The Western Rising - An Account of Monmouth's Rebellion

In the early morning of 11 June 1685 the little Dorset port of Lyme Regis awoke to t he sight of three strange ships moored a league off shore. Before long the people were cheering their `beloved Protestant Duke,' James, Duke of Monmouth and favourite bastard of Charles II, who had come to liberate England from what they saw as the Papist tyranny of his uncle, James II. The Western Rising traces the roots of his rebellion to the `Good Old Cause' of Republicanism againsrt the monarchy... Protestant against Catholic. The immediate cause was the death of Charles II, who, while alive, had striven to preserve the principle of legitimacy against increasingly fanatical opposition to Papism and the intrigues of his wayward son...