The Saber and Scroll Journal Volume 8, Number 3, Spring 2020 | Page 87
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lieved the king’s power remained limited
and included checks and balances
through parliament. 4 The Jacobite
uprisings divided England, Ireland,
and Scotland in a civil war of religion,
and government support over who the
rightful king was. William III landed in
southern England at Brixham on November
5, 1688, and in response, James
II gathered his forces for battle. James
II’s quickly learned he did not have the
full support of the Tory Party. Many of
the Noble officials defected from James
and pledged allegiance to William due
to the uncertainty of James’s religious
plans for England. 5
James II, with his wife and infant
son, fled to France. This provided Parliament
with an opportunity to claim that
James had abdicated the throne. Hence,
Parliament placed William III and his
wife Mary on the throne. 6 The division
between political parties opened avenues
for propaganda that circulated
from both sides in the form of sermons,
history books, political pamphlets,
playwrights, and newspapers. 7 Jacobite
clubs swelled across England, Scotland,
Wales and in educational institutions,
such as Westminster, Oxford, and
Winchester, that became pro-Jacobite
schools. 8 The anti-Whig and anti-dissenter
riots that occurred across Great
Britain held Jacobite undertones and
hostility towards the Hanoverian government
but did not involve a plot to
remove William III or restore the Stuarts
to the throne. 9 Staunch supporters
of James followed him to France in 1689
or retired from public view in Britain.
Those that escaped to the continent often
joined armies of different countries