Glorious Revolution

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Glorious Revolution in English history, the events of 1688–89 that resulted in the deposition of James II and the accession of William III and Mary II to the English throne. It is also called the Bloodless Revolution. The restoration of Charles II in 1660 was met with misgivings by many Englishmen who suspected the Stuarts of Roman Catholic and absolutist leanings. Charles II increased this distrust by not being responsive to Parliament , by his toleration of Catholic dissent, and by favoring alliances with Catholic powers in Europe. A parliamentary group, the Whigs , tried to ensure a Protestant successor by excluding James, duke of York (later James II), from the throne, but they were unsuccessful. After James's accession (1685) his overt Catholicism and the birth of a Catholic prince who would succeed to the throne united the hitherto loyal Tories (see Tory ) with the Whigs in common opposition to James.

Seven Whig and Tory leaders sent an invitation to the Dutch prince William of Orange and his consort, Mary, Protestant daughter of James, to come to England. William landed at Torbay in Devonshire with an army. James's forces, under John Churchill (later duke of Marlborough), deserted him, and James fled to France (Dec., 1688). There was some debate in England on how to transfer power; whether to recall James on strict conditions or under a regency, whether to depose him outright, or whether to treat his flight as an abdication. The last course was decided upon, and early in 1689 William and Mary accepted the invitation of Parliament to rule as joint sovereigns.

The Declaration of Rights and the Bill of Rights (1689) redefined the relationship between monarch and subjects and barred any future Catholic succession to the throne. The royal power to suspend and dispense with law was abolished, and the crown was forbidden to levy taxation or maintain a standing army in peacetime without parliamentary consent. The provisions of the Bill of Rights were, in effect, the conditions upon which the throne was offered to and accepted by William and Mary. These events were a milestone in the gradual process by which practical power shifted from the monarch to Parliament. The theoretical ascendancy of Parliament was never thereafter successfully challenged.

Bibliography: See G. M. Trevelyan, The English Revolution, 1688–1689 (1938); L. Pinkham, William III and the Respectable Revolution (1954); J. Childs, The Army, James II, and the Glorious Revolution (1981); S. E. Prall, The Bloodless Revolution (1972); T. Harris, Revolution (2008); S. Pincus, 1688: The First Modern Revolution (2009).

Glorious Revolution Title given to the revolution of 1688–9, which resulted in the ‘abdication’ of James II and the succession of William III and Mary II. Participants had differing objectives. Tories and Anglican clergy wanted to stop James undermining the church. Whigs aimed to depose James and limit the powers of the crown. Ordinary people detested James for his catholicism. William needed to remove a potential ally of Louis XIV and lead England into the war against France that had just begun.

In June 1688 William instigated an invitation from two Tories, four Whigs, and Bishop Compton to intervene. The birth that month of an infant prince to James had transformed the political future: he would succeed James in place of Mary (his eldest, protestant daughter, married to William). William's intervention was necessitated by the size of James's professional army. However, William was promised that most of its officers would defect. When this happened soon after William landed at Torbay on 5 November James found that he could not fight a battle. Demoralized, James tried to fly the country but was stopped. A second successful escape to France was the direct result of William's pressure. This left a vacuum. The Bill of Rights (1689) followed the Whig formula, construing James's flight as abdication, declaring the throne vacant, and William and Mary as joint sovereigns.

Glorious Revolution The bloodless English revolution of 1688–89 in which JAMES II was removed from the throne and was replaced by his daughter Mary and her husband WILLIAM III (of Orange). It marked the end of Stuart attempts at despotism, and the establishment of a constitutional form of government.

From his accession in 1685, James II's actions aroused both Whig and Tory concern. In defiance of the law he appointed Roman Catholics to important positions in the army, the church, the universities, and the government. He claimed the right to suspend or dispense with the laws as he pleased, and his two DECLARATIONS OF INDULGENCE suspended penal laws against Roman Catholics and dissenters. The birth of a son to the king in 1688 appeared to ensure the Roman Catholic succession and provoked leading politicians of both the main parties to invite the king's son-in-law William of Orange to England. William landed with a Dutch army in Devonshire in November. James's army refused to obey its Catholic officers, his daughters deserted him, and he was allowed to escape abroad. Parliament asked William and Mary to take over the vacant throne. James II landed in Ireland with French troops (March 1690), besieged Londonderry, and was defeated at the Battle of the BOYNE (July 1690). He returned to exile in France. The Act of SETTLEMENT of 1701 provided for the Protestant succession.

Glorious Revolution (1688–89) Abdication of James II of England and his replacement with William III (of Orange) and Mary II. After James antagonized powerful subjects by his favour towards Roman Catholics, political leaders invited William to take the throne. William landed in November and James fled to France. It was called ‘Glorious’ because it occurred virtually without violence. In 1689, William and Mary ratified the Bill of Rights. In 1690, William defeated James at the Battle of the Boyne.