Patriot Parliament

[4] Despite his Catholicism, James II became king in 1685 with widespread support in all three kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland, largely due to fear of civil war if he were bypassed; by 1688, it seemed only his removal could prevent one.

He was ousted by William III and his wife Mary II in the November 1688 Glorious Revolution, and went into exile in France, where he was sheltered by Louis XIV.

Of the Irish people, 800,000 were Catholic, nearly 75% of the population, who supported James due to his own Catholicism; 75,000 were members of the Protestant Church of Ireland, many of whom were sympathisers.

There was also a small middle class of Catholic and Protestant merchants, who objected to commercial restrictions imposed on Irish trade, policies continued by James prior to his exile.

[7] Demands for greater autonomy by those allied with the Earl of Tyrconnell clashed with James' vision of a unitary state of England, Scotland and Ireland, where the role of Parliament and the church was simply to obey their monarch.

[8][citation not found] Contrary to normal practice, James also claimed the right to appoint Catholic bishops and clergy in his kingdoms, which caused conflict with Pope Innocent XI.

Tyrconnell's expansion of the army by the creation of Catholic regiments was welcomed by Diarmuid Mac Carthaigh, as enabling the native Irish 'Tadhg' to be armed and to assert their dominance over 'John' the English Protestant.

[11][citation not found] While James hoped to attract their support, Jacobitism was restricted to "doctrinaire Protestant clergymen, disgruntled Tory landowners and Catholic converts", who viewed his removal as unlawful.

[12][citation not found] While many were sympathetic, only a few Church of Ireland ministers refused to swear allegiance to the new regime and became Non-Jurors; the most famous was propagandist Charles Leslie.

[16] The Lords was led by Baron Fitton, who spent 1664 to 1684 imprisoned for criminal libel; allegedly selected by James because he was a Protestant, he promptly converted to Catholicism.

An Act for Liberty of Conscience allowed freedom of worship and civic and political equality for Roman Catholics and Protestant Dissenters, and repeal of the Oath of Supremacy.