Instead of the Glorious Revolution, Monmouth's Rebellion succeeds

[Thande]

See here for details. What if Monmouth's supporters had successfully overthrown James II? Would the Stuarts have held on in Scotland and Ireland? What would England's position be in the War of the Grand Alliance?

 

[V-J]

It's very hard to say, but I doubt that Monmouth would recieve quite as much support as William III did. I find it hard to imagine a royal bastard of Charles II staying in place for very long, and you might end up with a protracted period of dynastic instability.

 

[ljofa]

I agree, even back then Monarchs had to be confirmed by an Act of Parliament. I doubt whether Parliament would sign this King into existance and would probably invite William and Mary over much sooner.

 

[Faeelin]

See here for details. What if Monmouth's supporters had successfully overthrown James II? Would the Stuarts have held on in Scotland and Ireland? What would England's position be in the War of the Grand Alliance?

I dunno Would Louis XIV have cared as much? I men, Monmouth could be a protestant king, but he wouldn't be as viscerally anti-French as William. So perhaps James II flees to Ireland, while Monmouth has to shore up England (and Scotland? He's king of both, after all).

 

[Fearless Leader]

Having looked at the Monmouth Rebellion before, I'd have to say that the most plausible (IMO) way of getting it to succeed is to butterfly some of James stillborn daughters away and have Mary of Modena "give birth to a son" shortly before Monmouth's invasion actually begins.

Monmouth lands and is immediately heralded as the saviour of Protestantism as large numbers flock to his cause. Though James II has little to fear from this organized rabble, his concern grows as his predominantly Protestant army begins to defect in increasingly large numbers as Monmouths rag-tag army begins it's march on London.

Though James II does attempt to defend London with loyal Irish troops, rumors of "An Irish invasion" prompt the general populace of the city to rise up en masse and force James II and his family to flee. Upon hearing of James II's retreat, Monmouth takes an advance column into the city and strikes a deal with Parliament. In exchange for legitimizing his father's (Charles II's_ affair with his mother and crowning him James III, Monmouth agrees to surrender a great deal of power to the Parliament (Basically the same thing William III had to do.) By doing this, Parliament has not only put a Protestant King on the throne but also quelled a potential revolt and threat to their authority.

Meanwhile, across the English Channel in the Dutch Republic, Wilhelm III is far from pleased. Against all odds, Monmouth had succeeded in effect stealing the throne which Wilhelm had been maneuvering to acquire for himself. Yet all was not lost, for Wilhelm III was indeed a great deal more legitimate than the new King of England and (technically) Scotland. Only the agreement of James III and Parliament to join Wilhelm's Grand Alliance prevented Wilhelm from causing problems for the shaky regime.

James III will undoubtedly move quickly and consolidate his rule in Scotland before moving onto Ireland. There he'll most likely engage his uncle yet again in one of many Jacobite Rebellions. After that, it's anyone's guess...

Probably no Hannoverians though...

 

[Jammy]

Monmouth takes an advance column into the city and strikes a deal with Parliament. In exchange for legitimizing his father's (Charles II's_ affair with his mother and crowning him James III, Monmouth agrees to surrender a great deal of power to the Parliament (Basically the same thing William III had to do.)

That might be possible actually, wern't there rumors that they had got married?

 

[Justin Pickard]

In the GURPS Infinite World setting, this is used as the POD for Britannica-3, a world in which Monmouth becomes King James III, laying the groundwork for a unitary, uber-British Empire:

Although James III was an amiable fathead at best, his instincts were sound. Colonies were good, radicalism was bad, and it was best to keep the one away from the other. In the American euphoria that greeted James II's deposition, James III was able to convert the colonial charters to royal grants, while officially recognizing colonial legislators as "our American Parliaments" in his happy phrase ...