The Monmouth Dynasty

''In 1685, on the death of King Charles II of Great Britain, a struggle developed over his successor. The 'rightful' heir was Charles' brother, James II, Duke of York. The last Stuart monarch, James II was not popular, primarily because he was a Catholic. James also came to the throne after the reign of one of England's most popular monarchs, so his reputation with the people of Britain was never a favourable one. Indeed, he met a sticky end in 1688, when he was overthrown by William, Duke of Orange, who reigned as William III. ''James' unpopularity and Catholicism led to the Monmouth Rebellion of 1685. The Rebellion centred around the claim to the throne of one James Scott, Duke of Monmouth, who in addition to being one of Britain's finest soldiers was also the bastard son of Charles II. He was also, importantly, a Protestant. ''James' unpopularity, even while Duke, led to many thinking Scott would be a greatly preferable choice. On June 20, 1685, the Duke of Monmouth declared himself King at Taunton. The Battle of Sedgemoor, however, fought two weeks later, sealed Monmouth's fate. His makeshift rebellion was no match for James' highly-trained armies. Monmouth was captured, arrested and ultimately executed for treason. ''This timeline's point of difference is a slightly different Monmouth Rebellion and a series of tactical errors. The major PODs are:
 * Monmouth's claim was reinforced by his 'evidence', admittedly flimsy and now almost certainly false, that Charles II and Lucy Walter, his parents, were married in secret and thus Monmouth was a legitimate child and the rightful heir. (In OTL, there were always rumours, but nothing concrete.)
 * Argyle's attempt to create a Scottish rebellion in Monmouth's favour is more successful, and his army marches south and captures Glasgow and Edinburgh.
 * It is in Edinburgh that Monmouth proclaims himself King, having landed in Scotland from Holland in the first place. Thus, his power base is stronger, and the Royal Navy is unable to scuttle his fleet.
 * The attack on Bristol succeeds, which becomes Monmouth's Northern power base.
 * Rebellions in Monmouth's favour materialise in East Anglia and Cheshire.
 * Most importantly: Someone is able to keep a lid on their itchy trigger finger at Sedgemoore. Thus, the musket shot that alerted James' army to the rebels' presence is never fired, the surprise attack succeeds, and Monmouth's band routs the Stuart army.''

After Sedgemoore
Following his victory at Sedgemoore, Monmouth was able to march on London. James II was forced to flee to France. He attempted to raise an army to take back England, but was thwarted by his enemy William of Orange, who, ironically, had married his daughter, Mary. James spent the rest of his life under house arrest in the Netherlands. James Scott, Duke of Monmouth, was crowned king in May 1686. He took the regnant name of James II, claiming his predecessor had not been the rightful heir and was therefore not entitled to the name. Thus, there have been two Kings of Great Britain called James II. Monmouth's accession to the throne created a new dynasty, the 'House of Monmouth, which ruled Great Britain until XXXX. Monmouth's reign was eventful. A pro-Catholic rebellion, led by James' supporters, petered out, and the Stuarts continued to claim the throne of Scotland for some time. However, support for the Jacobite movement eventually evaporated, after Monmouth decided to reign from Edinburgh six months of the year. He was, after all, a Stuart as well. Monmouth's claim on the throne was cemented by 1690, though the nickname James the Bastard stuck for the rest of his life. James was not successful at curbing the power of Parliament. He initially tried to continue the personal rule of his father and grandfather, but found Parliament simply too strong to resist. By 1694, an agreement was reached to share power between the King and the Parliament. This agreement, known sometimes as the Monmouth Accord, is the basis for the British system of government today. James II (Monmouth) (as he is often referred to historically, as opposed to James II (Stuart)) died of uremia (the same condition that took his father) on July 14, 1705, at the age of 56. The Crown passed to his eldest grandson, Francis, Duke of Edinburgh and Earl of Buccleuch. Monmouth's eldest son, James, Prince of Wales, had died only months earlier. It was Francis, the Prince of Wales' son, who became King Francis I. Francis was only eleven years old, and so his uncle, Monmouth's brother, Henry Scott (whom Monmouth had named Duke of York), ruled as Regent. Henry felt he had a claim on the throne, but was outmanouevered by Parliament, which in 1708 passed a law stating that Francis was King and that Henry's claim was weaker. In 1711, at the age of seventeen, Francis assumed all the powers of the King, which he had been wielding with more and more influence for the past five years anyway. The rule of King Francis I lasted for forty-seven years. The Franciscan Age, as historians now refer to it, saw the growth and expansion of British art and science. Not since Elizabethan times had England produced such advances. In addition, Francis took an active role in European affairs and established further colonies in North America, expanding British interests there. He also established British colonies in South America, fighting a war with Spain known as the Nine Years War from 1723 until 1732 for control of certain Spanish possessions in South America and the Caribbean. The ultimate prizes of Cuba (XXXX) and Puerto Rico (Port XXXXX) were eventually ceded to Britain in exchange for war reparations and an end to British privateers preying on Spanish ships. Trade was expanded to the Americas, and the Franciscan period is considered as the Golden Age of British economic power. Under Francis, Britain became the world's first Superpower, with British interests in Asia also expanding, led by the East India Company. Eventually, India would become part of a global British Empire. Francis I died in 1752. His marriage to Wilhemine of Beyruth had been relatively happy (there is little evidence of unfaithfulness on either side), and produced six children. The eldest of these, James, Prince of Wales, became King James IV. In his late thirties, James IV did not survive for long to enjoy his reign, as in 1754 he died of consumption - at nearly 300 pounds, it was hardly any shock. A hedonist and notoriously homosexual, James was more interested in food, wine and fornication than procreation and produced no heirs. The crown passed to his brother, Charles, Duke of Edinburgh, who reigned from 1754 to 1773 as Charles III. In the later part of Charles' reign, Australia and New Zealand, discovered much earlier by Dutch explorer Abel Tasman, were settled by British colonists - free settlers on the eastern coast, and convicts in Van Diemens Land (now Tasmania) and the Swan River Colony. Charles III's successor as king after his death was his only child, his daughter Anne (1750-1822). Young, extremely beautiful and politically wise, Anne was seen by many as another Elizabeth. Her 1777 marriage to Henry, Duke of Clarence, effectively consolidated her power in Britain. Under Queen Anne, Britain established greater colonial possessions overseas, particularly in Asia and Africa. But it was in North America that Anne's influence would be greatest. Thanks largely to her popularity and "common touch" the rebellion in North America that had been brewing for decades was prevented. When American colonists destroyed a great many crates of tea in Boston Harbour in 1773 as a protest against taxation, the British First Minister, Lord North, favoured a hardline. Anne summarily dismissed North and appointed the younger, progressive Whig Charles Fox as First Minister in his stead. Fox negotiated the Boston Accord with American colonial leaders, including Franklin, Adams and Hancock, which ended excessive taxation in the American colonies and instituted colonial representation in Westminster and representative government in North America. British North America came into being on September 13, 1779, with an elected Parliament and Anne's son, George, Earl of Bristol, as Viceroy. This arrangement lasted more than a century. Anne died in 1822, and her eldest son by Clarence took up the throne as Francis II. Francis was never a healthy child, and by the time he was forty was clearly sickly and unwell. He died in 1830 after a surprisingly long life given his infirmity, now thought to have been a type of Multiple Sclerosis. He was able to conceive a child, Edward VII (1808-1834), who was just as ill as his father and died without issue in 1834. Anne's only other son, George, had died in 1831, which meant that there was no direct heir after Edward's death.