The Wind at Torbay 1688
November 1688, the West of England. William, Prince of Orange, has landed at Torbay with an army of fifteen thousand. The Catholic king James II is gathering his army at Salisbury. You are a Protestant officer holding the king's commission, and tonight two of your fellow officers rode off west.
Historical background
James II, who came to the throne in 1685, was a Catholic; he brought Catholic officers into the army and unsettled the Church of England with his Declaration of Indulgence. In the same year Louis XIV of France revoked the Edict of Nantes, and many Huguenots crossed to England. When a prince was born in June 1688, making a Catholic dynasty certain, seven grandees invited James's son-in-law, William, Prince of Orange, from the Netherlands. William's fleet came down the Channel on a "Protestant wind" and landed at Brixham in Torbay on 5 November.
In the king's army gathered at Salisbury, officers including John Churchill went over to William one after another, and in December James fled to France. In February 1689 Parliament offered the crown to William (William III) and Mary together with the Declaration of Right, which became the Bill of Rights at the end of that year. James's Jacobite followers fought on in Ireland and Scotland but lost at the Boyne in 1690, and after the Treaty of Limerick in 1691 many Irish soldiers left for the Continent as the "Wild Geese". The massacre of Glencoe in 1692, the Treaty of Ryswick in 1697, the union of England and Scotland in 1707, the rising of 1715 and the 1745 rising of Charles Edward Stuart, the "Young Pretender", ending at Culloden in 1746, followed.
Who you are
You begin as a 29-year-old Protestant officer holding James II's commission in the West of England (Wessex on the game map). Edmund Lacy, the fellow officer who rode west, your Catholic cousin Thomas Blount and Marie Dufour, a Huguenot weaver, are the people of this life.
The current of history: The Glorious Revolution and the Jacobites
Half a century of history that begins with the landing at Torbay and runs on through the Wild Geese, the rising of 1715 and the Young Pretender. Which king you serve changes your home, your faith and your house’s memory.
Sides you can take
- William's side Ride west like your comrades and join the Prince of Orange.
- James's side Stay with the king as your commission swore — a path that may lead to exile and the Jacobite cause.
Tips
Questions and answers
How close is this scenario to real history?
James II's accession and Catholic policies, the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685 and the Huguenots, the invitation of the Seven and the landing at Torbay on 5 November 1688, the officers' defections, the Bill of Rights, the Boyne, the Treaty of Limerick and the Wild Geese, Glencoe, Ryswick, the union of 1707, the risings of 1715 and 1745 and Culloden are historical. The starting map, realms, real historical figures and the major events of the current of history follow actual history. You and the companions, rivals and loves around you are fictional people who could have lived then, and once you start, history may diverge according to your choices and those of the AI rulers.
What station do I start in?
You start as a 29-year-old Protestant officer, a man of knightly class, in the West of England (Wessex on the game map). You belong to the Kingdom of England and have no land.
Is it free? Can I play right away?
Yes. Crown & Plough is a free browser game with no account and nothing to install. The "Start in this scene" button on this page opens the scenario's intro screen directly, and progress is saved automatically in your browser. It works on phones too.
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