Chapter 4

Flora.—The flora is remarkable, showing types from North, Central, and South America, with a few European forms, besides the common plants found everywhere in the tropics. Of flowering plants there are 2180 distinct species, and of ferns 450 species, several of both being indigenous. The largeness of these numbers may be to some extent accounted for by differences of altitude, temperature and humidity. There are many beautiful flowers, such as the aloe, the yucca, the datura, the mountain pride and theVictoria regia; and the cactus tribe is well represented. The Sensitive Plant grows in pastures, and orchids in the woods. There are foresttrees fit for every purpose; including the ballata, rosewood, satinwood, mahogany, lignum vitae, lancewood and ebony. The logwood and fustic are exported for dyeing. There are also the Jamaica cedar, and the silk cotton tree (Ceiba Bombax). Pimento (peculiar to Jamaica) is indigenous, and furnishes the allspice. The bamboo, coffee and cocoa are well known. Several species of palm abound,—the macaw, the fan palm, screw palm, and palmetto royal. There are plantations of coconut palm. The other noticeable trees and plants are the mango, the breadfruit tree, the papaw, the lacebark tree, and the guava. ThePalma Christi, from which castor oil is made, is a very abundant annual. English vegetables grow in the hills, and the plains produce plantains, cocoa, yams, cassava, ochra, beans, pease, ginger and arrowroot. Maize and guinea-corn are cultivated, and the guinea-grass, accidentally introduced in 1750, is very valuable for horses and cattle,—so much so that pen-keeping or cattle farming is a highly profitable occupation. Among the principal fruits are the orange, shaddock, lime, grape or cluster fruit, pine-apple, mango, banana, grapes, melons, avocado pear, breadfruit, and tamarind.Fauna.—There are fourteen sorts oflampyridaeor fireflies, besides theelateridaeor lantern beetles. There are no venomous serpents, but numerous harmless snakes and lizards exist. The land-crab is considered a table delicacy, and the land-turtle also is eaten. The scorpion and centipede, though poisonous, are not very dangerous. Ants, sandflies and mosquitoes swarm in the lowlands. There are twenty different song-birds, and forty-three varieties of birds are presumed to be peculiar to the island. The sea and the rivers swarm with fish. Turtles abound, and the seal, the manatee and the crocodile are sometimes found. The coral reefs, with their varied polyps and anemones, the numerous alcyonarians and diverse coral-dwelling animals are readily accessible to the student, and the island is also celebrated for the number of species of its land-shells.

Flora.—The flora is remarkable, showing types from North, Central, and South America, with a few European forms, besides the common plants found everywhere in the tropics. Of flowering plants there are 2180 distinct species, and of ferns 450 species, several of both being indigenous. The largeness of these numbers may be to some extent accounted for by differences of altitude, temperature and humidity. There are many beautiful flowers, such as the aloe, the yucca, the datura, the mountain pride and theVictoria regia; and the cactus tribe is well represented. The Sensitive Plant grows in pastures, and orchids in the woods. There are foresttrees fit for every purpose; including the ballata, rosewood, satinwood, mahogany, lignum vitae, lancewood and ebony. The logwood and fustic are exported for dyeing. There are also the Jamaica cedar, and the silk cotton tree (Ceiba Bombax). Pimento (peculiar to Jamaica) is indigenous, and furnishes the allspice. The bamboo, coffee and cocoa are well known. Several species of palm abound,—the macaw, the fan palm, screw palm, and palmetto royal. There are plantations of coconut palm. The other noticeable trees and plants are the mango, the breadfruit tree, the papaw, the lacebark tree, and the guava. ThePalma Christi, from which castor oil is made, is a very abundant annual. English vegetables grow in the hills, and the plains produce plantains, cocoa, yams, cassava, ochra, beans, pease, ginger and arrowroot. Maize and guinea-corn are cultivated, and the guinea-grass, accidentally introduced in 1750, is very valuable for horses and cattle,—so much so that pen-keeping or cattle farming is a highly profitable occupation. Among the principal fruits are the orange, shaddock, lime, grape or cluster fruit, pine-apple, mango, banana, grapes, melons, avocado pear, breadfruit, and tamarind.

Fauna.—There are fourteen sorts oflampyridaeor fireflies, besides theelateridaeor lantern beetles. There are no venomous serpents, but numerous harmless snakes and lizards exist. The land-crab is considered a table delicacy, and the land-turtle also is eaten. The scorpion and centipede, though poisonous, are not very dangerous. Ants, sandflies and mosquitoes swarm in the lowlands. There are twenty different song-birds, and forty-three varieties of birds are presumed to be peculiar to the island. The sea and the rivers swarm with fish. Turtles abound, and the seal, the manatee and the crocodile are sometimes found. The coral reefs, with their varied polyps and anemones, the numerous alcyonarians and diverse coral-dwelling animals are readily accessible to the student, and the island is also celebrated for the number of species of its land-shells.

People.—The population of the island was estimated in 1905 at 806,690. Jamaica is rich in traces of its former Arawâk inhabitants. Aboriginal petaloid celts and other implements, flattened skulls and vessels are common, and images are sometimes found in the large limestone caverns of the island. The present inhabitants, of whom only 2% are white, include Maroons, the descendants of the slaves of the Spaniards who fled into the interior when the island was captured by the British; descendants of imported African slaves; mixed race of British and African blood; coolies from India; a few Chinese, and the British officials and white settlers. The Maroons live by themselves and are few in number, while the half-castes enter into trade and sometimes into the professions. The number of white inhabitants other than British is very small. A negro peasant population is encouraged, with a view to its being a support to the industries of the island; but, in many cases a field negro will not work for his employer more than four days a week. He may till his own plot of ground on one of the other days or not, as the spirit moves him, but four days’ work a week will keep him easily. He has little or no care for the future. He has probably squatted on someone’s land, and has no rent to pay. Clothes he need hardly buy, fuel he needs only for cooking, and food is ready to his hand for the picking. Unfortunately a widespread indulgence in predial larceny is a great hindrance to agriculture as well as to moral progress. But that habits of thrift are being inculcated is shown by the steady increase in the accounts in the government savings banks. That gross superstition is still prevalent is shown by the cases ofobeahor witchcraft that come before the courts from time to time. Another indication of the status of the negro may be found in the fact that more than 60% of the births are illegitimate, a percentage that shows an unfortunate tendency to increase rather than diminish.

The capital, Kingston, stands on the south-east coast, and near it is the town of Port Royal. Spanish Town (pop. 5019), the former capital, is in the parish of St Catherine, Middlesex, 11¾ m. by rail west of Kingston. Since the removal of the seat of government to Kingston, the town has gradually sunk in importance. In the cathedral many of the governors of the island are buried. A marble statue of Rodney commemorates his victory over the count de Grasse off Dominica in 1782. Montego Bay (pop. 4803), on the north-west coast, is the second town on the island, and is also a favourite bathing resort. Port Antonio (1784) lies between two secure harbours on the north-east, and owes its prosperity mainly to the development of the trade in fruit, for which it is the chief place of shipment.Industries.—Agricultural enterprise falls into two classes—planting and pen-keeping,i.e.the breeding of horses, mules, cattle and sheep. The chief products are bananas, oranges, coffee, sugar, rum, logwood, cocoa, pimento, ginger, coco-nuts, limes, nutmegs, pineapples, tobacco, grape-fruit and mangoes. There is a board of agriculture, with an experimental station at Hope; there is also an agricultural society with 26 branches throughout the colony. Bee-keeping is a growing industry, especially among the peasants. The land as a rule is divided into small holdings, the vast majority consisting of five acres and less. The manufactures are few. In addition to the sugar and coffee estates and cigar factories, there are tanneries, distilleries, breweries, electric light and gas works, ironfoundries, potteries and factories for the production of coconut oil, essential oils, ice, matches and mineral waters. There is an important establishment at Spanish Town for the production of logwood extract. The exports, more than half of which go to the United States, mostly comprise fruit, sugar and rum. The United States also contributes the majority of the imports. More than half the revenue of the colony is derived from import duties, the remainder is furnished by excise, stamps and licences. With the exception of that of the parish boards, there is no direct taxation.Communications.—In 1900 an Imperial Direct West India Line of steamers was started by Elder, Dempster & Co., to encourage the fruit trade with England; it had a subsidy of £40,000, contributed jointly by the Imperial and Jamaican governments. Two steamers go round the island once a week, calling at the principal ports, the circuit occupying about 120 hours. A number of sailing “droghers” also ply from port to port. Jamaica has a number of good roads and bridle paths; the main roads, controlled by the public works department, encircle the island, with several branches from north to south. The parochial roads are maintained by the parish boards. A railway traverses the island from Kingston in the south-east to Montego Bay in the north-west, and also branches to Port Antonio and to Ewarton. Jamaica is included in the Postal Union and in the Imperial penny post, and there is a weekly mail service to and from England by the Royal Mail Line, but mails are also carried by other companies. The island is connected by cable with the United States via Cuba, and with Halifax, Nova Scotia via Bermuda.There is a government savings bank at Kingston with branches throughout the island, and there are also branches of the Colonial Bank of London and the Bank of Nova Scotia. The coins in circulation are British gold and silver, but not bronze, instead of which local nickel is used. United States gold passes as currency. English weights and measures are used.

The capital, Kingston, stands on the south-east coast, and near it is the town of Port Royal. Spanish Town (pop. 5019), the former capital, is in the parish of St Catherine, Middlesex, 11¾ m. by rail west of Kingston. Since the removal of the seat of government to Kingston, the town has gradually sunk in importance. In the cathedral many of the governors of the island are buried. A marble statue of Rodney commemorates his victory over the count de Grasse off Dominica in 1782. Montego Bay (pop. 4803), on the north-west coast, is the second town on the island, and is also a favourite bathing resort. Port Antonio (1784) lies between two secure harbours on the north-east, and owes its prosperity mainly to the development of the trade in fruit, for which it is the chief place of shipment.

Industries.—Agricultural enterprise falls into two classes—planting and pen-keeping,i.e.the breeding of horses, mules, cattle and sheep. The chief products are bananas, oranges, coffee, sugar, rum, logwood, cocoa, pimento, ginger, coco-nuts, limes, nutmegs, pineapples, tobacco, grape-fruit and mangoes. There is a board of agriculture, with an experimental station at Hope; there is also an agricultural society with 26 branches throughout the colony. Bee-keeping is a growing industry, especially among the peasants. The land as a rule is divided into small holdings, the vast majority consisting of five acres and less. The manufactures are few. In addition to the sugar and coffee estates and cigar factories, there are tanneries, distilleries, breweries, electric light and gas works, ironfoundries, potteries and factories for the production of coconut oil, essential oils, ice, matches and mineral waters. There is an important establishment at Spanish Town for the production of logwood extract. The exports, more than half of which go to the United States, mostly comprise fruit, sugar and rum. The United States also contributes the majority of the imports. More than half the revenue of the colony is derived from import duties, the remainder is furnished by excise, stamps and licences. With the exception of that of the parish boards, there is no direct taxation.

Communications.—In 1900 an Imperial Direct West India Line of steamers was started by Elder, Dempster & Co., to encourage the fruit trade with England; it had a subsidy of £40,000, contributed jointly by the Imperial and Jamaican governments. Two steamers go round the island once a week, calling at the principal ports, the circuit occupying about 120 hours. A number of sailing “droghers” also ply from port to port. Jamaica has a number of good roads and bridle paths; the main roads, controlled by the public works department, encircle the island, with several branches from north to south. The parochial roads are maintained by the parish boards. A railway traverses the island from Kingston in the south-east to Montego Bay in the north-west, and also branches to Port Antonio and to Ewarton. Jamaica is included in the Postal Union and in the Imperial penny post, and there is a weekly mail service to and from England by the Royal Mail Line, but mails are also carried by other companies. The island is connected by cable with the United States via Cuba, and with Halifax, Nova Scotia via Bermuda.

There is a government savings bank at Kingston with branches throughout the island, and there are also branches of the Colonial Bank of London and the Bank of Nova Scotia. The coins in circulation are British gold and silver, but not bronze, instead of which local nickel is used. United States gold passes as currency. English weights and measures are used.

Administration, &c.—The island is divided into three counties, Surrey in the east, Middlesex in the centre, and Cornwall in the west, and each of these is subdivided into five parishes. The parish is the unit of local government, and has jurisdiction over roads, markets, sanitation, poor relief and waterworks. The management is vested in a parish board, the members of which are elected. The chairman or custos is appointed by the governor. The island is administered by a governor, who bears the old Spanish title of captain-general, assisted by a legislative council of fiveex officiomembers, not more than ten nominated members, and fourteen members elected on a limited suffrage. There is also a privy council of threeex officioand not more than eight nominated members. There is an Imperial garrison of about 2000 officers and men, with headquarters at Newcastle, consisting of Royal Engineers, Royal Artillery, infantry and four companies of the West India Regiment. There is a naval station at Port Royal, and the entrance to its harbour is strongly fortified. In addition there is a militia of infantry and artillery, about 800 strong.

Previous to 1870 the Church of England was established in Jamaica, but in that year a disestablishment act was passed which provided for gradual disendowment. It is still the most numerous body, and is presided over by the bishop of Jamaica, who is also archbishop of the West Indies. The Baptists,Wesleyans, Presbyterians, Moravians and Roman Catholics are all represented; there is a Jewish synagogue at Kingston, and the Salvation Army has a branch on the island. The Church of England maintains many schools, a theological college, a deaconesses’ home and an orphanage. The Baptists have a theological college; and the Roman Catholics support a training college for teachers, two industrial schools and two orphanages. Elementary education is in private hands, but fostered, since 1867, by government grants; it is free but not compulsory, although the governor has the right to compel the attendance of all children from 6 to 14 years of age in such towns and districts as he may designate. The teachers in these schools are for the most part trained in the government-aided training colleges of the various denominations. For higher education there are the University College and high school at Hope near Kingston, Potsdam School in St Elizabeth, the Mico School and Wolmer’s Free School in Kingston, founded (for boys and girls) in 1729, the Montego Bay secondary school, and numerous other endowed and self-supporting establishments. The Cambridge Local Examinations have been held regularly since 1882.

History.—Jamaica was discovered by Columbus on the 3rd of May 1494. Though he called it Santiago, it has always been known by its Indian name Jaymaca, “the island of springs,” modernized in form and pronunciation into Jamaica. Excepting that in 1505 Columbus once put in for shelter, the island remained unvisited until 1509, when Diego, the discoverer’s son, sent Don Juan d’Esquivel to take possession, and thenceforward it passed under Spanish rule. Sant’ Iago de la Vega, or Spanish Town, which remained the capital of the island until 1872, was founded in 1523. Sir Anthony Shirley, a British admiral, attacked the island in 1596, and plundered and burned the capital, but did not follow up his victory. Upon his retirement the Spaniards restored their capital and were unmolested until 1635, when the island was again raided by the British under Colonel Jackson. The period of the Spanish occupation is mainly memorable for the annihilation of the gentle and peaceful Arawâk Indian inhabitants; Don Pedro d’Esquivel was one of their cruellest oppressors. The whole island was divided among eight noble Spanish families, who discouraged immigration to such an extent that when Jamaica was taken by the British the white and slave population together did not exceed 3000. Under the vigorous foreign policy of Cromwell an attempt was made to crush the Spanish power in the West Indies, and an expedition under Admirals Penn and Venables succeeded in capturing and holding Jamaica in 1655. The Spanish were entirely expelled in 1658. Their slaves then took to the mountains, and down to the end of the 18th century the disaffection of these Maroons, as they were called, caused constant trouble. Jamaica continued to be governed by military authority until 1661, when Colonel D’Oyley was appointed captain-general and governor-in-chief with an executive council, and a constitution was introduced resembling that of England. He was succeeded in the next year by Lord Windsor, under whom a legislative council was established. Jamaica soon became the chief resort of the buccaneers, who not infrequently united the characters of merchant or planter with that of pirate or privateer. By the Treaty of Madrid, 1670, the British title to the island was recognized, and the buccaneers were suppressed. The Royal African Company was formed in 1672 with a monopoly of the slave trade, and from this time Jamaica was one of the greatest slave marts in the world. The sugar-industry was introduced about this period, the first pot of sugar being sent to London in 1673. An attempt was made in 1678 to saddle the island with a yearly tribute to the Crown and to restrict the free legislature. The privileges of the legislative assembly, however, were restored in 1682; but not till 46 years later was the question of revenue settled by a compromise by which Jamaica undertook to settle £8000 (an amount afterwards commuted to £6000) per annum on the Crown, provided that English statute laws were made binding in Jamaica.

During these years of political struggle the colony was thrice afflicted by nature. A great earthquake occurred in 1692, when the chief part of the town of Port Royal, built on a shelving bank of sand, slipped into the sea. Two dreadful hurricanes devastated the island in 1712 and 1722, the second of which did so much damage that the seat of commerce had to be transferred from Port Royal to Kingston.

The only prominent event in the history of the island during the later years of the 18th century, was the threatened invasion by the French and Spanish in 1782, but Jamaica was saved by the victory of Rodney and Hood off Dominica. The last attempt at invasion was made in 1806, when the French were defeated by Admiral Duckworth. When the slave trade was abolished the island was at the zenith of its prosperity; sugar, coffee, cocoa, pimento, ginger and indigo were being produced in large quantities, and it was the dépôt of a very lucrative trade with the Spanish main. The anti-slavery agitation in Great Britain found its echo in the island, and in 1832 the negroes revolted, believing that emancipation had been granted. They killed a number of whites and destroyed a large amount of valuable property. Two years later the Emancipation Act was passed, and, subject to a short term of apprenticeship, the slaves were free. Emancipation left the planters in a pitiable condition financially. The British government awarded themcompensationat the rate of £19 per slave, the market value of slaves at the time being £35, but most of this compensation went into the hands of the planters’ creditors. They were left with over-worked estates, a poor market and a scarcity of labour. Nor was this the end of their misfortunes. During the slavery times the British government had protected the planter by imposing a heavy differential duty on foreign sugar; but on the introduction of free trade the price of sugar fell by one-half and reduced the profits of the already impoverished planter. Many estates, already heavily mortgaged, were abandoned, and the trade of the island was at a standstill. Differences between the executive, the legislature, and the home government, as to the means of retrenching the public expenditure, created much bitterness. Although some slight improvement marked the administration of Sir Charles Metcalfe and the earl of Elgin, when coolie immigration was introduced to supply the scarcity and irregularity of labour and the railway was opened, the improvement was not permanent. In 1865 Edward John Eyre became governor. Financial affairs were at their lowest ebb and the colonial treasury showed a deficit of £80,000. To meet this difficulty new taxes were imposed and discontent was rife among the negroes. Dr Underhill, the secretary of a Baptist organization known as the British Union, wrote to the colonial secretary in London, pointing out the state of affairs. This letter became public in Jamaica, and in the opinion of the governor added in no small measure to the popular excitement. On the 11th of October 1865 the negroes rose at Morant Bay and murdered the custos and most of the white inhabitants. The slight encounter which followed filled the island with terror, and there is no doubt that many excesses were committed on both sides. The assembly passed an act by which martial law was proclaimed, and the legislature passed an act abrogating the constitution.

The action of Governor Eyre, though generally approved throughout the West Indies, caused much controversy in England, and he was recalled. A prosecution was instituted against him, resulting in an elaborate exposition of martial law by Chief Justice Cockburn, but the jury threw out the bill and Eyre was discharged. He was succeeded in the government of Jamaica by Sir Henry Storks, and under the crown colony system of government the state of the island made slow but steady progress. In 1868 the first fruit shipment took place from Port Antonio, the immigration of coolies was revived, and cinchona planting was introduced. The method of government was changed in 1884, when a new constitution, slightly modified in 1895, was granted to the island.

In the afternoon of the 14th of January 1907 a terrible earthquake visited Kingston. Almost every building in the capital and in Port Royal, and many in St Andrews, were destroyed or seriously injured. The loss of life was variously estimated, but probably exceeded one thousand. Among those killed wasSir James Fergusson, 6th baronet (b. 1832). The principal shock was followed by many more of slighter intensity during the ensuing fortnight and later. On the 17th of January assistance was brought by three American war-ships under Rear-Admiral Davis, who however withdrew them on the 19th, owing to a misunderstanding with the governor of the island, Sir Alexander Swettenham, on the subject of the landing of marines from the vessels with a view to preserving order. The incident caused considerable sensation, and led to Sir A. Swettenham’s resignation in the following March, Sir Sydney Olivier, K.C.M.G., being appointed governor. Order was speedily restored; but the destructive effect of the earthquake was a severe check to the prosperity of the island.

See Bryan Edwards,History of the West Indies(London, 1809, and appendix, 1819); P. H. Gosse,Journal of a Naturalist in Jamaica(London, 1851) andBirds of Jamaica(1847);Jamaica Handbook(London, annual); Bacon and Aaron,New Jamaica(1890); W. P. Livingstone,Black Jamaica(London, 1900), F. Cundall,Bibliotheca Jamaicensis. (Kingston, 1895), andStudies in Jamaica History(1900); W. J. Gardner,History of Jamaica(New York, 1909). For geology, see R. T. Hill, “The Geology and Physical Geography of Jamaica,”Bull. Mus. Com. Zool. Harvard, xxxiv. (1899).

See Bryan Edwards,History of the West Indies(London, 1809, and appendix, 1819); P. H. Gosse,Journal of a Naturalist in Jamaica(London, 1851) andBirds of Jamaica(1847);Jamaica Handbook(London, annual); Bacon and Aaron,New Jamaica(1890); W. P. Livingstone,Black Jamaica(London, 1900), F. Cundall,Bibliotheca Jamaicensis. (Kingston, 1895), andStudies in Jamaica History(1900); W. J. Gardner,History of Jamaica(New York, 1909). For geology, see R. T. Hill, “The Geology and Physical Geography of Jamaica,”Bull. Mus. Com. Zool. Harvard, xxxiv. (1899).

JAMAICA,formerly a village of Queens county, Long Island, New York, U.S.A., but after the 1st of January 1898 a part of the borough of Queens, New York City. Pop. (1890) 5361. It is served by the Long Island railroad, the lines of which from Brooklyn and Manhattan meet here and then separate to serve the different regions of the island.1King’s Park (about 10 acres) comprises the estate of John Alsop King (1788-1867), governor of New York in 1857-1859, from whose heirs in 1897 the land was purchased by the village trustees. In South Jamaica there is a race track, at which meetings are held in the spring and autumn. The headquarters of the Queens Borough Department of Public Works and Police are in the Jamaica town-hall, and Jamaica is the seat of a city training school for teachers (until 1905 one of the New York State normal schools). For two guns, a coat, and a quantity of powder and lead, several New Englanders obtained from the Indians a deed for a tract of land here in September 1655. In March 1657 they received permission from Governor Stuyvesant to found a town, which was chartered in 1660 and was named Rustdorp by Stuyvesant, but the English called it Jamaica; it was rechartered in 1666, 1686 and 1788. The village was incorporated in 1814 and reincorporated in 1855. In 1665 it was made the seat of justice of the north riding; in 1683-1788 it was the shire town of Queens county. With Hempstead, Gravesend, Newtown and Flushing, also towns of New England origin and type, Jamaica was early disaffected towards the provincial government of New York. In 1669 these towns complained that they had no representation in a popular assembly, and in 1670 they protested against taxation without representation. The founders of Jamaica were mostly Presbyterians, and they organized one of the first Presbyterian churches in America. At the beginning of the War of Independence Jamaica was under the control of Loyalists; after the defeat of the Americans in the battle of Long Island (27th August 1776) it was occupied by the British; and until the end of the war it was the headquarters of General Oliver Delancey, who had command of all Long Island.

1In June 1908 the subway lines of the interborough system of New York City were extended to the Flatbush (Brooklyn) station of the Long Island railroad, thus bringing Jamaica into direct connexion with Manhattan borough by way of the East river tunnel, completed in the same year.

1In June 1908 the subway lines of the interborough system of New York City were extended to the Flatbush (Brooklyn) station of the Long Island railroad, thus bringing Jamaica into direct connexion with Manhattan borough by way of the East river tunnel, completed in the same year.

JAMB(from Fr.jambe, leg), in architecture, the side-post or lining of a doorway or other aperture. The jambs of a window outside the frame are called “reveals.” Small shafts to doors and windows with caps and bases are known as “jamb-shafts”; when in the inside arris of the jamb of a window they are sometimes called “scoinsons.”

JAMES(a variant of the name Jacob, Heb.יעקב, one who holds by the heel, outwitter, through O. Fr.James, another form ofJacques,Jaques, from Low Lat.Jacobus; cf. Ital.Jacopo[Jacob],Giacomo[James], Prov.Jacme, Cat.Jaume, Cast.Jaime), a masculine proper name popular in Christian countries as having been that of two of Christ’s apostles. It has been borne by many sovereigns and other princes, the most important of whom are noticed below, after the heading devoted to the characters in the New Testament, in the following order: (1) kings of England and Scotland, (2) other kings in the alphabetical order of their countries, (3) the “Old Pretender.” The article on the Epistle of James in the New Testament follows after the remaining biographical articles in which James is a surname.

JAMES(Gr.Ἰάκωβος, the Heb.Ya‘akobor Jacob), the name of several persons mentioned in the New Testament.

1.James, the son of Zebedee. He was among the first who were called to be Christ’s immediate followers (Mark i. 19 seq.; Matt. iv. 21 seq., and perhaps Luke v. 10), and afterwards obtained an honoured place in the apostolic band, his name twice occupying the second place after Peter’s in the lists (Mark iii. 17; Acts i. 13), while on at least three notable occasions he was, along with Peter and his brother John, specially chosen by Jesus to be with him (Mark v. 37; Matt. xvii. i, xxvi. 37). This same prominence may have contributed partly to the title “Boanerges” or “sons of thunder” which, according to Mark iii. 17, Jesus himself gave to the two brothers. But its most natural interpretation is to be found in the impetuous disposition which would have called down fire from heaven on the offending Samaritan villagers (Luke ix. 54), and afterwards found expression, though in a different way, in the ambitious request to occupy the places of honour in Christ’s kingdom (Mark x. 35 seq.). James is included among those who after the ascension waited at Jerusalem (Acts i. 13) for the descent of the Holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost. And though on this occasion only his name is mentioned, he must have been a zealous and prominent member of the Christian community, to judge from the fact that when a victim had to be chosen from among the apostles, who should be sacrificed to the animosity of the Jews, it was on James that the blow fell first. The brief notice is given in Acts xii. 1, 2. Eusebius (Hist. Eccl.ii. 9) has preserved for us from Clement of Alexandria the additional information that the accuser of the apostle “beholding his confession and moved thereby, confessed that he too was a Christian. So they were both led away to execution together; and on the road the accuser asked James for forgiveness. Gazing on him for a little while, he said, ‘Peace be with thee,’ and kissed him. And then both were beheaded together.”

The later, and wholly untrustworthy, legends which tell of the apostle’s preaching in Spain, and of the translation of his body to Santiago de Compostela, are to be found in theActa Sanctorum(July 25), vi. 1-124; see also Mrs Jameson’sSacred and Legendary Art, i. 230-241.

The later, and wholly untrustworthy, legends which tell of the apostle’s preaching in Spain, and of the translation of his body to Santiago de Compostela, are to be found in theActa Sanctorum(July 25), vi. 1-124; see also Mrs Jameson’sSacred and Legendary Art, i. 230-241.

2.James, the son of Alphaeus. He also was one of the apostles, and is mentioned in all the four lists (Matt. x. 3; Mark iii. 18; Luke vi. 15; Acts i. 13) by this name. We know nothing further regarding him, unless we believe him to be the same as James “the little.”

3.James, the little. He is described as the son of a Mary (Matt, xxvii. 56; Mark xv. 40), who was in all probability the wife of Clopas (John xix. 25). And on the ground that Clopas is another form of the name Alphaeus, this James has been thought by some to be the same as 2. But the evidence of the Syriac versions, which render Alphaeus byChalphai, while Clopas is simply transliteratedKleopha, makes it extremely improbable that the two names are to be identified. And as we have no better ground for finding in Clopas the Cleopas of Luke xxiv. 18, we must be content to admit that James the little is again an almost wholly unknown personality, and has no connexion with any of the other Jameses mentioned in the New Testament.

4.James, the father of Judas. There can be no doubt that in the mention of “Judas of James” in Luke vi. 16 the ellipsis should be supplied by “the son” and not as in the A.V. by “the brother” (cf. Luke iii. 1, vi. 14; Acts xii. 2, where the wordἀδελφόςis inserted). This Judas, known as Thaddaeus by Matthew and Mark, afterwards became one of the apostles, and is expressly distinguished by St John from the traitor as “not Iscariot” (John xiv. 22).

5.James, the Lord’s brother. In Matt. xiii. 55 and Mark vi. 3 we read of a certain James as, along with Joses and Judas and Simon, a “brother” of the Lord. The exact nature of the relationship there implied has been the subject of much discussion. Jerome’s view (de vir. ill.2), that the “brothers” were in reality cousins, “sons of Mary the sister of the Lord’s mother,” rests on too many unproved assumptions to be entitled to much weight, and may be said to have been finally disposed of by Bishop Lightfoot in his essay on “The Brothers of the Lord” (Galatians, pp. 252 sqq.,Dissertations on the Apostolic Age, pp. 1 sqq.). Even however if we understand the word “brethren” in its natural sense, it may be applied either to the sons of Joseph by a former wife, in which case they would be the step-brothers of Jesus, or to sons born to Joseph and Mary after the birth of Jesus. The former of these views, generally known as theEpiphanianview from its most zealous advocate in the 4th century, can claim for its support the preponderating voice of tradition (see the catena of references given by Lightfoot,loc. cit., who himself inclines to this view). On the other hand theHelvidiantheory as propounded by Helvidius, and apparently accepted by Tertullian (cf.adv. Marc.iv. 29), which makes James a brother of the Lord, as truly as Mary was his mother, undoubtedly seems more in keeping with the direct statements of the Gospels, and also with the after history of the brothers in the Church (see W. Patrick,James the Brother of the Lord, 1906, p. 5). In any case, whatever the exact nature of James’s antecedents, there can be no question as to the important place which he occupied in the early Church. Converted to a full belief in the living Lord, perhaps through the special revelation that was granted to him (1 Cor. xv. 7), he became the recognized head of the Church at Jerusalem (Acts xii. 17, xv. 13, xxi. 18), and is called by St Paul (Gal. ii. 9), along with Peter and John, a “pillar” of the Christian community. He was traditionally the author of the epistle in the New Testament which bears his name (seeJames, Epistle of). From the New Testament we learn no more of the history of James the Lord’s brother, but Eusebius (Hist. Eccl.ii. 23) has preserved for us from Hegesippus the earliest ecclesiastical traditions concerning him. By that authority he is described as having been a Nazarite, and on account of his eminent righteousness called “Just” and “Oblias.” So great was his influence with the people that he was appealed to by the scribes and Pharisees for a true and (as they hoped) unfavourable judgment about the Messiahship of Christ. Placed, to give the greater publicity to his words, on a pinnacle of the temple, he, when solemnly appealed to, made confession of his faith, and was at once thrown down and murdered. This happened immediately before the siege. Josephus (Antiq.xx. 9, 1) tells that it was by order of Ananus the high priest, in the interval between the death of Festus and the arrival of his successor Albinus, that James was put to death; and his narrative gives the idea of some sort of judicial examination, for he says that along with some others James was brought before an assembly of judges, by whom they were condemned and delivered to be stoned. Josephus is also cited by Eusebius (Hist. Eccl.ii. 23) to the effect that the miseries of the siege were due to divine vengeance for the murder of James. Later writers describe James as anἐπίσκοπος(Clem. Al.apudEus.Hist. Ecc.ii. 1) and even as anἐπίσκοπος ἐπισκόπων(Clem.Hom., ad init.). According to Eusebius (Hist. Eccl.vii. 19) his episcopal chair was still shown at Jerusalem at the time when Eusebius wrote.

Bibliography.—In addition to the relevant literature cited above, see the articles under the heading “James” in Hastings’sDictionary of the Bible(Mayor) andDictionary of Christ and the Gospels(Fulford), and in theEncycl. Biblica(O. Cone); also the introductions to the Commentaries on the Epistle of James by Mayor and Knowling. Zahn has an elaborate essay onBrüder und Vettern Jesu(“The Brothers and Cousins of Jesus”) in theForschungen zur Geschichte des neutestamentlichen Kanons, vi. 2 (Leipzig, 1900).

Bibliography.—In addition to the relevant literature cited above, see the articles under the heading “James” in Hastings’sDictionary of the Bible(Mayor) andDictionary of Christ and the Gospels(Fulford), and in theEncycl. Biblica(O. Cone); also the introductions to the Commentaries on the Epistle of James by Mayor and Knowling. Zahn has an elaborate essay onBrüder und Vettern Jesu(“The Brothers and Cousins of Jesus”) in theForschungen zur Geschichte des neutestamentlichen Kanons, vi. 2 (Leipzig, 1900).

(G. Mi.)

JAMES I.(1566-1625), king of Great Britain and Ireland, formerly king of Scotland as James VI., was the only child of Mary Queen of Scots, and her second husband, Henry Stewart Lord Darnley. He was born in the castle of Edinburgh on the 19th of June 1566, and was proclaimed king of Scotland on the 24th of July 1567, upon the forced abdication of his mother. Until 1578 he was treated as being incapable of taking any real part in public affairs, and was kept in the castle of Stirling for safety’s sake amid the confused fighting of the early years of his minority.

The young king was a very weakly boy. It is said that he could not stand without support until he was seven, and although he lived until he was nearly sixty, he was never a strong man. In after life he was a constant and even a reckless rider, but the weakness in his legs was never quite cured. During a great part of his life he found it necessary to be tied to the saddle. When on one occasion in 1621 his horse threw him into the New River near his palace of Theobalds in the neighbourhood of London, he had a very narrow escape of being drowned; yet he continued to ride as before. At all times he preferred to lean on the shoulder of an attendant when walking. This feebleness of body, which had no doubt a large share in causing certain corresponding deficiencies of character, was attributed to the agitations and the violent efforts forced on his mother by the murder of her secretary Rizzio when she was in the sixth month of her pregnancy. The fact that James was a bold rider, in spite of this serious disqualification for athletic exercise, should be borne in mind when he is accused of having been a coward.

The circumstances surrounding him in boyhood were not favourable to the development of his character. His immediate guardian or foster-father, the earl of Mar, was indeed an honourable man, and the countess, who had charge of the nursing of the king, discharged her duty so as to win his lasting confidence. James afterwards entrusted her with the care of his eldest son, Henry. When the earl died in 1572 his place was well filled by his brother, Sir Alexander Erskine. The king’s education was placed under the care of George Buchanan, assisted by Peter Young, and two other tutors. Buchanan, who did not spare the rod, and the other teachers, who had more reverence for the royal person, gave the boy a sound training in languages. The English envoy, Sir Henry Killigrew, who saw him in 1574, testified to his proficiency in translating from and into Latin and French. As it was very desirable that he should be trained a Protestant king, he was well instructed in theology. The exceptionally scholastic quality of his education helped to give him a taste for learning, but also tended to make him a pedant.

James was only twelve when the earl of Morton was driven from the regency, and for some time after he can have been no more than a puppet in the hands of intriguers and party leaders. When, for instance, in 1582 he was seized by the faction of nobles who carried out the so-called raid of Ruthven, which was in fact a kidnapping enterprise carried out in the interest of the Protestant party, he cried like a child. One of the conspirators, the master of Glamis, Sir Thomas Lyon, told him that it was better “bairns should greet [children should cry] than bearded men.” It was not indeed till 1583, when he broke away from his captors, that James began to govern in reality.

For the history of his reign reference may be made to the articles on the histories of England and Scotland. James’s work as a ruler can be divided, without violating any sound rule of criticism, into black and white—into the part which was a failure and a preparation for future disaster, and the part which was solid achievement, honourable to himself and profitable to his people. His native kingdom of Scotland had the benefit of the second. Between 1583 and 1603 he reduced the anarchical baronage of Scotland to obedience, and replaced the subdivision of sovereignty and consequent confusion, which had been the very essence of feudalism, by a strong centralized royal authority. In fact he did in Scotland the work which had been done by the Tudors in England, by Louis XI. in France, and by Ferdinand and Isabella in Spain. It was the work of all the strong rulers of the Renaissance. But James not onlybrought his disobedient and intriguing barons to order—that was a comparatively easy achievement and might well have been performed by more than one of his predecessors, had their lives been prolonged—he also quelled the attempts of the Protestants to found what Hallam has well defined as a “Presbyterian Hildebrandism.” He enforced the superiority of the state over the church. Both before his accession to the throne of England (1603) and afterwards he took an intelligent interest in the prosperity of his Scottish kingdom, and did much for the pacification of the Hebrides, for the enforcement of order on the Borders, and for the development of industry. That he did so much although the crown was poor (largely it must be confessed because he made profuse gifts of the secularized church lands), and although the armed force at his disposal was so small that to the very end he was exposed to the attacks of would-be kidnappers (as in the case of the Gowrie conspiracy of 1600), is proof positive that he was neither the mere poltroon nor the mere learned fool he has often been called.

James’s methods of achieving ends in themselves honourable and profitable were indeed of a kind which has made posterity unjust to his real merits. The circumstances in which he passed his youth developed in him a natural tendency to craft. He boasted indeed of his “king-craft” and probably believed that he owed it to his studies. But it was in reality the resource of the weak, the art of playing off one possible enemy against another by trickery, and so deceiving all. The marquis de Fontenay, the French ambassador, who saw him in the early part of his reign, speaks of him as cowed by the violence about him. It is certain that James was most unscrupulous in making promises which he never meant to keep, and the terror in which he passed his youth sufficiently explains his preference for guile. He would make promises to everybody, as when he wrote to the pope in 1584 more than hinting that he would be a good Roman Catholic if helped in his need. His very natural desire to escape from the poverty and insecurity of Scotland to the opulent English throne not only kept him busy in intrigues to placate the Roman Catholics or anybody else who could help or hinder him, but led him to behave basely in regard to the execution of his mother in 1587. He blustered to give himself an air of courage, but took good care to do nothing to offend Elizabeth. When the time came for fulfilling his promises and half-promises, he was not able, even if he had been willing, to keep his word to everybody. The methods which had helped him to success in Scotland did him harm in England, where his reign prepared the way for the great civil war. In his southern kingdom his failure was in fact complete. Although England accepted him as the alternative to civil war, and although he was received and surrounded with fulsome flattery, he did not win the respect of his English subjects. His undignified personal appearance was against him, and so were his garrulity, his Scottish accent, his slovenliness and his toleration of disorders in his court, but, above all, his favour for handsome male favourites, whom he loaded with gifts and caressed with demonstrations of affection which laid him open to vile suspicions. In ecclesiastical matters he offended many, who contrasted his severity and rudeness to the Puritan divines at the Hampton Court conference (1604) with his politeness to the Roman Catholics, whom he, however, worried by fits and starts. In a country where the authority of the state had been firmly established and the problem was how to keep it from degenerating into the mere instrument of a king’s passions, his insistence on the doctrine of divine right aroused distrust and hostility. In itself, and in its origin, the doctrine was nothing more than a necessary assertion of the independence of the state in face of the “Hildebrandism” of Rome and Geneva alike. But when Englishmen were told that the king alone had indefeasible rights, and that all the privileges of subjects were revocable gifts, they were roused to hostility. His weaknesses cast suspicion on his best-meant schemes. His favour for his countrymen helped to defeat his wise wish to bring about a full union between England and Scotland. His profusion, which had been bad in the poverty of Scotland and was boundless amid the wealth of England, kept him necessitous, and drove him to shifts. Posterity can give him credit for his desire to forward religious peace in Europe, but his Protestant subjects were simply frightened when he sought a matrimonial alliance with Spain. Sagacious men among his contemporaries could not see the consistency of a king who married his daughter Elizabeth to the elector palatine, a leader of the German Protestants, and also sought to marry his son to an infanta of Spain. The king’s subservience to Spain was indeed almost besotted. He could not see her real weakness, and he allowed himself to be befooled by the ministers of Philip III. and Philip IV. The end of his scheming was that he was dragged into a needless war with Spain by his son Charles and his favourite George Villiers, duke of Buckingham, just before his death on the 5th of March 1625 at his favourite residence, Theobalds.

James married in 1589 Anne, second daughter of Frederick II., king of Denmark. His voyage to meet his bride, whose ship had been driven into a Norwegian port by bad weather, is the only episode of a romantic character in the life of this very prosaic member of a poetic family. By this wife James had three children who survived infancy: Henry Frederick, prince of Wales, who died in 1612; Charles, the future king; and Elizabeth, wife of the elector palatine, Frederick V.

Not the least of James’s many ambitions was the desire to excel as an author. He left a body of writings which, though of mediocre quality as literature, entitle him to a unique place among English kings since Alfred for width of intellectual interest and literary faculty. His efforts were inspired by his preceptor George Buchanan, whose memory he cherished in later years. His first work was in verse,Essayes of a Prentise in the Divine Art of Poesie(Edin. Vautrollier, 1584), containing fifteen sonnets, “Ane Metaphoricall invention of a tragedie called Phoenix,” a short poem “Of Time,” translations from Du Bartas, Lucan and the Book of Psalms (“out of Tremellius”), and a prose tract entitled “Ane short treatise, containing some Reulis and Cautelis to be observit and eschewit in Scottis Poesie.” The volume is introduced by commendatory sonnets, including one by Alexander Montgomerie. The chief interest of the book lies in the “Treatise” and the prefatory sonnets “To the Reader” and “Sonnet decifring the perfyte poete.” There is little originality in this youthful production. It has been surmised that it was compiled from the exercises written when the author was Buchanan’s pupil at Stirling, and that it was directly suggested by his preceptor’sDe Prosodiaand his annotations on Vives. On the other hand, it shows intimate acquaintance with the critical reflections of Ronsard and Du Bellay, and of Gascoigne in hisNotes of Instruction(1575). In 1591 James publishedPoeticall Exercises at Vacant Houres, including a translation of theFuriesof Du Bartas, his ownLepanto, and Du Bartas’s version of it,La Lepanthe. HisDaemonologie, a prose treatise denouncing witchcraft and exhorting the civil power to the strongest measures of suppression, appeared in 1599. In the same year he printed the first edition (seven copies) of hisBasilikon Doron, strongly Protestant in tone. A French edition, specially translated for presentation to the pope, has a disingenuous preface explaining that certain phrases (e.g.“papistical doctrine”) are omitted, because of the difficulty of rendering them in a foreign tongue. The original edition was, however, translated by order of the suspicious pope, and was immediately placed on the Index. Shortly after going to England James produced his famousCounterblaste to Tobacco(London, 1604), in which he forsakes his Scots tongue for Southern English. The volume was published anonymously. James’s prose works (including his speeches) were collected and edited (folio, 1616) by James Montagu, bishop of Winchester, and were translated into Latin by the same hand in a companion folio, in 1619 (also Frankfort, 1689). A tract, entitled “The True Law of Free Monarchies,” appeared in 1603; “An Apology for the Oath of Allegiance” in 1607; and a “Déclaration du Roy Jacques I. ... pour le droit des Rois” in 1615. In 1588 and 1589 James issued two small volumes ofMeditationson some verses of (a) Revelations and (b) 1 Chronicles. Other two “meditations” were printed posthumously.

See T. F. Henderson,James I. and VI.(London, 1904); P. Hume Brown,History of Scotland, vol. ii. (Edinburgh and Cambridge, 1902); and Andrew Lang,History of Scotland, vol. ii. (Edinburgh, 1902) andJames VI. and the Gowrie Mystery(London, 1902);The Register of the Privy Council of Scotland(Edinburgh, 1877, &c.), vols. ii. to xiii.; S. R. Gardiner,History of England 1603-1642(London, 1883-1884). A comprehensive bibliography will be found in theCambridge Modern Hist.iii. 847 (Cambridge, 1904).For James’s literary work, see Edward Arber’s reprint of theEssayes and Counterblaste(“English Reprints,” 1869, &c.); R. S. Rait’sLusus Regius(1900); G. Gregory Smith’sElizabethan Critical Essays(1904), vol. i., where theTreatiseis edited for the first time; A. O. Meyer’s “Clemens VIII. und Jacob I. von England” inQuellen und Forschungen(Preuss. Hist. Inst.), VII. ii., for an account of the issues of theBasilikon Doron; P. Hume Brown’sGeorge Buchanan(1890), pp. 250-261, for a sketch of James’s association with Buchanan.

See T. F. Henderson,James I. and VI.(London, 1904); P. Hume Brown,History of Scotland, vol. ii. (Edinburgh and Cambridge, 1902); and Andrew Lang,History of Scotland, vol. ii. (Edinburgh, 1902) andJames VI. and the Gowrie Mystery(London, 1902);The Register of the Privy Council of Scotland(Edinburgh, 1877, &c.), vols. ii. to xiii.; S. R. Gardiner,History of England 1603-1642(London, 1883-1884). A comprehensive bibliography will be found in theCambridge Modern Hist.iii. 847 (Cambridge, 1904).

For James’s literary work, see Edward Arber’s reprint of theEssayes and Counterblaste(“English Reprints,” 1869, &c.); R. S. Rait’sLusus Regius(1900); G. Gregory Smith’sElizabethan Critical Essays(1904), vol. i., where theTreatiseis edited for the first time; A. O. Meyer’s “Clemens VIII. und Jacob I. von England” inQuellen und Forschungen(Preuss. Hist. Inst.), VII. ii., for an account of the issues of theBasilikon Doron; P. Hume Brown’sGeorge Buchanan(1890), pp. 250-261, for a sketch of James’s association with Buchanan.

JAMES II.(1633-1701), king of Great Britain and Ireland, second surviving son of Charles I. and Henrietta Maria, was born at St James’s on the 15th of October 1633, and created duke of York in January 1643. During the Civil War James was taken prisoner by Fairfax (1646), but contrived to escape to Holland in 1648. Subsequently he served in the French army under Turenne, and in the Spanish under Condé, and was applauded by both commanders for his brilliant personal courage. Returning to England with Charles II. in 1660 he was appointed lord high admiral and warden of the Cinque Ports. Pepys, who was secretary to the navy, has recorded the patient industry and unflinching probity of his naval administration. His victory over the Dutch in 1665, and his drawn battle with De Ruyter in 1672, show that he was a good naval commander as well as an excellent administrator. These achievements won him a reputation for high courage, which, until the close of 1688, was amply deserved. His private record was not as good as his public. In December 1660 he admitted to having contracted, under discreditable circumstances, a secret marriage with Anne Hyde (1637-1671), daughter of Lord Clarendon, in the previous September. Both before and after the marriage he seems to have been a libertine as unblushing though not so fastidious as Charles himself. In 1672 he made a public avowal of his conversion to Roman Catholicism. Charles II. had opposed this project, but in 1673 allowed him to marry the Catholic Mary of Modena as his second wife. Both houses of parliament, who viewed this union with abhorrence, now passed the Test Act, forbidding Catholics to hold office. In consequence of this James was forced to resign his posts. It was in vain that he married his daughter Mary to the Protestant prince of Orange in 1677. Anti-Catholic feeling ran so high that, after the discovery of the Popish Plot, he found it wiser to retire to Brussels (1679), while Shaftesbury and the Whigs planned to exclude him from the succession. He was lord high commissioner of Scotland (1680-1682), where he occupied himself in a severe persecution of the Covenanters. In 1684 Charles, having triumphed over the Exclusionists, restored James to the office of high admiral by use of his dispensing power.

James ascended the throne on the 16th of February 1685. The nation showed its loyalty by its firm adherence to him during the rebellions of Argyll in Scotland and Monmouth in England (1685). The savage reprisals on their suppression, in especial the “Bloody Assizes” of Jeffreys, produced a revulsion of public feeling. James had promised to defend the existing Church and government, but the people now became suspicious. James was not a mere tyrant and bigot, as the popular imagination speedily assumed him to be. He was rather a mediocre but not altogether obtuse man, who mistook tributary streams for the main currents of national thought. Thus he greatly underrated the strength of the Establishment, and preposterously exaggerated that of Dissent and Catholicism. He perceived that opinion was seriously divided in the Established Church, and thought that a vigorous policy would soon prove effective. Hence he publicly celebrated Mass, prohibited preaching against Catholicism, and showed exceptional favour to renegades from the Establishment. By undue pressure he secured a decision of the judges, in the test case ofGoddenv.Hale(1687), by which he was allowed to dispense Catholics from the Test Act. Catholics were now admitted to the chief offices in the army, and to some important posts in the state, in virtue of the dispensing power of James. The judges had been intimidated or corrupted, and the royal promise to protect the Establishment violated. The army had been increased to 20,000 men and encamped at Hounslow Heath to overawe the capital. Public alarm was speedily manifested and suspicion to a high degree awakened. In 1687 James made a bid for the support of the Dissenters by advocating a system of joint toleration for Catholics and Dissenters. In April 1687 he published a Declaration of Indulgence—exempting Catholics and Dissenters from penal statutes. He followed up this measure by dissolving parliament and attacking the universities. By an unscrupulous use of the dispensing power he introduced Dissenters and Catholics into all departments of state and into the municipal corporations, which were remodelled in their interests. Then in April 1688 he took the suicidal step of issuing a proclamation to force the clergy and bishops to read the Declaration in their pulpits, and thus personally advocate a measure they detested. Seven bishops refused, were indicted by James for libel, but acquitted amid the indescribable enthusiasm of the populace. Protestant nobles of England, enraged at the tolerant policy of James, had been in negotiation with William of Orange since 1687. The trial of the seven bishops, and the birth of a son to James, now induced them to send William a definite invitation (June 30, 1688). James remained in a fool’s paradise till the last, and only awakened to his danger when William landed at Torbay (November 5, 1688) and swept all before him. James pretended to treat, and in the midst of the negotiations fled to France. He was intercepted at Faversham and brought back, but the politic prince of Orange allowed him to escape a second time (December 23, 1688).

At the end of 1688 James seemed to have lost his old courage. After his defeat at the Boyne (July 1, 1690) he speedily departed from Ireland, where he had so conducted himself that his English followers had been ashamed of his incapacity, while French officers had derided him. His proclamations and policy towards England during these years show unmistakable traces of the same incompetence. On the 17th of May 1692 he saw the French fleet destroyed before his very eyes off Cape La Hogue. He was aware of, though not an open advocate of the “Assassination Plot,” which was directed against William. By its revelation and failure (February 10, 1696) the third and last serious attempt of James for his restoration failed. He refused in the same year to accept the French influence in favour of his candidature to the Polish throne, on the ground that it would exclude him from the English. Henceforward he neglected politics, and Louis of France ceased to consider him as a political factor. A mysterious conversion had been effected in him by an austere Cistercian abbot. The world saw with astonishment this vicious, rough, coarse-fibred man of the world transformed into an austere penitent, who worked miracles of healing. Surrounded by this odour of sanctity, which greatly edified the faithful, James lived at St Germain until his death on the 17th of September 1701.

The political ineptitude of James is clear; he often showed firmness when conciliation was needful, and weakness when resolution alone could have saved the day. Moreover, though he mismanaged almost every political problem with which he personally dealt, he was singularly tactless and impatient of advice. But in general political morality he was not below his age, and in his advocacy of toleration decidedly above it. He was more honest and sincere than Charles II., more genuinely patriotic in his foreign policy, and more consistent in his religious attitude. That his brother retained the throne while James lost it is an ironical demonstration that a more pitiless fate awaits the ruler whose faults are of the intellect, than one whose faults are of the heart.

By Anne Hyde James had eight children, of whom two only, Mary and Anne, both queens of England, survived their father. By Mary of Modena he had seven children, among them being James Francis Edward (the Old Pretender) and Louisa Maria Theresa, who died at St Germain in 1712. By one mistress, Arabella Churchill (1648-1730), he had two sons, James, duke of Berwick, and Henry (1673-1702), titular duke of Albemarle andgrand prior of France, and a daughter, Henrietta (1667-1730), who married Sir Henry Waldegrave, afterwards Baron Waldegrave; and by another, Catherine Sedley, countess of Dorchester (1657-1717), a daughter, Catherine (d. 1743), who married James Annesley, 5th earl of Anglesey, and afterwards John Sheffield, duke of Buckingham and Normanby.


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