Jacobite Rebellions

The Jacobite risings, also known as the Jacobite rebellions or the War of the British Succession, were a series of uprisings, rebellions, and wars in Great Britain and Ireland occurring between 1688 and 1746. The uprisings had the aim of returning James II of England and VII of Scotland, the last Catholic British monarch, and later his descendants of the House of Stuart, to the throne of Great Britain after they had been deposed by Parliament during the Glorious Revolution. The series of conflicts takes its name Jacobitism, from Jacobus, the Latin form of James.

The major Jacobite risings were called the Jacobite rebellions by the ruling governments. The "first Jacobite rebellion" and "second Jacobite rebellion" were also known respectively as "the Fifteen" and "the Forty-five", after the years in which they occurred (1715 and 1745).

Although each Jacobite rising had unique features, they were part of a larger series of military campaigns by Jacobites attempting to restore the Stuart kings to the thrones of Scotland and England (after 1707, the Kingdom of Great Britain). James II was deposed in 1688 and the thrones were claimed by his daughter Mary II jointly with her husband, the Dutch leader William of Orange (who was also James II's nephew). The main issue was religion, with the Stuarts representing toleration or restoration of Catholicism, facing off against the majority that wanted to protect Protestantism in Britain.

Historian Basil Williams says that although the plots continued year after year, "there was never any serious danger to the dynasty." After the House of Hanover succeeded to the British throne in 1714, the risings continued and intensified. The last Jacobite rebellion ("the Forty-five"), was led by Charles Edward Stuart, known as the Young Pretender, was soundly defeated at the Battle of Culloden in 1746. This ended any realistic hope of a Stuart restoration.

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