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James, Duke of York

Type Figure Region England Time 1633–1701 Also known as Duke of York

James, Duke of York (1633–1701), second son of Charles I and brother of Charles II, later succeeded as King James II of England, Scotland, and Irelan…

Timeline

  1. 1633–1660London · EnglandBorn into the Stuart royal family, he went into exile in France with his mother during the Civil War, converted to Catholicism in the 1650s, and returned after the Restoration to be created Duke of York.
  2. 1660–1670London · EnglandCreated Duke of York in 1660, he became Lord High Admiral from 1665 and commanded naval battles in the Second and Third Anglo-Dutch Wars, while his Catholic faith gradually aroused political suspicion.
  3. 1671–1680London · EnglandThe 1673 Test Act forced him to resign his offices and openly declare his Catholicism; in 1679–1680 Parliament proposed the Exclusion Bill to deprive him of his inheritance, and although Charles II dissolved Parliament twice, James remained the legal heir.
  4. 1685–1701Saint-Germain-en-Laye · Kingdom of FranceHe acceded to the throne after the death of Charles II in 1685 and pursued Catholicizing policies; after William III's invasion in 1688 he was deposed by Parliament and exiled to France until his death, his supporters forming the Jacobites.

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