Jacobite England: Queen Anne dies in 1713

This is my first proper timeline and as I am mainly concerned with early Georgian history I thought I would try to create an alternate Jacobite England. It could be argued that If Queen Anne had died a year before her actual death in 1714 it would have created a chain of events leading to the succession of James Edward Stuart as ‘’James III’’ rather than the House of Hanover.

Bit of background. The Glorious Revolution of 1688 had caused the problems in the royal succession. The Catholic James II had been forced into exile and William of Orange and his Wife Mary had assumed the throne as joint Monarchs. Mary’s sister Anne was the next in line to the throne and with her devoted Anglican credentials the protestant succession seemed secure. Her bad record at producing heirs that survived infancy had left her however with only one male heir in the Duke of Gloucester, who also died prematurely at the age of eleven in 1700. This led William III to sanction the Act of Settlement in 1701 that famously passed over fifty claimants to arrive at the next protestant Monarchs, the Duchess Sophia of Hannover and her son George. This left the problem of those Jacobites who considered Anne’s half brother James Edward Stuart the only son of James II as monarch de jure. Of the two parties’ (Whigs and Tories) it was the Tories who were more inclined to Jacobatism. It wasn’t until 1710 that the Tories managed to gain a majority in the House of Commons, eight years into Queen Anne’s reign. This was mainly due to Britain’s continued involvement in the war of the Spanish succession which the Tories opposed. The Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 would eventually end the conflict with one of the clauses being that France had to banish the Pretender’s (James Edward Stuart) court from France. If the Queen, who was not in good health in her final years had been on her death bed just before the signing of the treaty things could have gone differently.

Throughout the spring of 1713 the Queen has had a serious illness and looks to be nearing her end. She seems to be staying alive purely to make sure that the question of the succession is resolved. Having always loathed both Sophia and George she is determined that the succession does not fall into Hanoverian hands. To this end she is assisted by both Viscount Bolingbroke the Secretary of State for the Northern Department and her Chief Minister Robert Harley both of whom have strong Jacobite sympathies. Harley decides to send two emissaries as an overture of Peace to Louis XIV, also containing instructions to not bring the issue of the pretender into negotiations. The Emissaries include the Jacobite Earl of Stratford (ironically one of the real emissaries) who has agreed to follow these instructions to the letter. The Treaty of Utrecht is signed in record time in February 1713, in it Britain receives Minorca and Gibraltar from Spain and Ille-Saint-Jean (Prince Edward Island) and Frances remaining claims on Newfoundland. Along with other commercial concessions and the popular clamour for peace the Treaty surprisingly passes both houses with ease. The Treaty of Utrecht is greeted as a triumph for the Tories with Harley retaining the popularity he had won from the failed assassination attempt in the previous November. Harley and Bolingbroke (Who have not got on for a number of years) decide to patch up their differences and arrange for a smooth transfer of power now that the Queen is clearly on her death bed. Harley decides to attempt a repeal of the Act of Settlement and to introduce a new device for the succession naming James Edward Stuart as heir apparent. To appease Tory fears over the safety of the Church of England if a Catholic Monarch should succeed to the throne, it is decided that certain provisions should be included. ‘The Device for the legitimate succession’ or the legitimacy Act of 1713 as it comes to be known stipulates that ‘’James III ‘’ should retain a figurehead role as head of the church of England but that actual governance should be in the hands of Convocation and a new Ecclesiastical commission. The Act also required the new Monarch to take a protestant bride and to ensure that any heirs were brought up in the protestant faith. Harley believed that this would be acceptable to both the Tories in the Commons and James himself. He seems proven correct, the Act and repeal passes the House of Commons with a slim majority but meets stiff resistance in the Whig dominated House of lords. Queen Anne’s last act before her death is to agree to the creation of twelve Tory peers that allows the act to finally pass. The Queen passes away in the summer of 1713 her protracted illness ending suddenly. The Tory administration moves quickly.

James III: 1713-1766

The newly proclaimed James III is still in France and is therefore a lot closer than any move by the eighty two year old Duchess Sophia. The comparison between the glamorous young James and the octogenarian Sophia as well as her middle age son is used as propaganda by Tory writers who celebrate the new Monarchy with jubilation. James III’s progress to London is greeted with a degree of rioting in some towns organised by some of the more zealous local Whig magnates. The Whigs politically however are broken .The new King rewards the Tories by appointing an all Tory Cabinet and in his speech from the throne James affirms his belief in the legitimacy Act and states ‘I will do all in my power to adhere to its provisions’. Some of the hotter Whigs however decide to discount this and enter into a treacherous correspondence with George-Ludwig elector of Hanover who is alternative heir apparent after the death of Sophia in 1714. This however does not amount to much in the short term , with an ill fated rising by James Stanhope in 1715 ending in disaster. The appointment of the Arch-Tory Dr. Henry Sacheverell as the new Archbishop of Canterbury seemed to only confirm the permanence of the new regime. The New Monarchy strengthens the powers of the aristocracy at the expense of the commons, Harley as Earl of Oxford is rewarded with the title of First Peer. However the south sea Bubble of 1719 ends with his fall from favour. It is Bolingbroke who comes into his own as ‘First peer’. The commons retains elections every three years which maintains a high degree of chaos. It is the aristocratic cabal under Bolingbroke that make most of the legislative initiatives over Bolingbroke’s twenty eight years of power 1719-1747. Some of the initiatives prove unpopular such as the attempted abolition of the land tax through an excise scheme and maintenance of a protracted policy of peace. It does however lead to a boom in the economy and allows for the establishment of government financed foundling hospitals to help reduce the problems of infant mortality. George-Ludwig does not continue his correspondence with the ‘Hanoverians’, being too busy with his own dominions in Hannover which he is attempting to enlarge by joining in the Great Northern War. For James III his main ambition is to secure the Stuart Dynasty. Showing his commitment to the protestant cause and to England he marries the protestant Anne Spencer in 1719, granddaughter of the infamous Duke of Marlborough. An heir follows quickly with the future Charles III and James allows the Tutors to be handpicked by Bolingbroke himself who has the King eating out of the palm of his hand. The British Government manages to avoid the War of the Austrian Succession largely due to the excellent relations between Britain and Spain. Bolingbroke retires in triumph and it is hoped that his successor will be able to live up to the Viscounts monumental legacy. Prince Charles is being raised a protestant and in his youth shows great favour towards the Whig Faction, he is also a great Patron of Cricket. The Seven Years War which breaks out in 1758 is a triumph for Britain with the infamous capture of Quebec by General Wolfe in 1760 and the heroic victory in the Mediterranean by a resurgent Admiral Byng after an early set back with the fall of Minorca. The Victory however comes at a huge financial cost and the ‘First Peer’ the Earl of Bute reaps the credit in the Peace that follows in 1765. James III dies a year later with the succession secured and the new sovereign King Charles III being considered the ideal ‘patriot king’.

Charles III: 1766-1783

James dies and is allowed a small private catholic ceremony in the newly purchased ‘Buckingham Palace’ which has been bought as the permanent London residence for the King. Charles III succeeds his father but unlike James is a diehard protestant. His first action is to dismiss the ecclesiastical commission and proclaim from the throne that he ‘glories in the protestant faith’. He has spent much of his earlier life as Prince of Wales distancing himself from the Catholicism of his father and as King is determined to show his protestant credentials. This leads to an ill fated war against Catholic Spain in which the new King is forced to sue for peace due to the lack of funds to fight a protracted war. This is not aided by the disturbances in America whose subjects are being asked by parliament to pay their share for both the seven years war and the Anglo-Spanish war of 1767. Parliament is hankering for repressive measures but the ‘First Peer’ Lord North keeps his head. Thanks to the previous reforms parliament retains only its power of raising taxation, legislatively the power is in the hands of the aristocratic cabinet and the ‘First Peer’. The Kings himself sides with North and agrees to radically reform the constitutional system of the American Colonies. The American Gentry will be allowed representation in the House of Commons (which is seen as little more than a tax raising machine) and most fundamentally the new Aristocracy would take the lead in governing the internal interests of the colonies. North rewards a few loyal Americans like the new Earl Washington of Virginia as well as old British War Heroes such as Viscount Byng of Ohio. The numbers are kept reasonably small to keep the loyalty of the majority of the American Gentry anxious for a rise to the peerage. The more radical members flee to France and calls for an end to the new American government led by Earl Washington. Thomas Paine, John Hancock and Patrick Henry are denounced by pamphleteers in England and America. Dr Johnson calls them ‘cowardly dogs’ in a pamphlet inscribed the ‘Hypocrisy of Liberty’. France is incensed by British attacks on French merchant shipping, and in response declares war in December 1773. The Franco-British War of 1773-1779 or ‘Washington’s War’ to Americans is largely a stalemate, with France failing to make headway with an invasion of the southern colonies of Georgia and the Carolinas. Britain does better against Spain who joins in the war on Frances side in 1775. With strong loyalty being engrained in the new American psyche volunteers are plentiful. Britain is able to launch a joint attack on Spanish Florida and Mexico. Spain is knocked out of the war as early as 1778 and the treaty of Seville ends with the ceding of Venezuela, Panama and the remaining Spanish territories in North America to Britain, although they retain Mexico. France is exhausted from the war and is also forced to the negotiating table giving up all its remaining claims in India. Charles III dies in 1783 after a turbulent reign, leaving the throne to his son Charles IV.
 
Intresting. I like the idea of the American Nobillity, Earl Washington is a great idea. He was also vain enough to have taken the title...
 
A Jacobite Britain

An interesting idea indeed. Although your James III is more pragmatic than most Stuarts. In a way, he is more like his more distant ancestors James I, II, IV, VI and Charles II. The Stuarts appeared quite glamourous - in both meanings of the word! - but I wonder if James would be quite so accomodating?
 
I considered that problem myself. Although not all the Jacobites lack pragmatism. Bonnie Prince Charlie himself agreed to convert to Protestantism when he secretly visited London in 1750. A would-be James III may well have been tempted to allow certain restrictions if the prize of the crown seemed more tangible than in 1715 or 1745.
 
I like it, possibly a bit wankish... But still, like sto11 says with the prize of the throne open, I think the stuarts may of been far more willing to cooperate...
 
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