What does it look like?

It is a letter written in ink ,on paper, in a fairly neat hand. It has a seal on the back in red wax, bearing a coat of arms. The seal has been broken.

Who, what and where?

The letters claim to be copies, made by King James II, of a letter found in the strong box belonging to his brother, King Charles II. Presumably James copied the letters, because they suggest that his brother, Charles, was Catholic or had Catholic sympathies before his famous deathbed conversion to Catholicism.

This information would have been significant to James, because James himself was a Catholic during a time of strong anti-Catholic sentiment and Catholics were barred from holding public office.  Throughout his short reign, (1685-1688), James II attempted to generate greater tolerance for Catholics. It was his Catholic faith that resulted in the Revolution of 1688, in which he was deposed by his daughter, Mary, and her husband, the Protestant William of Orange.

Why is it significant to the study of religion?

In 1670, Charles made a secret pact with King Louis XIV, to publicly convert to Catholicism, “as soon as the welfare of his kingdom will permit.” Some historians have doubted the sincerity of his promise to Louis and his deathbed conversion. However, this letter suggests his Catholic beliefs were genuine and existed before his “conversion.”

England was gripped with anti-Catholic fear, which was fuelled by doubts about the religious allegiance of the king. In 1672, Charles attempted to extend religious liberty to Catholics and nonconformists (non-Anglicans), but Parliament resisted and forced the king to implement the first of the Test Acts, which required all individuals entering public office to only take Anglican Communion. An anonymous pamphlet was published in 1677, that spread alarm by suggesting that the Pope planned to change the lawful government of England. In 1678, the ‘Popish Plot’ erupted, when Titus Oates declared there was a Jesuit plot to murder King Charles, to hasten the accession of James to the throne. Despite the plot later being discredited, the resulting anti-Catholic hysteria lasted several years and precipitated the Exclusion Crisis, which sought to exclude James II from becoming king because he was Catholic, and the extension of the Test Acts to ensure Catholics, in addition to not holding positions in public office, could not become members of Parliament.

James II became king in 1685, but was overthrown in the Revolution of 1688, which placed the Protestant William and Mary on the throne. In 1701, the Settlement Act was passed to bar Catholics from succeeding to the British throne. Although there is much more religious freedom in Britain today, Catholics still cannot ascend to the throne of the United Kingdom, and it was only in 2013 that the ban against royals, who married Catholics, from succeeding to the throne was lifted.