How bad would |James II have been

Had James II of England retained power what would have happened.

I tend to assume he would not have attempted to repeat Bloody Mary's efforts.

Would he have ruled without Parliament?

How much would he be a tool of France?

Is there any combination of circumstances that could have given him power in England anyway?
 

Thande

Donor
I don't think he could have become a tyrant, but he would have ensured considerable political instability and infighting in England at an absolutely vital time in world history and that would probably have robbed us of the global cultural dominance we were going to win in the coming century. OTOH of course it could drive even more people to leave the home islands and go to the American colonies, which might lead to an earlier American Revolution based more on ideology than self-determination. I believe Turtledove used the latter scenario in his "A Different Flesh", though obviously there are already other differences to start with.
 
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