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His father died in exile, and he was thirteen years old. James Francis Edward St
1701 Event

September 16

James Stuart Becomes Jacobite Claimant: The Old Pretender

His father died in exile, and he was thirteen years old. James Francis Edward Stuart inherited the Jacobite claim to the British throne on September 16, 1701, one day after Louis XIV of France recognized him as King James III of England and VIII of Scotland. Parliament in London responded by passing the Act of Settlement, explicitly barring Catholics from the throne. James spent the rest of his life launching failed invasions from the continent — 1708, 1715 — and dying in Rome at 77, still calling himself king of a country he'd never ruled.

September 16, 1701

325 years ago

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