Monmouth Rebellion

Monmouth Rebellion
The Morning of Sedgemoor (1905) by Edgar Bundy
Date May – July 1685 Location South West England 51°06′58″N 2°55′34″W / 51.116°N 2.926°W / 51.116; -2.926Coordinates: 51°06′58″N 2°55′34″W / 51.116°N 2.926°W / 51.116; -2.926 Result Victory for James II
Belligerents
Royal army of James II	Rebel army of Duke of Monmouth
Commanders and leaders
Earl of Feversham, John Churchill, Henry FitzRoy, Lord Albemarle, Duke of Somerset	Duke of Monmouth Lord Grey of Warke Robert Ferguson Thomas Hayward Dare † Nathaniel Wade Andrew Fletcher
Strength
3,000	4,000
Casualties and losses
200	1,300 killed 320 executed 750 transported

The Monmouth Rebellion, also known as The Revolt of the West or The West Country rebellion, was an attempt to overthrow James II, the Duke of York who had become King of England, Scotland, and Ireland upon the death of his elder brother Charles II on 6 February 1685. James II was a Roman Catholic, and some Protestants under his rule opposed his kingship. James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, an illegitimate son of Charles II, claimed to be rightful heir to the throne and attempted to displace James II.

Plans were discussed for several different actions to overthrow the monarch, following the failure of the Rye House Plot to assassinate Charles II and James, in 1683, while Monmouth was in self-imposed exile in the Dutch Republic. The Monmouth rebellion was coordinated with a rebellion in Scotland, where Archibald Campbell, the Earl of Argyll, landed with a small force. The Duke of Monmouth had been popular in the South West of England, so he planned to recruit troops locally and take control of the area before marching on London.

Monmouth landed at Lyme Regis on 11 June 1685. In the following few weeks, his growing army of nonconformists, artisans, and farm workers fought a series of skirmishes with local militias and regular soldiers commanded by Louis de Duras, 2nd Earl of Feversham, and John Churchill, who later became the Duke of Marlborough. Monmouth's forces were unable to compete with the regular army and failed to capture the key city of Bristol. The rebellion ended with the defeat of Monmouth's army at the Battle of Sedgemoor on 6 July 1685 by forces led by Feversham and Churchill.

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