James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth (9 April 1649 – 15 July 1685) was the eldest illegitimate son of King Charles II of England who was best-known for his failed revolt in the West Country of England in 1685. Defeated by forces loyal to King James II of England at the Battle of Sedgemoor, he was executed for treason. Monmouth County, New Jersey was named for the Duke of Monmouth, who had many allies among the East Jersey leadership.
Biography[]
The Duke of Monmouth in 1673
James Scott was born in Rotterdam, Holland in 1649, the son of King Charles II of England and his lover Lucy Walter. In 1658, he was kidnapped by one of the King's men, sent to Paris, and taken into the care of the Crofts baronets, whose surname he took. In 1663, he was brought to England, and he was created Duke of Monmouth with the subsidiary titles of Earl of Doncaster and Baron Scott of Tynedale. In 1663, he married a wealthy Scottish peer and took her surname, Scott, as his own. Monmouth was popular due to his Protestantism, which stood in opposition to King Charles and the House of Stuart's adoptive religion of Catholicism. In 1665, Scott served under his uncle, the Duke of York, in the Royal Navy during the Anglo-Dutch Wars, and, in 1672, he commanded a brigade of 6,000 troops sent to serve as a part of the French Royal Army during the Franco-Dutch War. After the Siege of Maastricht in 1673, Scott was renowned as a fine soldier, and he became Chancellor of Cambridge University and Master of the Horse in 1674. In 1677, he also became Lord Lieutenant of Staffordshire.
In 1678, Scott returned to the battlefield to command an Anglo-Dutch brigade against the French, distinguishing himself at Saint-Denis in August. In 1679, while in Scotland, he decisively defeated the Scottish Covenanters at Bothwell Bridge. At this time, he claimed that he was the rightful heir to the crown, sincerely believing that his father and mother were secretly married; however, he remained illegitimate, and lacked his father's support.
Rebellion and downfall[]
Monmouth's execution
In 1685, Charles II died, and King James II of England took the throne. Monmouth, who had been living a life of pleasure in Holland, decided to collaborate with Scottish rebels and seize the throne of England. He pawned many of his belongings to fund ships and weaponry, and his wife and his mother-in-law also helped him by pawning their own possessions to hire a Dutch ship. On 11 June, Monmouth landed in South West England with 82 supporters, and they gathered 300 men on the first day. Over the next few days, volunteers rushed to Lyme to support Monmouth, who soon had 1,000 men under his command. After a skirmish at Bridport on 14 June, Monmouth's army was swelled in size by defectors from the beaten royalist force, and Monmouth was crowned King of England at Taunton on 20 June 1685. However, the Royal Navy captured Monmouth's ships, preventing Monmouth from being able to escape back to Europe. The Earl of Feversham, with assistance from Dutch mercenaries, later brought Monmouth to battle at Sedgemoor on 6 July 1685. The 4,000 untrained rebels were routed by the 3,000-strong royalist army, and, on 8 July, Monmouth was captured in a field of peas near Ringwood in Hampshire. He unsuccessfully begged for mercy from his uncle, even offering to convert to Catholicism, but his uncle refused to forgive him. On 15 July 1665, he was executed by beheading at the Tower of London, with the executioner striking five blows before killing him.