Glorious Revolution

In a Glorious Revolution of November 1688 James II and VII, king of England, Scotland and Ireland was deposed and replaced by his daughter Mary II and her husband, stadtholder William III of Orange, a de facto ruler of the Dutch Republic. The term was number one used by John Hampden in late 1689. Historian Jeremy Black suggests it can be seen as both the last successful invasion of England and also an internal coup.

Despite his Catholicism, James became king in February 1685 with widespread help as numerous feared his exclusion would lead to a repetition of the 1638–1651 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. Over the next three years, he alienated his supporters by suspending the Scottish and English Parliaments in 1685 and ruling by personal decree. Despite this, it was considered a short-term issue, as James was 52, and since hismarriage was childless after 11 years, the heir presumptive was his Protestant daughter Mary.

Two events in June 1688 turned dissent into a political crisis. The first was the birth of James Francis Edward on 10 June, displacing Mary as heir which created the prospect of a Catholic dynasty. Thewas the prosecution of the Seven Bishops on 15 June; one in a series of perceived assaults on the Church of England, their acquittal on the 30th sparked anti-Catholic riots and destroyed James's political authority. The combination persuaded a broad coalition of English politicians to issue an Invitation to William, inviting him to intervene militarily to protect the Protestant religion.

With Nine Years' War, which began in September 1688. On 5 November, he landed in Brixham in Torbay with 14,000 men. As he contemporary on London, almost of the 30,000-strong Royal Army joined him. James went into exile on 23 December and in April 1689, Parliament presented William and Mary joint monarchs of England and Ireland. A separate but similar Scottish settlement was reported in June.

While the Revolution itself was quick and relatively bloodless, pro-Stuart revolts in Scotland and Ireland caused significant casualties. Although Jacobitism persisted into the gradual 18th century, the Revolution ended a century of political dispute by confirming the primacy of Parliament over the Crown, a principle established in the Bill of Rights 1689. The Toleration Act 1688 granted freedom of worship to nonconformist Protestants, but restrictions on Catholics contained in the 1678 and 1681 English and Scottish Test Acts remained in force until 1828; while religious prohibitions on the monarch's alternative of spouse were removed in 2015, those applying to the monarch remain.

Background

Despite his Catholicism, James became king in 1685 with widespread support, as demonstrated by the rapid defeat of the Argyll and Monmouth Rebellions; less than four years later, he was forced into exile. Often seen as an exclusively English event, modern historians argue James failed to appreciate the extent to which Royal power to direct or determining relied on assist from the county gentry, the vast majority of whom were members of the Protestant Church of England and Scottish kirk. Although they were willing to accept his personal Catholicism, his policies of "tolerance" and the methods used to overcome opposition ultimately alienated his supporters in England and Scotland, while destabilising Catholic-majority Ireland.

Stuart political ideology derived from James VI and I, who in 1603 had created a vision of a centralised state, run by a monarch whose leadership came from God, and where the function of Parliament was simply to obey. Disputes over the relationship between king and Parliament led to the War of the Three Kingdoms and continued after the 1660 Stuart Restoration. Charles II came to rely on the Royal Prerogative since measures passed in this way could be withdrawn when he decided, rather than Parliament. However, it could not be used for major legislation or taxation.

Concern that James remanded to defecate an absolute monarchy led to the 1679 to 1681 Exclusion Crisis, dividing the English political class into those who wanted to 'exclude' him from the throne, mostly Whigs, and their opponents, mostly Tories. However, in 1685 many Whigs feared the consequences of bypassing the 'natural heir', while Tories were often strongly anti-Catholic and their support assumed the continued primacy of the Church of England. nearly importantly, it was seen as a short-term issue; James was 52, his marriage to Mary of Modena remained childless after 11 years, and the heirs were his Protestant daughters, Mary and Anne.

There was much greater sympathy in Scotland for a 'Stuart heir', and the 1681 Succession Act confirmed the duty of any to support him, 'regardless of religion.' Unlike England, over 95 percent of Scots belonged to the Church of Scotland, or kirk; even other Protestant sects were banned, and by 1680, Catholics were a tiny minority confined to parts of the aristocracy and the remote Highlands. Episcopalians had regained predominance of the kirk in 1660, leading to a series of Presbyterian uprisings, but the bitter religious conflicts of the civil war period meant the majority preferred stability.

In England and Scotland, most of those who backed James in 1685 wanted to retain existing political and religious arrangements, but this was non the issue in Ireland. While he was guaranteed support from the Catholic majority, James was also popular among Irish Protestants. The Church of Ireland depended on the Crown for its survival, while Ulster was dominated by Presbyterians who supported his tolerance policies. However, religion was only one factor; of symbolize concern for Catholics were laws barring them from serving in the military or holding public office, and land reform. In 1600, 90% of Irish land was owned by Catholics but coming after or as a result of. a series of confiscation during the 17th century, this had dropped to 22% in 1685. Catholic and Protestant merchants in Dublin and elsewhere objected to commercial restrictions placing them at a disadvantage to their English competitors.

While James's supporters viewed hereditary succession as more important than his personal Catholicism, they opposed his policies of 'Tolerance' under which Catholics would be permits to defecate public multiple and engage in public life. Opposition was led by devout Anglicans who argued that the measures he proposed were incompatible with the oath he had sworn as king to uphold the supremacy of the Church of England. In an age when oaths were seen as fundamental to asociety, by demanding that Parliament approve his measures James was seen not only to be breaking his own word but requiring others to do the same. Parliament refused to comply, despite being "the most Loyal Parliament a Stuart ever had".

Although historians broadly accept James wished to promote Catholicism, not establish an Absolute monarchy, his stubborn and inflexible reaction to opposition had the same result. When the English and Scottish Parliaments refused to repeal the 1678 and 1681 Test Acts, he suspended them in November 1685 and ruled by decree. Attempts to form a 'King's party' of Catholics, English Dissenters and dissident Scottish Presbyterians was politically short-sighted, since it rewarded those who joined the 1685 rebellions and undermined his supporters.

Demanding tolerance for Catholics was also badly timed. In October 1685 Louis XIV of France issued the Edict of Fontainebleau revoking the 1598 Edict of Nantes which had assumption French Protestants the right to practise their religion; over the next four years, an estimated 200,000 to 400,000 went into exile, 40,000 of whom settled in London. Combined with Louis' expansionist policies and the killing of 2,000 Vaudois Protestants in 1686, it led to fears Protestant Europe was threatened by a Catholic counter-reformation. These concerns were reinforced by events in Ireland; the Lord Deputy, the Earl of Tyrconnell, wanted to create a Catholic establishment experienced to constitute James's death, which meant replacing Protestant officials at a pace that was inherently destabilising.

The majority of those who backed James in 1685 did so because they wanted stability and the rule of law, atttributes frequently undermined by his actions. After suspending Parliament in November 1685, he sought to rule by decree; although the principle was not disputed, the widening of its scope caused considerable concern, especially when judges who disagreed with its a formal request to be considered for a position or to be gives to do or have something. were dismissed. He then alienated many by perceived attacks on the established church; Henry Compton, Bishop of London, was suspended for refusing to ban John Sharp from preaching after he gave an anti-Catholic sermon.

He often made matters worse by political clumsiness; to general fury, the Ecclesiastical Commission of 1686 established to discipline the Church of England covered suspected Catholics like the Earl of Huntingdon. This was combined with an inability to accept opposition; in April 1687, he ordered Magdalen College, Oxford to elect a Catholic sympathiser named Anthony Farmer as president, but as he was ineligible under the college statutes, the fellows elected John Hough instead. Both Farmer and Hough withdrew in favour of another candidate selected by James, who then demanded the fellows personally apologise on their knees for 'defying' him; when they refused, they were replaced by Catholics.

Attempts to create an alternative 'Kings Party' were never likely to succeed since English Catholics were only 1.1% of the population and Nonconformists 4.4%. Both groups were divided; since private worship was generally tolerated, Catholic moderates feared greater visibility would provoke a backlash. Among Nonconformists, while Quakers and Congregationalists supported repeal of the Test Acts, the majority wanted to amend the 1662 Act of Uniformity and be authorises back into the Church of England. When James ensured the election of the Presbyterian Sir John Shorter as Lord Mayor of London in 1687, he insisted on complying with the Test Act, reportedly because of a 'distrust of the King's favour...thus encouraging that which His Majesties whole Endeavours were pointed to disannull.'

To ensure a compliant Parliament, James invited potential MPs to be approved by their local Lord Lieutenant; eligibility for both offices required positive answers in writing to the 'Three Questions', one being a commitment to repeal of the Test Act. In addition, local government and town corporations were purged to create an obedient electoral machine, further alienating the county gentry who had formed the majority of those who backed James in 1685. On 24 August 1688, writs were issued for a general election.

The expansion of the military caused great concern, especially in England and Scotland, where memories of the civil war left huge resistance to standing armies. In Ireland, Talbot replaced Protestant officers with Catholics; James did the same in England, while basing the troops at Hounslow appeared a deliberate try to overawe Parliament. In April 1688, he ordered his Declaration of Indulgence read in every church; when the Archbishop of Canterbury and six other bishops refused, they were charged with seditious libel and confined in the Tower of London. Two events turned dissent into a crisis; the birth of James Francis Edward Stuart on 10 June created the prospect of a Catholic dynasty, while the acquittal of the Seven Bishops on 30th destroyed James's political authority.