| On July 15th 1685 James Scott, the Duke of Monmouth, was executed for
treason against the King. He was a noble man who met his heath with
calmness and dignity. He died a sad figure who
believed, perhaps too much, in the advice of his friends and his own
popularity. If he had timed his attempt to claim the throne better he might well
have been welcomed without bloodshed but Monmouth mistimed everything,
it seems, and suffered cruelly for his mistake.
Monmouth was the illegitimate son of King Charles II, born to Lucy
Walters in 1649 during Charles II's exile at the Hague. Monmouth was
much loved and favoured by his father and despite his illegitimate
status was given a place of great authority within English society. In
1674 Monmouth was made 'Commander in Chief' of the army; gaining great respect as a
soldier among the English people.
Shaftesbury urged King Charles II to recognise his son by the
legitimisation of his marriage to Lucy Walters. Charles refused
declaring he had only ever been married to the Queen. Monmouth later
confessed that his father had told him in private that he would have no
legal right to the throne. Rumours abounded about a black box being
discovered in which the marriage papers of Charles and Lucy Walters were
hidden but these were never produced as evidence.
James, the Duke of York, had recently been 'outed' as a Roman
Catholic and then had married his second wife, 15 year old Princess Mary of
Modena, who was herself a very devout Catholic. The fears of the people that they might
have another Papist Monarch increased. They were terrified that the
persecution of Protestants that was witnessed under 'Bloody Mary' might
be repeated. This almost irrational fear led to various plots to ensure
that James never came to the throne. All of these plots were doomed to
fail with many high officials, including the Duke of Monmouth, being
exiled.
Monmouth was a popular figure among the common people. He was good
company and his army days had stood him in good stead for mixing with
common people. The aristocracy, however disliked him; he was too
impulsive and frivolous for them, and his mixing with common people was
certainly frowned upon. It was to be the common people and not the
aristocracy who were to stand behind him when it he was finally persuaded
by 'friends' to make a claim on the throne of England.
In May 1685 Monmouth set sail from exile for the West of England to
stake his claim to the crown, he was assured by his 'friends'
that he could not fail. The West of England was the one place he could
be assured of support. Just five years before, Monmouth has been on tour
of the West Country in an attempt to make himself popular among the
people. After an initial coolness
towards him the people had come to like and trust him and he soon gained
a great deal of support. He had chosen his area well. The country
between Salisbury, Bristol and Exeter was of particular strategic
importance in the seventeenth century, it was an area of marked
prosperity and stability. This thickly populated area had a very strong
woolen industry.
The South West was also an area of dissent. They
were strong in the protestant religion and held
firmly to their beliefs. Under Charles II they had
suffered almost unbearable persecution for their
support of Cromwell during the war against Charles'
father. The persecution of dissenters had been heightened by the passing of
the Act of Uniformity in 1662. As a result some 2000 Nonconformist
ministers had been ejected from their living. Ministers were harried and
religious meetings were broken up. At times it must have seemed that
harassing Dissenters had become a national sport with many taking great
delight in destroying meeting houses. The Dissenters disliked the
Anglicans but they hated the Roman Catholics. Dissenters has suffered in
two areas of the country in particular; London and the South West.
Monmouth looked for support from both areas.
When Monmouth had set sail for the English Coast he had been assured
of very strong support. He was given the impression by his 'friends'
that on landing in England he would be greeted by a mighty army and
would march to London unopposed being cheered along the way by the
people. He believed that his friends would leave James' army and join him
when he arrived, they never did. A strong ally of his the Duke of Argyle
had set off to stir up rebellion in Scotland and by the time Monmouth
was to land Argyle was supposed to have rallied Scotland to the cause
and pushed out the Kings forces. However Argyle was defeated in
Battle and executed even before Monmouth could gather his forces.
So when Monmouth landed his promised army did not exist. Undeterred
he set about
raising one himself and rallied the common people to his cause.
However they were working people and not soldiers. It is unfair to characterise
them as farm hands, as has sometimes happened in
the past, because much of Monmouth's army was
made up from professional men; his army may have
lacked skill but they were very dedicated to the task. They were serious men,
Dissenters in the main, who were very strict in their keeping of
religion. They were in fact the very kind of men who had made up
Cromwell's Model Army during the Civil War.
Monmouth did his best to pull them into shape but they had no
experience of war and knew nothing of strategy. They were very poorly
equipped having to make do with outdated guns and farmyard tools as
weapons (hence the pitchfork rebellion). The only Cavalry they had was
composed of horses that knew more of pulling a plough than charging an
enemy. In all Monmouth managed to gather 1500 troops whose bravery was
to far outweigh their skill. They did receive some limited training
but time was not available to train them well.
Where were the promised men from London and East Anglia? The army
were told that the men from London would join when they reached the
Capital and that East Anglia, although promising much to begin with
decided they didn't want to get involved. The local Militia in East
Anglia remaining
faithful to the King had managed to dissuade many from joining the army.
The men from the West County had gathered around Monmouth because
they still remembered the Civil War and what their fathers had died for.
They felt cheated by the return of the Monarchy to England and had since
suffered terrible persecution at the hands of that Monarchy. East Anglia had not suffered
as the West Country had during the Civil War; the battles were not fought
on their soil, their women and children had not been under threat. Perhaps
their desperation was not so acute.
In
the pubs of Taunton, a town that had suffered much under Charles II, people still
sang of their relief from the Cavalier siege forty years earlier.
"The Cavaliers dispers'd with fear, and forced were to run,
On th'eleventh of May, by break of day, ere rising of the sun.
Let Taunton men be mindful then, in keeping of this day,
We'll give God praise, with joy always, upon th'eleventh of May."
Taunton itself was singled out as a centre of
sedition during the reign of Charles II and it was ordered to dismantle
its defenses in case of rebellion. Its massive, much prized Castle was
dismantled and only the parts too big to remove
are now left. It is no wonder that it was in Taunton that Monmouth was declared King
for the first time.
After some small early victories Monmouth was chased all around the
West Country until on July 5th Monmouth's beleaguered troops were
cornered by Feversham and the King's army. His men now tired and depressed would have to
face a far superior force on the plains of Sedgmoor. Many of Monmouth's
men had lost their
shoes in the desperate attempt made to evade confrontation with the Kings army. Monmouth
tried a desperate night attack but his army was spotted and after a
last desperate struggle his army was routed
and fled over the Mendips, Monmouth being captured just a few days
later.
The treatment of the rebels by the authorities was appalling. Many
were cruelly tortured to death and their mangled bodies displayed for
any would be rebels to see. Judge Jeffrey's, in charge of the trials,
became a hated and feared man all over England. His name has become
synonymous with cruelty and injustice.
After capture and in an attempt to save
his own life Monmouth claimed to have converted to Roman Catholicism. The
Priests sent to test him on his new found faith reported that he was
only interested in saving his own skin and cared nothing for the soul.
When his execution seemed inevitable Monmouth displayed his true nobility
and went to the scaffold
showing no signs of fear and met his end as every 'hero' should with
calmness and dignity. The executioner bungled the execution and took
several blows to kill the rebel leader, those who
watched marveled at Monmouth's courage.
Monmouth is a sad figure in history. His marriage had failed and he
was persuaded to fight a hopeless war that was doomed before it even
started. He would never really have made a good King and everyone knew this;
he
had become a pawn in a pitiful struggle for power begin persuaded by
'friends' to claim a crown which had never ever really belonged to him.
The people of the West Country who had supported him did so out of
desperation rather than any belief in his legitimacy and suffered dearly
for their cause. It appears that their fears may have been unfounded and James
preached religious tolerance ending the legal persecution of
Dissenters. A few months later James visited the South West and the
people did their best to look pleased although no one was really happy
he was there.
Just three years and three months after Monmouth's rebellion William
of Orange was officially invited to take the English throne: invited by
the very people who had faced Monmouth on the battle field! William was
very warmly received by the English people and became King without
opposition, he received the welcome that Monmouth had anticipated just
three years before.
Although Monmouth's rebellion was a disaster for many it will always
be remembered amongst West Country people as a reason for some pride.
Pride that when liberty was threatened the West County at least was
prepared to fight against all odds for what they believed in.
Written by Rev C P Brown
Bibliography
Encyclopedia Britannica
Monarchy and Revolution by J R Weston
The Monmouth Rebels 1685 by Wigfield
The Western Rising by Charles Chenevix Trench
Monmouth's Rebels by Peter Earl. |
