King James II ruled England and her colonies from 1685 until 1688 and his approach to America is best described by the third option: he granted colonial governors more power than the assemblies. Here's why:

• The first option was simply not feasible. America was too far away from Britain to be governed directly by King James and he would have been very foolish to try this.
• The second option is not true either. King James appointed royal governors to represent Britain's interests and to enforce British laws. The king also appointed a council to advise the royal governor.
• The fourth option is also not true. King James II felt that his power and influence might be threatened by these assemblies and so he eliminated them. He imposed the Dominion of New England, for example, in New England, New York and New Jersey, to replace the representative assemblies. It was only after James was deposed in 1688 that these assemblies began to resurface in the colonies. 
• Therefore, the third option is the most correct: James gave absolute power to his royal governors as a means of preventing the colonies from having too much power over their own affairs.