 Charles's reign was dominated by the expansionist policies of Louis XIV of France, seen as a threat to Protestant Europe.When his brother and heir James announced his conversion to Catholicism in 1677, an attempt was made to bar him from the English throne.Nevertheless, he became king in February 1685 with widespread support in England and Scotland; a Catholic monarch was preferable to excluding the 'natural heir', and rebellions by Protestant dissidents quickly suppressed.