The Saber and Scroll Journal Volume 8, Number 3, Spring 2020 | Page 87

and Scroll 0 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