Jacobitism
Jacobitism was a political movement in late 17th and early 18th century Great Britain. After the Glorious Revolution where William and Mary became monarchs and James II went into exile, Jacobites continued to support the house of Stuart. They liked Queen Anne, who was the last Stuart monarch.
It was popular in Scotland and Ireland and often supported by France as a way to destabilize Great Britain.
Related to the religious wars in that Jacobites were more sympathetic towards Catholics whereas William and Mary were Protestants. The name Jacobus is a Latin variant of James.
In the early 18th century some persecuted Jacobites fled England to start new lives in the Caribbean in places like Jamaica and Barbados. Some of these also engaged in piracy. Blackbeard named his flagship, the Queen Anne's Revenge, in memory of Queen Anne.
Jacobitism influenced early American political thought particularly in South Carolina where many of the founders had come from Barbados. The idea that a king could lose his authority by his behavior had become commonly accepted by the time of the Revolution.
Jacobitism influenced the politics of the colonies, particularly the mid-Atlantic and Southern states, throughout the 1700s. Several states including New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Maryland adopted elements from the Jacobite standard into their flags or seals, including horses and the armored visor.
Timeline
[edit | edit source]- 1688 Glorious Revolution. King James II, the last Catholic monarch, flees England and William and Mary become king and queen.
- 1688-1702 Reign of William and Mary. No offspring.
- 1701 Act of Settlement disqualifies Catholics from monarchy
- 1702-1714 Queen Anne, the last Stuart monarch. She was Mary's sister, suspected of Catholic sympathies.
- 1714 on - Hanoverians
- 1746 Battle of Culloden, Jacobitism suppressed in Scotland. Bonnie Prince Charlie.