ketch. The dukes of Monmouth and Buccleuch lapsed with the death of Monmouth.
Judge Jeffreys' subsequent Bloody Assizes were a series of trials against Monmouth's supporters, as a result of which 320 people were sentenced to death and about 800 were deported to the Caribbean.
James II used the crackdown on the rebellion to consolidate his power. He asked Parliament to repeal the Test Act and the Habeas Corpus Act, used his power to raise Catholics to high posts, and increased the power of the permanent army. Parliament opposed many of these acts and was dissolved by Jacob on November 20, 1685. In 1688, Jacob was overthrown in a coup d'état by William of Orange in the Glorious Revolution , after a Catholic succession to the throne had become likely with the birth of James Francis Edward Stuart .
Reception in literature
The Monmouth Rebellion and the events associated with it form the basis for several fictional works. John Dryden's work Absalom and Achitophel is a satire that partially equates biblical events with the Monmouth Rebellion. The Monmouth Rebellion also plays an important role in Peter S. Beagle's novel Tamsin, about a 300-year-old ghost who befriends the protagonist. Likewise, the rebellion in RD Blackmore's novel Lorna Doone is significant. Arthur Conan Doyle's historical novel Micah Clarke deals directly with Monmouth's landing in England, the raising of his army, and its defeat at Sedgemoor. Several characters in Neal Stephenson's Baroque cycle play a role in the Monmouth Rebellion and its aftermath.
Dr. Peter Blood, the hero of Rafael Sabatini's novel Captain Blood , was convicted by Judge Jeffreys and transported to the Caribbean, where he becomes a pirate. Another Sabatini novel, Mistress Wilding, is also set at this time and the main character, Anthony Wilding, is a supporter of Monmouth. The Monmouth Rebellion is also featured in Martin Hyde: The Duke's Messenger by John Masefield , The Royal Changeling by John Whitbourn, For Faith and Freedom by Sir Walter Besant , Lilliburlero by Robert Neill, and The Courtship of Morrice Buckler by AEW Mason .
Individual evidence
- ^ A b Antonia Fraser: King Charles II . Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London 1979, p. 175 .
- ↑ Bryan Bevan: James, Duke of Monmouth . Robert Hale, London 1973, p. 11-25 .
- ^ John Tincey: Sedgemoor 1685: Marlborough's first victory . Pen and Sword Books, Barnsley 2005, pp. 12 .
- Jump up ↑ Robert Dunning: Monmouth Rebellion: Guide to the Rebellion and Bloody Assize . Dovecote Press, 1984, pp. 22 .
- ↑ Bryan Bevan: James, Duke of Monmouth . Robert Hale, London 1973, p. 98 .
- ↑ John Miller: James II . 3. Edition. Yale University Press, New Haven 2000, pp. 87 .
- ↑ John Miller: James II . S. 99-105 .
- ↑ Tim Harris: Revolution: The Great Crisis of the British Monarchy, 1685-1720 . Penguin Books, 2006, pp. 74 .
- ↑ John Miller: James II . S. 103 .
- ^ Doreen J. Milne: The Results of the Rye House Plot and Their Influence upon the Revolution of 1688: The Alexander Prize Essay . In: Transactions of the Royal Historical Society . No. 5 , p. 91-108 .
- ^ Nigel J. Clarke: Monmouth's West Country Rebellion of 1685 . Nigel J Clarke Publications, 1985, pp. 6-7 .
- ↑ Tim Harris: Revolution: The Great Crisis of the British Monarchy, 1685-1720 . S. 45 .
- ↑ Tim Harris: Revolution: The Great Crisis of the British Monarchy, 1685-1720 . S. 73-86 .
- ↑ Peter Earle: Monmouth's Rebels: The road to Sedgemoor 1685 . Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London 1977, pp. 55 .
- ↑ John Miller: James II . S. 139-140 .
- ↑ a b Campbell, Archibald (d.1685) . In: Dictionary of National Biography . Smith, Elder & Co., London.
- ↑ James Ferguson: Robert Ferguson "The Plotter" . Wildside Press, 2008, pp. 215 .
- ↑ Bryan Bevan: James, Duke of Monmouth . S. 192 .
- ↑ Tim Harris: Revolution: The Great Crisis of the British Monarchy, 1685-1720 . S. 82-85 .
- ^ Nigel J. Clarke: Monmouth's West Country Rebellion of 1685 . S. 10-13 .
- Jump up ↑ Robert Dunning: Monmouth Rebellion: Guide to the Rebellion and Bloody Assize . S. 24 .
- ^ John Tincey: Sedgemoor 1685: Marlborough's first victory . S. 41 .
- ↑ Monmouth's rebellion and the Battle of Sedgemoor . In: historic-uk.com .
- ↑ Peter Earle: Monmouth's Rebels: The road to Sedgemoor 1685 . S. 180 .
- ^ John Tincey: Sedgemoor 1685: Marlborough's first victory . S. 54-56 .
- ^ John Tincey: Sedgemoor 1685: Marlborough's first victory . S. 64-67 .
- ^ Nigel J. Clarke: Monmouth's West Country Rebellion of 1685 . S. 24 .
- ^ John Tincey: Sedgemoor 1685: Marlborough's first victory . S. 68-73 .
- ^ The Monmouth rebellion and the bloody assize . In: Somerset County Council .
- ^ John Tincey: Sedgemoor 1685: Marlborough's first victory . S. 84-89 .
- ↑ Westonzoyland . In: Robert Dunning (Ed.): A History of the County of Somerset . tape 8 . Institute of Historical Research, 2004.
- ^ Charles Spencer: Blenheim . S. 54 .
- ^ C. Jones: The Protestant Wind of 1688: Myth and Reality . In: European Studies Review . tape 3 , 1973, p. 201-221 .