Rate the Stuart Monarchs

Which Stuart monarchs were the best? Which were the worst?


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I don't see anyone converting AWAY from Catholicism willingly, in that day and age; it'd be sacrilege to them. If the Stuart Pretenders refused to do it in order to gain a shot at the throne, I doubt any of the others between them and Sophia would've done it, either.

As Henry IV of France said in an even more religiously troubled climate, "Paris is worth a mass."

Charles III as I recall actually did convert to Anglicanism, but too late for it to be worth much.
 
Parliament has no right to make such a judgment.

Except, despite what Jacobites like to loudly proclaim, it kind of does.

Now, one could argue that Parliament pretty much gave themselves this right. To which I would say, 'Yes. Good for them.'
 
I'd say the worst Stuarts are Anne and Charles I. Anne was a selfish, foolish woman who spent 13 years at war over an issue that had no significance for England whatsoever. What did England care who sat on Spain's throne? As long as English trade continued uninterrupted it didn't matter. Not to mention she was a huge religious bigot against everything not Anglican and allowed the throne to pass to foreigners.

Charles I, while he wasn't attempting anything new or different (most of the continent was transitioning to absolute monarchies), went about it in completely wrong ways. He backed down over ship money after it had been declared legal by the courts, he backed down in both Bishops' wars with only one battle fought, acted WAY to arrogant for a man in his position during and after the Civil wars, basically gave Parliament the right to execute his ministers and got the monarchy overthrown. Sure he inherited a bad situation from James I, but he made it 10 times worse. A more conciliatory or strategic monarch could have succeeded in transforming England into an absolute monarchy. That he failed is a sign of weakness on his part.
 
I'd say the worst Stuarts are Anne and Charles I. Anne was a selfish, foolish woman who spent 13 years at war over an issue that had no significance for England whatsoever. What did England care who sat on Spain's throne? As long as English trade continued uninterrupted it didn't matter. Not to mention she was a huge religious bigot against everything not Anglican and allowed the throne to pass to foreigners.


It mattered if the King of Spain (which then also ruled Belgium and much of Italy) was Louis XIV's puppet - a massive accession of power to an already over-mighty ruler.

The only error was the commitment to give the whole Spanish Empire to the Habsburgs. But this error was not Anne's, but that of her Whig ministry - which she got rid of when it proved an obstacle to peace.

As to religion, if she'd been all that bigoted she wouldn't have left the throne to a German Calvinist - who was, after all, the heir laid down by law since 1701 ie before she came to the throne.
 
I don't see anyone converting AWAY from Catholicism willingly, in that day and age; it'd be sacrilege to them.

Quite a few people in England did in the seventeenth century actually. I don't recall where I read this, but one historian estimated that Catholics still made up 30-40% of the English population at the end of Elizabeth's reign, but then over the course of the next century their numbers steadily dwindled in the face of growing public hostility (the Gunpower Plot, Civil War and James II's reign did not aid their cause), so that by the time of Anne's reign they were a very small minority.
 

Stolengood

Banned
Quite a few people in England did in the seventeenth century actually. I don't recall where I read this, but one historian estimated that Catholics still made up 30-40% of the English population at the end of Elizabeth's reign, but then over the course of the next century their numbers steadily dwindled in the face of growing public hostility (the Gunpower Plot, Civil War and James II's reign did not aid their cause), so that by the time of Anne's reign they were a very small minority.
Considering that the Stuarts in exile were pretty much in the Pope's lap, I don't think any claimants between them and Sophia would want to risk falling out of His Holiness's favour, even if they did have a shot at potentially ruling a realm.
 
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