The Glorious Revolution was the name given by early-17th-century Protestant preachers to the overthrow of the Catholic king James II of England (and VII of Scotland) by the Protestant Dutch prince William of Orange and his wife Mary, James' daughter. The revolution itself was relatively bloodless, but it was followed by several Jacobite (pro-Stuart) risings until 1746. William's invasion in November 1688 was the last successful invasion of England.
Background[]
Tensions between the monarchy and those who considered themselves the representatives of the country were nothing new. The Magna Carta curtailed the power of the monarchy, although it did not benefit the people as a whole. The Tudors redressed the balance, aiming to centralize power. James I viewed the matter in philosophical, even theological terms, presenting learned arguments for the divine right of kings to rule. His son, Charles I, was prepared to go to war with his Parliamentary opponents over this theory, and to defy them to the death when he was defeated. Parliament's victory was a mixed blessing: it was hard to see how the cause of democratic representation or accountability was advanced by the dictatorship into which the English Commonwealth quickly descended. Charles II's Restoration was welcomed, but the King's absolutist inclinations soon became evident.
Charles II's apparent leanings towards Catholicism also caused tension between the monarchy and the people, while his younger brother, James II, was an avowed Catholic. In the eyes of English Protestants, that (clearly hierarchical) faith was the natural accompaniment to Stuart absolutism. It was not one they wanted anything to do with.
History[]
The Duke of York was a controversial figure even before he became King James II: his conversion to Catholicism upset many; his marriage to Mary of Modena made matters worse. The object of Exclusion Bills and assassination plots, he had no illusions as to his popularity. Yet he was unflappable in his arrogance or, as he saw it, his consciousness of his divine right as king.
Some later historians have tended to see James as an inadequate, cowardly and weak man. In fact, he was courageous and experienced in battle. During his French exile, he saw front line service against the Fronde - an uprising of disenchanted nobles in the 1650s.
Monmouth's folly[]
Resistance to James II was quick in coming. The Duke of Monmouth was Charles II's illegitimate son and James' nephew. However, he was also a Protestant and hoped to take the throne. Landing in Lyme Regis with a small force in June 1685, he marched inland through a strongly Protestant region, recruiting supporters at a series of pretend coronations. Failing to take Bristol, he tried Bath before moving on to Warminster. An attempt to open a second front in Scotland having failed, Monmouth's men fell back before being defeated at Sedgemoor on 6 July. Judge Jeffreys' Bloody Assizes followed: more than 300 rebels were executed.
James' decision to raise a standing army, rather than recruiting soldiers ad hoc, sent out the message that he was at war with his subjects. His Declaration of Indulgence towards Catholics caused outrage in 1687 and the birth of a son, and legal successor, provoked panic.
By invitation[]
A group of Protestant nobles, already in negotiation with William of Orange, Stadtholder (the chief of state) of the Dutch Republic, became even more eager for him to depose James and reign as William III. His wife, Mary (James II's daughter), had the better claim, but William wanted to be more than Prince Consort.
James planning the defense of England
His first invasion fleet was dispersed by winds in October 1688; he later landed at Torbay. James was unfazed until he found his foficers defecting in droves. He fled for France, but was captured. William turned a blind eye while they escaped, so James could not become a focus for royalist unrest. A Convention Parliament in January 1689 issued a Declaration of Rights, asserting that James' attempt to flee amounted to abdication and branding his actions as king unconstitutional. William III and Mary II were (unusually) made joint co-rulers in his place.
Draft for democracy[]
The Declaration of Rights was primarily a stick to beat James II with. As formalized in December 1689 as the Bill of Rights, however, it became the blueprint for a constitutional monarchy. The King and Queen would be held in the highest respect as heads of state, but would not be allowed to disregard the wishes of the people's parliamentary representatives.
Aftermath[]
James' overthrow was first described as a Glorious Revolution in 1689, and since then, its centrality to the modern British identity has never been in doubt.
The Stuarts, unsurprisingly, believed that an outrageous injustice had prevailed. James fought unsuccessfully to win back his throne. William's failure to leave a dynasty merely prompted Parliament to seek out another ruler, Sophia, Electress of Hanover (granddaughter of James I), whose successors were to reign into the 19th century. Stuart supporters - known as Jacobites from Jacobus, the Latin form of James - continued to keep faith, in Scotland especially. A number of unsuccessful uprisings were staged in the decades that followed.
The French Revolution of 1789 did not spark a similar overthrow of the British state. Possibly the constitutional upheavals of 1688 and after had satisfied the desire for moderate democratic change in Britain.