The Spanish Heir (What if Carlos II had a son?)
- Thread starter Archduke
- Start date
I was interested because I thought this was going to be a Spanish TL, of a period where Spain is normally either a footnote or a carcass whose internal politics are irrelevant to everybody else.
Yet it seems as if this is just another English TL. It's not bad, just not really what was promised on the lid.
Yet it seems as if this is just another English TL. It's not bad, just not really what was promised on the lid.
Tbh, it's relevant because having a England who's pro or anti French is very important because it changes if Spain who's still going through reforms rn can afford to be more pushy and secure with a anti French England or if they need to be on the defensive and more careful because of a pro French Engalnd.
I agree it would be nice seeing the focus be on Spain again but I can see what the author is trying to do by creating a event that very much impacts Spain and it needs some chapters in order to make it not rushed and so we can understand everything that will come later that is tied to it
It's not just the last few updates being England focused.
The level of detail between the early updates and the recent ones shows the author seems far more interested in England. The last 4 English updates are as long as the rest of the trademarks.
Louis XIV is going to see how things play out first, Louis XIV didn't take too kindly to James II's early reconciliation with William of Orange.
William of Orange will certainly be shocked and frightened by Monmouth's success, because that will make him question his own role to play in England.
I'll be moving around wherever the butterflies take us. You can expect to see more updates on Hungary, Germany, and yes, Spain. We'll also be traveling to the American Southwest and Atlantic relatively soon.
Story planning has made the Monmouth Rebellion a relatively important part of the timeline hence the slowdown to address it in detail, but I think we only have one more English prioritized update before returning to the Continent.
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beautiful story yours I have to congratulate you, I have a question with a more planned and slow reconquest of Hungary by the Habsburgs (also suitable for putting down any grievances or uprisings) does that mean it will be even more depopulated than Otl I think? (because areas that have not been places of conflict are now right?) so it is possible to see more Swabian settlement in the region (even with the imperial armies united (so with the support of frontline princes) we see less opposition to the policies moreover, how will this affect the Morean war between the Ottomans and Venice? How is this policy assumed by Pope Innocent XI (creator of the anti-Turkish and French leagues, as well as a strong opponent of King Louis on the question of regalie ? ) it's like a stronger Spain than Otl, it's no longer anileated with the Austrian cousins it will change the policy in Italy ?
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I can speak to demographics at this point, as the conflict is still unfolding. Regarding the Morean War and Holy League, I think that whatever the difficulties in Hungary that you'll still see a strong commitment by Holy League members to other fronts. As long as there is a Hungarian war, other Christian armies can be confident that they will not be facing the main Ottoman army. Regarding Spanish-Austrian relations, right now they are sour due to Austrian scheming over the Spanish Netherlands.
1.12: Battle of Coombe Hill
XII: Battle of Coombe Hill
Battle of Coombe Hill (1685)
Battle of Coombe Hill (1685)
On the morning of August 16, 1685, Monmouth and the rebel army marched out of Gloucester on the northern road. Monmouth marched north rather than east to Cheltenham because he would rather find Roncherolles in the open field than in the town. Monmouth’s recent experience at Bristol convinced him that an assault on Cheltenham would have been disastrous. The royalist cavalry spotted this maneuver and Roncherolles naturally moved his army out of Cheltenham to cover the road in front of Monmouth. The concern that Monmouth might turn to take Cheltenham meant that some of the royalist soldiers remained posted in the town. But even with this redeployment, Monmouth still preferred to fight in the field and remained clear of Cheltenham. Roncherolles halted the royalists at Coombe Hill, which was not much of a hill at all and did not even offer Roncherolles a commanding view of the battlefield. Still, Roncherolles told the Anglo-Scots Brigade and the Londoners to form their battle lines and prepare to meet the enemy. Monmouth stopped his men a little over a mile away and did the same. By 11 am, both armies were settled but neither moved. Monmouth had prayed that Roncherolles would be daft enough to charge into Monmouth’s larger army, but Roncherolles knew better. The burden of advance was on Monmouth. If he wanted to escape the closing royalist trap then he would have to break through Roncherolles. By 11:30 am, Monmouth admitted that Roncherolles would not budge and moved his men up 1500 yards and then stopped, still 200 away from the royalists. Monmouth had realized that the main royalist artillery was somewhere to the southeast with Grafton and Pembroke. Monmouth’s artillery, however, was right behind him. If Monmouth engaged in an artillery duel then he would win, so the rebels brought up their cannons and began to bombard the royalists. The simple realities of math meant that the few small cannons the royalists had with them could not match the true cannons that the rebels had stolen from Bristol. For more than two hours, the rebels pounded the royalists with shot after shot. Those shots came at an inconsistent pace due to Monmouth’s dearth of artillerists, but still, they hit enough of their marks to put holes in the royalist army. But even with cannon balls ripping or bouncing through their lines, the royalists remained unmoved. Roncherolles refused to attack and instead relied on the discipline and experience of the Anglo-Scots Brigade to stand his ground. Had it been a different general then maybe Monmouth’s bombardment would have forced action. But as it was, Roncherolles valued the lives of English and Scottish soldiers so little that he was perfectly willing to wait and sustain hit after hit until Monmouth came to him.
Roncherolles’s steadfast nature unsettled Monmouth. Even with the bombardment, Monmouth was still the one who had to go through Roncherolles. If Roncherolles survived the day then Somerset or maybe even Grafton and Pembroke would close in on Monmouth by the next day. All Roncherolles required for a victory was survival, Monmouth needed to actually defeat Roncherolles. So once again Monmouth had to accept that Roncherolles could be moved and by 2 PM, Monmouth was finally on the advance again. Once within a hundred yards, the rebels and royalists finally began to trade volleys. Having built an actual army with real guns and training, Monmouth wanted to fight this battle in a more traditional manner. Monmouth wanted to fight a battle of attrition and wear down the royalists. Monmouth hoped that with his cannons providing support and with the high spirits of his soldiers that he could break down the smaller royalist army through exchanges of volleys. By this point in the campaign, the rebels had learned had to stand together and deliver unified volleys at their captains' orders, yet they lacked the repetitions of their royalist opponents. The fumbling, the slowness, and the hesitation meant that rebels could not overpower the royalists. Instead, the royalists maintained their composure and held their ground while the rebels who were unused to the demanding and exhausting nature of a pitched battle began to lose theirs. The orderly murder of Coombe Hill was not what the victors of bloody Bristol were meant for. Steadily, the rebels were growing frustrated and losing their discipline. Monmouth could sense that his men could not stand still much longer and neither could he. The battle had gone on for hours and the royalists still had not budged.
At 4 PM, Monmouth finally decided to employ his horse. Throughout the earlier stages of the battle, Monmouth had been reluctant to throw them at Roncherolles. Even though the royalists had not had the time to develop a defensive position with trenches and barricades, the fact of the matter was that Monmouth did not trust his horse. Although a month of training could turn a rebel into a half-decent soldier, the same did not hold true of a horseman. Monmouth had been a famed cavalryman and he thought anything less than 6 months of training disqualified a rider from being a trooper. For horses, he thought a year in specific military training was necessary. A handful at best of Monmouth’s men and horses met those requirements. Thus, Monmouth had thought his horse better suited to screen for Somerset moving against Gloucester, but by 4 PM, Monmouth needed something to change. His artillery and infantry alone had failed to break through so Monmouth had to pray that his cavalry as ill-formed as they were could finally break the stalemate. The rebel cavalry was sent on a sweeping maneuver east of the fighting so that they could evade detection and hit Roncherolles’s left wing. Commanded by Fletcher of Saltoun, Ford Grey, and Charles Speke, the rebels rode to Staverton and then Uckington but when they reached Uckington they ran into the garrison of Cheltenham. Despite the royalists having held their ground for this long, their casualties were mounting and Roncherolles felt that a reinforcement from Cheltenham would give his men the firmness to survive through the night. That royalist reinforcement and those rebel cavalry found each other at Uckington. The fighting was confused from the very beginning. The rebel horsemen had become spread out and dispersed due to their lack of training so when the first of the rebels ran into a marching column of royalist infantrymen they were not able to overpower the unprepared and out-of-position royalists. By the time the rebels had regrouped and concentrated their block of cavalry, the infantry had begun to convert their column into a line. But the rebel charge caught the infantry still in the process and a frenzied brawl broke out. In some places, formed-up units of royalist infantrymen were throwing back rebel cavalry and firing volleys while in others, royalists were being cut down by the rebels. For two hours this went on until finally the rebels shook loose of the royalists. The rebels had failed to destroy the royalist reinforcements but the royalists had failed to stop the rebels. Bloodied and disarrayed, the rebels took their time to regroup again and then turn toward the main battlefield.
The damaged state of the rebel cavalry made their attack on Roncherolles’s main army wholly ineffective. With too few men, the rebels were incapable of turning Roncherolles’s right wing, and after a brief entanglement the rebel cavalry was broken and sent running east where they ran into their old enemies, the royalist reinforcements. This time the fighting was more decisive and the rebel cavalry was routed. Despite the dismal failure of his cavalry, Monmouth remained committed to the battle, any hope of the victory for his cause remained on the other side of Roncherolles. However, with any chance of cavalry turning the battle gone, Monmouth only had one option left to him: an infantry assault. Finally, he unleashed his men into the ranks of the royalists. After hours of trading shots, the rebels pulled their swords or scythes or gripped their pikes and charged forward. Despite the tiring day of standing in the hot summer sun, the call to charge enlivened the rebels especially when they saw their heroic savior, James Scott, Duke of Monmouth, draw his sword too. To Roncherolles’s shock, the charge caused the Anglo-Scots Brigade to shudder and shake. All their discipline and training seemed forgotten as the men of the West Country screamed “A-Monmouth!” and came crashing down on the Anglo-Scots. Some of the Anglo-Scots fumbled to grab their swords in the heat of the moment and the rebels instantly pushed the royalists back for the first time all day. The men wearing sprigs of rosemary and ribbons of green seemed to have the better of the redcoats. Although the initial fighting went heavily in favor of the rebels, the royalists weathered it without breaking and running. Their captains and Roncherolles steadied them and the rebel advance was slowed. Eventually, Monmouth had to pull his men back a bit and regroup as his assault was getting out of line. But then Monmouth just charged again.
By 8:30 PM, hundreds were felled on both sides and Coombe Hill was painted red with blood. The battle seemed to favor the rebels but the royalists remained unbroken and the sun was setting. Still, Monmouth would have fought well through the night if it meant winning had it not been for a ragged horseman returning from his flight to tell Monmouth that Grafton was on the eastern horizon. Grafton’s appearance so soon came as a surprise to Monmouth since Monmouth had never learned of Grafton’s separation from Pembroke and the subsequent speed that gave Grafton’s march. At that moment, Monmouth fatefully realized that there was no way he could break through Roncherolles before Grafton reached him, and if Monmouth stayed at Coombe Hill then the destruction of his entire army was assured. With immense sadness, Monmouth ordered the retreat and fell toward Gloucester. Roncherolles had done what was necessary and held back the rebel onslaught. When the rebels reached that town they were rudely welcomed by the knowledge that Somerset had retaken the town in Monmouth’s prolonged absence. Fatigued from a full day of fighting, the rebels could hardly be expected to attack Somerset. Instead, they turned to the east and headed for the woods. As they did so, they came into contact with some of Grafton’s men and then Somerset hit them as well. Some rebels were so tired and broken by the day’s travails that they simply gave themselves up. Others tried in vain to fight back but were overrun. The battle was lost and the fight was over. All the rebel army could do was power on forward and leave those who were caught behind. Both Somerset and Grafton having missed the fighting at Coombe Hill were eager to win their own laurels and favor with the king so they dogged the rebels for hours. Only by dawn on the following day did the royalists halt to rest, but by then the rebel army was a shadow of itself and so too was its commander.
Despite fighting well for the vast majority of the day, the rebel army had failed to accomplish its goal and had been utterly ruined in its retreat. Monmouth could barely contain his melancholy and was in an obvious state of despair. He knew that the rebellion was over and so too did his generals. Still, Monmouth was not yet able to stomach the idea of quitting and running, not while he had at least some army to lead. Monmouth planned to lead the men back to Bristol, but as they marched south they realized that Albemarle, Churchill, and Kirke were all lying in wait, even if Bristol remained a defiant rebel city. The beaten and demoralized state of his army made breaking through this wall of royalists unlikely. Still, Monmouth was their captain and he was not yet ready to abandon his men. The same truth did not hold for his officers. Colonel Venner and Fletcher of Saltoun quit Monmouth’s army in the night, they were followed by others. Quickly, it became apparent that Monmouth’s army was slipping away but Monmouth clung to his hope for salvation at Bristol. Monmouth never reached Bristol. On August 21th, 1685, a soldier of Monmouth’s army disgruntled by defeat and frustrated by Monmouth’s disconsolate mood took fire at the Duke. The soldier was instantly grabbed by other rebels and killed on the spot. But the shot had still been fired and Monmouth fell from his horse. Immediately, Monmouth was rushed to a nearby farm and the rebel army’s physician went to work. The shot had shattered Monmouth’s collarbone, but through some miracle or the other, the physician saved Monmouth’s life. What the physician could not save was Monmouth’s army. In the hours following the assassination attempt, the rumor spread that Monmouth was dead and hundreds of men deserted including Lord Grey. As more men ran into the woods, more men realized that the rebellion was hopeless and so they too ran. By the time Monmouth exited the farm two days later, his army was all but gone.
With the last bit of his rebel army, Monmouth tried in vain to make a sprint to Bristol. There was no heroic ride nor exhilarating chase. Monmouth’s two days waylaid in a bed had given the Duke of Albemarle all the time he needed to bring the cavalry of Captain Edwin Sandys and Sir Charles Wyndham into place on either side of Monmouth while Albemarle’s militia blocked the road ahead and Roncherolles bore down from behind. Within two days, Monmouth’s party was surrounded. Had it not been for the dismal state of Monmouth’s shoulder he might have been able to ride hard enough and well enough to find his way out of this stranglehold, but it was not to be. With the final skirmishes, what was left of Monmouth’s army evaporated. Finally, Monmouth ordered his remaining men to give up and run, spare their own lives, his own was already forfeit. Sadly many of these men did not hesitate to desert their Protestant Duke. He and his rebellion had failed them. The victory that they pursued had eluded them and now the hammer of royal justice was quickly coming after them. Ultimately, just a handful of rebels, including Monmouth’s final friend, Heywood Dare, refused to leave the side of Monmouth. This final guard lacked the numbers or the will to make a last stand. Instead, a few days later they were surrounded by Sir Charles Wyndham and Monmouth obliged them to surrender. By the end of the day, Monmouth was in the custody of the Marquis de Roncherolles bound for London. The Monmouth Rebellion was finished and so was the Duke of Monmouth.
As Roncherolles escorted Monmouth back to London, the former made it clear that he respected the latter. Roncherolles and Monmouth shared some recollections of Maastricht, but the Duke’s words were few and far in between. Roncherolles went on and on about how much he distasted the majority of English officers as lazy, incoherent, and incompetent. As far as Roncherolles was concerned, Monmouth could have beaten each one of England’s officers and marched right into London if not for Roncherolles’s leadership. Monmouth took little consolation from this or any of Roncherolles’s other banter. Whatever could have been, was not. Instead, what had happened was Monmouth had lost. Now, Monmouth was sitting across from a royalist general with royalist soldiers on either side of him in a closed carriage destined for the Tower of London. Once there, Monmouth could not expect lengthy imprisonment nor the prospect of banishment and exile. While Monmouth had been fighting to re-assert the power of Parliament, the sitting parliament had passed an act of attainder that convicted Monmouth of high treason and sentenced him to death. Naturally, James II had given his royal assent and Monmouth did not expect the uncle who had hated him for a lifetime would change his mind now. So, Roncherolles’s rants against the English army and claims of respect for Monmouth’s campaign were of no value at all to the prisoner. Monmouth was so dismantled by his ordeal that he could not even muster irritation at Roncherolles’s constant chatter.
Despite Monmouth’s certainty of death, he still inquired after an audience with King James II upon reaching London. Maybe lingering thoughts of Charles I’s execution might spare the head of Monmouth. Critically, the Queen Dowager, Catherine Braganza, felt obliged to honor her late husband’s eternal love for Monmouth. Additionally, as it was, the rebel city of Bristol had not yet surrendered and someone Catherine held dear was being held captive by that final bastion of rebellion. Catherine worried that if Bristol was not brought back into the folds of royal control peacefully that her dear friend might become a victim of rebel retributions. Both for her dead husband and her living love, Catherine interceded on Monmouth’s behalf and asked her brother-in-law, James II to grant Monmouth an audience. Catherine understood that Monmouth’s crimes were immense, but still, as a good Christian how could James II allow the execution of his own blood to pass? How could James II welcome his one-month-old daughter, Mary Louisa, into the world by spilling the blood that she shared? Monmouth was a danger to the King’s peace and exile had done him no good, but the Tower could keep him. Death was an unnecessary recourse. James II received each of these points calmly and then to Catherine’s surprise he granted Monmouth’s request for an audience.
James II’s reason for seeing Monmouth was simple: he did not believe that Monmouth’s success was his own. James II despise his nephew with a relentless passion and refused to admit that his nephew might have been so loved and so competent that he could raise an army and take Bristol all on his own. Monmouth had help, James II was convinced of it and he would know who that help was. When Monmouth entered the audience he was met by four people, James II, Catherine, and England’s two Secretaries of State, Robert Spencer, 2nd Earl of Sunderland, and Charles Middleton, 2nd Earl of Middleton. Immediately, James II made it clear what he wanted and he asked “Who?”, who had helped. Monmouth offered the names of Archibald Campell of Argyll, Ford Grey of Werke, and Charles Speke, but each of those names was already known to James II as each of those men had raised a sword in Monmouth’s name. So James II pressed again and asked “which great names” were involved in Monmouth’s conspiracy, but Monmouth offered none. Instead, Monmouth pointed out that if any great names had meant to help Monmouth then he might not be a prisoner. James II did not smile at Monmouth’s implication and instead asked after specific names. Did Beaufort deliberately let Monmouth take Bristol? No, he defended Bristol valiantly. Did Henry Sydney or anyone else try to raise a rebellion in London? No, no one in London volunteered themselves for Monmouth’s rebellion. What about Henry Booth and Chesire? Booth was no ally and there was no Chesire rebellion to speak of. Finally, James II asked “and the Prince of Orange?”
Monmouth realized that he needed to give James II something and so he offered, “Yes, him.” As memories of trying to bash through the Anglo-Scots Brigade at Coombe Hill flooded back to Monmouth, the memories of Willem of Oranje’s promise not to give James II any help poured out. Monmouth revealed that he had been given a personal audience by Willem before his departure and yet Willem had not arrested him. Willem had promised to help and had suggested that he wanted to be the King of England. All of which fit James II’s own narrative, someone had helped and it had been Willem. The only reason that James II still had his crown was that Roncherolles had led his armies. Had James II allowed Willem over the Channel then the Dutchman would have turned the Anglo-Scots Brigade against their rightful king. Monmouth was telling James II everything he wanted until suddenly Monmouth shouted that Sunderland too had been a part of the conspiracy. Sunderland, James II’s trusted servant had offered to be Monmouth’s Secretary of State. Quickly, Sunderland denied the charges and shut up the Protestant Duke with the audience ending shortly afterward. Monmouth’s accusation of Sunderland threw his entire testimony into question. Sunderland vehemently denied any involvement and repeated again and again that Monmouth was a liar desperate to save his own life and he would say anything if he thought James II would spare him for it. When captured rebels including Grey of Werke revealed that Henry Booth, Baron Delamer, had in fact been a supporter of the rebellion, this was exactly how it seemed. Monmouth had lied and protected his friends while trying to break James II’s trust in his own friends. James II was ready and willing to believe Sunderland’s innocence. The man had served him well and James II did not consider Monmouth’s accusation truthful for even a second. What James II really wanted to know, needed to know, was whether or not Willem had anything to do with the rebellion. James II wanted to believe in Willem’s guilt but Sunderland and others suggested that this too was a lie. When James II asked if Monmouth had any evidence of his accusations of either Sunderland or Willem’s complicity, he had none. Still, James II remained suspicious.
Monmouth’s decision to accuse Sunderland and his failure to expose Booth ensured his death. Had Monmouth given up the rebels and given James II the evidence he needed against Willem then James II would have considered clemency. Instead, Monmouth remained a duplicitous figure not worthy of life. Not even Mary of Modena’s own concerns after executing a royal bastard so soon after her daughter’s birth would stop James II’s plans to execute Monmouth. The only mercy that James II did grant his nephew was permission to see his children. Monmouth did not even have to leave the environs of the Tower of London to see his children as they had been imprisoned as soon as Monmouth had invaded England. Monmouth’s wife, as an upstanding and influential noblewoman, had not been imprisoned but she nevertheless followed her children into the Tower to see that they were well taken care of. Whatever disdain James II had for his nephew, James II was fundamentally a family man and he held no animosity toward the children of Monmouth and Anne Scott. Monmouth traded hugs and tears with his children, but not with his wife. Anne knew and understood that Monmouth was bound for the chopping block but she hated that in the final years of their marriage that Monmouth had turned away from her and instead went to Henrietta. With the others, it was clear that they were mistresses and Anne was Monmouth’s wife, but with Henrietta it was different. Monmouth treated Henrietta like his wife even though Anne remained alive and healthy. They had never been a perfect match, but Anne expected Monmouth to at least show her the courtesy of being a respectful husband. That was not something that Monmouth had done for more than two years. Anne showed her husband no love in their final encounters. She focused on her children and demanded that Monmouth do whatever was necessary to provide for their safety. If James II asked for anything of him then Monmouth would give it. Monmouth consented because even if he could not love Anne, he did love their children.
On August 31, 1685, the day for Monmouth’s execution arrived. Monmouth was granted one last visit with his children and his wife. Monmouth offered a final apology to them for all he had done and all they had suffered due to him. As Monmouth was taken to Tower Hill, the place of execution, the clergymen beside him beseeched him, again and again, to repent for his sins but the Protestant Duke was deaf to them. When the party reached Tower Hill, they found the most heavily guarded scaffold since the execution of Charles I. Despite Monmouth’s treason, the scaffold was adorned with articles of mourning. All of it was a testament to the enormousness of Monmouth’s person. He had been the Protestant Hero of the Nation, he was a Great Man of England, and he was of royal blood. He was a vision, a savior, and now to be a martyr. Once more the clergymen led by Bishop Francis Turner of Ely asked that Monmouth repent for his rebellion. Instead, he spoke on Henrietta and even raised his voice so that some of the crowd might hear him. He denied any scandal between himself and Henrietta and labeled Henrietta as a virtuous and honourable woman not deserving of any distaste. When asked if he had been married to her he reminded those around him, that now, with his head about to be taken from him, was not the time. Instead, Bishop Turner focused on Monmouth’s rebellion and urged Monmouth to make a speech to discourage rebellion. But Monmouth declined, he instead pointed to his last testament which said all that needed to be said. Monmouth did, however, pray for the King’s health and did offer penance for spilling Christian blood.
Finally, Monmouth approached his executioner and offered him a bag of gold if he would take Monmouth’s head with a single stroke unlike the four it had taken to kill Lord Russell after the Rye House conspiracy. If the executioner took Monmouth with a single stroke then Monmouth promised not to stir. Then Monmouth asked to test the ax’s edge himself and felt it insufficiently sharp. When Monmouth questioned the executioner, he promised that “It is sharp enough and heavy enough” but it was clear that the executioner was disconcerted by Monmouth’s questions. As promised, Monmouth refused to make any speech and instead, he knelt and put his neck on the block with the same calm reserve that his grandfather had done so. Unfortunately, the nervousness of the executioner showed when he raised the ax and began to shake. As he brought it down, he missed Monmouth’s entirely. The next stroke barely hit Monmouth and the following two were little better. The executioner made a mess of it and made a mess of Monmouth. The crowd was outraged at the executioner’s botching of the precious final moments of their beloved Monmouth. The executioner even took a step back and explained, “My heart fails me, I cannot do it!” But the sheriffs refused to take the ax from the executioner and pushed him back toward the injured Monmouth while the crowd cried out “Fling [the executioner] over the rails”. The executioner's next blows was just as bad and finally, the sheriff tossed the executioner a knife and told him to be over with it. The gruesome scene was too much for the mob as they began to shake, yell, and punch at the guards. Rocks began to fly and then one guard opened fire. A full-blown riot broke out and it only ended when somehow the executioner ended up on the ground with the mob. Most likely one of the guards or sheriffs kicked him off the scaffold to save their own lives. The executioner was torn to pieces by the crowd before they were run off by the guards [1]. It was a bloody omen for what was to come.
In the West Country, Bristol had been besieged by the Duke of Grafton while Roncherolles accompanied Monmouth to London. James II made it clear that he wanted the city punished for its complicity in Monmouth’s rebellion. Of course, Bristol’s inhabitants were unwilling to surrender unless they were guaranteed some form of clemency. This disconnect ensured that Bristol was kept under siege by both the royal army and the royal navy. Once Monmouth was executed, James II expected Bristol to humble itself, but his terms for surrender entailed the imprisonment of hundreds of Bristolians, a martial government afterward, and an unfathomable indemnity. These terms were unacceptable for Bristol and so James II redeployed Roncherolles to finish the job and wipe out the lingering rebellion [2]. With orders to punish Bristol and to take Bristol before autumn, Roncherolles abandoned Grafton’s strategy of starving Bristol out. Instead, Roncherolles began a short bombardment of Bristol before launching an assault on the unwalled northern side of the city. This attack was similar to Monmouth’s own earlier in the year, except Roncherolles had a professional fighting force. However, this time, the citizens did not turn against their defenders. The result was a bloody day. Obviously, Roncherolles emerged victorious but his casualties were nothing to scoff at. The casualties for the Bristolians were even more horrifying. Roncherolles did not even enact a policy of retribution against the Bristolians. He made it clear that as long as Feversham, Beaufort, and Worcester were unharmed that he would treat Bristol's defenders as soldiers rather than rebellious vermin. Still, hundreds of Bristolian defenders had been killed and hundreds more wounded. Tens of buildings were wrecked by the fighting. Combined with the bombardment, the blockade, and Beaufort’s fire, Bristol was a shadow of itself. The city was in practical ruins and yet the worse was still to come. Roncherolles was far from the greatest villain that Bristol would know.
Behind Roncherolles came Judge George Jeffreys with a commission to dole out the King’s justice to the West Country and its many rebels. Already thousands of rebel soldiers had been caught after Coombe Hill and on the retreat. More were interned for participating in the defense of Bristol. With the help of Roncherolles’s army, thousands more West Country natives were rounded up due to suspicions that they had been a member of Monmouth's army or had helped that army [3]. Anyone who had been a part of Monmouth’s army at Coombe Hill or the defense of Bristol was considered to have no claim to clemency. Anyone who helped and abetted those rebel soldiers was also guilty of treason and anyone who hid or harbored one of these criminals who suffer the same fate. James II had been disgusted by the West Country’s participation in Monmouth’s rebellion and was also upset at how close Monmouth had seemingly gotten to victory. Monmouth’s rebellion should have gotten nowhere and yet it had conquered Bristol. For that, there were to be consequences. Using records of recruits captured during Monmouth’s flight from Coombe Hill as well as the testimonies of ardent royalists or rebels desperate to save their own lives, thousands of people were being convicted of treason and sentenced to death. Among them was Alice Lisle, who was convicted of sheltering rebels. Those same rebels had not even been convicted of rebellion when Alice was sentenced. Still, James II refused to consider Alice’s appeal for mercy. Her husband, Sir John Lisle, was among those who had signed James II’s father’s death warrant. There was no mercy for her kind and James II made it clear that he had no intention of using his prerogative of mercy to save any of the rebels. However, after five hundred executions and with thousands more scheduled, others intervened [4]. Jeffreys wrote that he was struggling to process all the executions. Roncherolles wrote that the country was becoming more and more restless with each execution. Roncherolles requested more soldiers to put down a potential second rebellion. James II’s Treasurer, Laurence Hyde, Earl of Rochester, complained on account of the financial burden of the operation. Sunderland had a solution.
With thousands convicted of treason, the Earl of Sunderland suggested that the King might make a profit off some of these rebels by commuting their death sentences to life as an indentured convict in the colonies. James II saw the value in Sunderland’s plan and decided to give rebels away to his friends so that they might sell them to the plantation owners of the Caribbean. James II gave 200 people a piece to Sir William Booth, a navy captain; Sir Philip Howard, a Jamaican politician currently in England; Sir William Stapleton, governor of the Leeward Islands; Sir Richard White, Sir James Kendall, and Sir Christoper Musgrave, ardent loyalists; Jerome Nipho, Mary of Modena’s secretary; and Mary of Modena herself. However, this was just 1,600 men, there were thousands more to be dealt with. Rather generously, James II gave a full 2,000 to the Duke of Albemarle but tied it to a commission for Albemarle to take up the post of Governor of Jamaica [5]. Still, James had plenty of men to give away and began to worry about putting so many rebels in the Caribbean. Fortunately, William Penn stepped in and offered to take the Nonconformist rebels to Pennsylvania in bulk. Although Penn could not oblige James II by promising years of hard labor for these rebels, he promised that he could take them away from England so they could do no harm to James II. The king agreed to let the rest of the rebels go peacefully to Pennsylvania but in turn demanded Penn's full support in pursuing a policy of religious toleration for Catholics in England [6]. Under this policy, the executions ended save for those who had been officers within Monmouth’s army. The final execution in the Monmouth Rebellion saga would be Henry Booth’s. The Baron Delamer had thought that his role in the rebellion would go by undiscovered since he had never actually raised rebellion in Chesire. But Booth’s treason was betrayed by other rebels without alerting Booth. As a consequence, Booth failed to flee before he was arrested. His pleas to be tried by his peers, the House of Lords, was ignored and instead, Judge Jeffreys sentenced him to death like any other rebel [7].
The Bloody Assizes as they would be called heralded in the arrival of a new England and Scotland. When Charles II first passed, people were unsure what James II’s reign might look like. James II’s summoning of Parliament quieted many concerns that James II would be a Popish tyranny, but then Monmouth’s Rebellion and Argyll’s Rising threatened to upset the balance of England and bring back the Old Cause. In the wake of the failure of the rebellion, the English and Scottish found themselves in a new set of kingdoms. Across the land, James II was in full control. At his hand was the still-standing army that had withstood Monmouth. At the army’s head were two Frenchmen, Charles de Roncherolles, now Earl of Gloucester, and Louis de Duras, Earl of Feversham. The center of English Nonconformism, Bristol, was a smoldering desolate ruin and the Hardy Men of Taunton and Bristol were now either slaves in Jamaica and Barbados or exiles in Pennsylvania. James II’s greatest domestic threat had lost his head and anyone else had lost the courage to speak out. It is hard to imagine a situation in which James II would have been more dominant and yet it was possible for the king to grow even more powerful. Because besides sending his nephew to his death, James II had welcomed a daughter, a Catholic daughter, Mary Louisa, into the world. With this daughter, James II was in a perfect place to solidify his victory by arranging a betrothal with one of the Continent’s key Catholic nations.
[1] With the extended rebellion, I believe that sympathies toward Monmouth in London would have been deepened. In OTL, there was nearly a riot over the same botched execution, but here those heightened sympathies do incite a riot. It is important to note that this is not an anti-James II or anti-monarchical riot. This riot is specifically triggered and targeted against the botched execution. There is a certain honor and ceremony attached to a beheading and this execution certainly failed to achieve that (both in this timeline and in OTL).
[2] Why does Bristol continue to defy the crown? In the immediate wake of Coombe Hill, Bristol still had some hope of the rebellion succeeding. As long as Monmouth was around, the mythos surrounding him provides some belief that the rebellion might recover. But even after Monmouth is captured and subsequently executed, Bristol fights on. The reason for this defiance is simple, the terms that James II is demanding are unacceptable. James II wants to severely punish the city for its participation in Monmouth's Rebellion and the city is hoping that it can drag things out long enough to escape that punishment. The Bristolians think that if they can last into the winter that the costs of the siege might become too high for James II to justify continuing to seek the worst punishment for Bristol. Alternatively, with time, Parliament or James II's ministers will intervene and convince James II to treat Bristol generously. Finally, as a hotbed of Nonconformism, Bristol is in general concerned that surrender might mean death anyways. Beaufort's Fire gave life to all those rumors that James II wanted to stomp out Nonconformists. There is a real concern that if the Bristolians open the gate that they will get butchered anyways.
[3] This extended and more considerable nature of the rebellion has significantly increased the scale of the Bloody Assizes. In OTL, the Bloody Assizes only went after less than 1,500 people. Here, the number of soldiers captured at Coombe Hill, running from Coombe Hill, or deserting Monmouth during the retreat already is more than three times that number. The fact that Monmouth's army did not immediately disintegrate like it did after Segdemoor played a role in why the royalists interned so many more prisoners. Additionally, with Roncherolles rather than Feversham leading the immediate post-battle clean-up of the rebels, the royalist army puts a greater emphasis on capturing the rebels. Roncherolles unlike Feversham is not a naturalized Englishman and is not going to be showing as much mercy as Feversham did. Also, Roncherolles does not have the health complications of Feversham that hindered Fevesham's ability to lead operations. Bristol's defiance plays its own role in increasing the Assizes. In OTL, the center of the rebellion was Taunton, a sizable town but certainly not a city the size of Bristol. Bristol is a city of nearly 30,000 people. The vast majority of those people are Nonconformists who were active supporters of Monmouth in this timeline. The armed defenders are assured of prosecution as traitors while the rest are still at risk. Bristol rather Taunton will be the center of the Bloody Assizes courts and it is under the martial law of Roncherolles. This TTL, Bloody Assizes is probably close to 10,000 convictions.
[4] In OTL, Jeffreys got to less than 300 executions before his hand was stayed. In this timeline, the reason he gets to 500 is not due to greater royal aggravation (even though James II is certainly more upset than OTL). Instead, the simple increased volume and scale of the Bloody Assizes results in Jeffreys executing 500 people before being stopped. This is actually a smaller proportion of the number of convicted rebels than OTL. In OTL, around 15-20% of the convicted rebels were executed. In TTL, this 500 is probably around 5-7% of the convicted rebels.
[5] With so many more convicted rebels, James II is able to give slaves to his friends even more liberally than OTL. But even after these first allocations, James II still has too many prisoners to dispense with. This results in James II giving Albemarle, a favorite as the son of General Monck, a huge number of slaves, and an earlier commission to become Governor of Jamaica. In OTL, Albemarle was named governor in 1687. But with this prisoner situation that appointment is moved up to 1685.
[6] In OTL, Penn played no role in the transportation of Monmouth rebels to the Americas. In TTL, with so many more rebels convicted and so many of them being outwardly Noncomformist, the Quaker Penn feels a moral obligation to step in. Penn obviously is not a great fan of slavery, so he cannot offer to take thousands of rebels as slaves. But Penn still is offering to take thousands of rebels away from English shores. As a friend of James II, Penn is able to win James II over to this idea. This will mean thousands more colonists for early Pennsylvania. In return, Penn agrees to be a strong advocate for James II's religious toleration regime.
[7] In OTL, Booth was accused of conspiracy to assist Monmouth and was tried by Jeffreys. However, Booth was acquitted because the evidence against him was not strong enough. In this case, there is evidence since Booth was much closer than OTL to joining the rebellion. In OTL although Booth considered joining the rebellion, the rebellion did not advance far enough for him to actually plan to join it. In TTL, the rebellion's success results in Booth planning to join the rebellion which means letters and witnesses. Additionally, other rebels trying to save themselves (namely Fletcher and Grey) provide evidence of Monmouth's plans to join Booth's Chesire rebellion. The result is that Booth is convicted and executed for treason.
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The most interesting part to me is the William of Orange thing. James wants to believe that it's true, but Monmouth told enough lies in his final confessions that its hard to know for certain.
In any case, a glorious revolution seems unlikely at this point, which will have tremendous impacts on the future of the UK and the world. From all I've seen, it's generally regarded as the moment when parliament decisively became the premier power in the UK over the king- not that the kings were powerless, but now that they were beneath parliament.
In any case, a glorious revolution seems unlikely at this point, which will have tremendous impacts on the future of the UK and the world. From all I've seen, it's generally regarded as the moment when parliament decisively became the premier power in the UK over the king- not that the kings were powerless, but now that they were beneath parliament.
Good riddance from Monmouth, he doomed his men and his cause in a war he could not win, now he is disgraced and rotting beneath the earth, James II is more powerful than ever and whatever thoughts of Protestant resistance have either been killed, exiled into the colonies or accepted the new status quo, hopefully James and his successors can keep Britain afloat well enough.
Also, with this new daughter, will James been marrying off his daughter towards Spain? Because that's what it seems like, either that or France.
Also makes me wonder what the reaction across the rest of Europe is, Protestant powers weeping at the "popish Despotism of the tyrant James" especially after the death of Monmouth and destruction of Bristol while the Catholic world celebrates the defeating of the Protestants, with the exception being William of Orange who's giving a sigh of relief of having dodged a bullet there as well as getting rid of Monmouth
Also, with this new daughter, will James been marrying off his daughter towards Spain? Because that's what it seems like, either that or France.
Also makes me wonder what the reaction across the rest of Europe is, Protestant powers weeping at the "popish Despotism of the tyrant James" especially after the death of Monmouth and destruction of Bristol while the Catholic world celebrates the defeating of the Protestants, with the exception being William of Orange who's giving a sigh of relief of having dodged a bullet there as well as getting rid of Monmouth
As a newborn there doesn't have to be a rush to marry/arrange a marriage for James's daughter. But yes, Marie Louise d'Orleans of Spain has already laid down the groundwork for an Anglo-Spanish marriage. Spain still needs a major European partner since France is untrustworthy and relations with Austria and Bavaria are frayed. Meanwhile, James II's harsh retaliation against the rebellion is sure to earn him the ire of Protestants on the Continent, which will incline James II toward a Catholic alliance. In general, responses to Monmouth's Rebellion and other Continental Affairs will be the next major update.
The influx of Bristolians already exceeds the OTL Huguenot influx, so this in general will boost Pennsylvania's population and growth.
Hmm, makes me wonder how will England will balance their "friendship" between Spain and France and if push comes to shove, who will they choose
It would definitely be difficult, because Spain and France are at odds over the Spanish Netherlands.
Indeed, at the moment, France has the upper hand both in location and distance as well as military and economic wise. Spain has a long way to reform if they hope to compete with France.