ROAD TO REBELLION

How the Duke of Monmouth tried in vain to rescue his nation from the oppressive clutches of James II

- ANDREA ZUVICH

This year marks the 337th anniversary of the Monmouth Rebellion of 1685. Led by James Scott, Duke of Monmouth - the glamorous and popular eldest son of King Charles II - it was a rebellion against Charles' successor, James II of England.

In February 1685, Charles II died after a horrendous series of treatments from his physicians following a 'fit of apoplexy' - commonly known as a stroke. Although he had numerous illegitimate offspring, he had no surviving children with his queen, Catherine of Braganza, and so the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland passed to his younger brother, James, who became King James II of England/VII of Scotland. Within months of James' ascension to the throne, the duke of Monmouth invaded England in a vain attempt to rescue the nation from a return to Catholicism.

The rebellion proved an unmitigated disaster and resulted in harsh punishment meted out at what has come to be known as the Bloody Assizes.

James Scott, Duke of Monmouth and Buccleuch, was the eldest illegitimate son of Charles II and his Welsh mistress, Lucy Walter.

Born in Rotterdam in April 1649, while the king was in exile and only three months after the execution of his grandfather, Charles I, young Monmouth's future was uncertain. Monmouth was a reckless character, a poor student and prone to violence, indulging in debauchery and involving himself in political intrigues.

Despite all this, he was also one of the most capable military leaders of the Stuart era. He commanded the Household Cavalry from 1668 to 1679, took charge troops during the Third Anglo-Dutch War in 1672, fought bravely at the Siege of Maastricht in 1673, and led troops to victory over rebellious Covenanters at the Battle of Bothwell Bridge in 1679.