Glorious Revolution Causes
This paper defines the term ‘Glorious Revolution’. It is regarded as the revolt of compromise or mutual consent. It portrays how the entire country England makes a dramatic change in her ruling system. By abolishing tyrannical system, the country establishes democratic rule without any bloody battle. It also gives us some idea about the situation that was prevailed before the revolution, the reasons that led this revolution happen along with its significance. It will also talk about different laws and acts that were imposed in the country after the revolution. It basically aims at to familiarize the event that occurred in 1688 in England. Key words: Glorious Revolution, tyranny, democracy, bloodless, England.
Introduction:
The …show more content…
word ‘glorious’ portrays the meaning of splendid, magnificent, dignified and so on. On the other hand, the word ‘revolution’ refers to movements. By making association between these two words, we can understand that it signifies the revolt of 1688-89 that took place in England. It was a unique event in the world history that occurred without any bloodshed. It made possible the establishment of the democratic rule in the country by abolishing absolute monarchy. Before this event, the country England had to go through many ups and downs.
Pre – condition of Glorious Revolution:
1685
Charles II died on the 6th February and he was succeeded by his younger brother Catholic James II. He made several attempts to exclude James II from the throne. On the 19th May, James’s Parliament met and the House voted James. The House was recalled after the summer and James told the commons to give more money to maintain his standing army. Moreover, there were 1673 acts which wanted officers to prove that they were Protestants by making a declaration against transubstantiation. On the 20th November, James prorogued Parliament and he realized that they would not agree to repeal the penal laws against Catholics. It means that James II was a strong supporter of Catholicism but he failed to establish it.
1686
In April, in a law case, Godden vs. Hales, the judges ruled that James II could give out with the Test Acts. Moreover, they do not need the permission of Parliament in individual cases. He wanted to introduce Catholicism. On the 15th July an Ecclesiastical Commission was set up and its first act was suspending Henry Compton, Bishop of London, as he had refused to suspend a London clergyman who had preached against Roman Catholicism. It also proves that in that year Catholics were in powerful position.
1687
On the 5th April, the King published a Declaration of Indulgence. It suspended all religious penal laws. In July, the Lord Lieutenants got an instruction to call the prominent local people to ensure whether they would approve the repeal of the penal laws and other questions were designed also. Most of them refused to put the questions. It means that may be they were not transparent enough in case of confessing something.
Causes of Glorious Revolution (1688):
The Glorious Revolution of 1688 was the outcome of the series of incidents that England faced during the regime of James II.
If we take a look at the history, we will find that the prime cause of Glorious Revolution is the restoration of the Roman Catholicism ideology in England.
Though the belief of Roman Catholicism was infamous, the king James II attempted to redefine it. He tried to make it the state religion of the country. He was in favor of the Catholics so always tried to give more privileges to them. His ‘dispensing power’ of ruling was the indication of that. He had the authority to renew or repeal any parliamentary act. Therefore, he issued a proclamation was rejected by the parliament because that clearly visualized his tyrannical …show more content…
motive.
In addition to, he was the believer of the ideology of absolute monarchy or the ‘divine right of theory’. It combines political idea with theological doctrine. The believer of this ideology thought of himself as the agent of God and was not the subject of any earthly authority. Thus, no one had the right to question, judge or go against the monarch without God. From Morton’s perception, “… religious toleration was being used as an instrument for creating a political absolution, that they remain unmoved” (p. 242). However, the English people were politically conscious so they did not want to accept this ideology. Therefore, James II altered all the judges having the belief in autonomous authority from their benches and replaced them by his ‘Yes’ men. He also restored the Prerogative Court of High Commission. It renamed as “Court of Ecclesiastical Commission.” It gained negative perception from its people for two reasons. First of all, it made harsh, strict and cruel judge Jeffrey as the chief judge of the court. People experienced his cruelty during the revolt of Duke of Monmouth. Secondly, the court enforced of the strict religious policy of the king.
Another evidence of James II’s greater concern towards the preacher of Roman Catholicism was the first Declaration of the Indulgence in 1687. It made null and void all types of religious tests that were previously necessary for having admission to any government seat. Though it astonished English people, James II did not pay any heed towards them. He only cared for the Catholics and by appointing them as the Town Council, he proved so. In 1688, another indulgence was issued. “It was ordered that it should be read in all churches of Britain. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Bancroft and six other bishops refused to read this declaration. They were immediately tried in the court and were declared “not guilty” by the juries (Chaurasia, p. 68). It was deleterious to the reputation of the king.
The bloodless Glorious Revolution was occurred due to James II’s special policy towards Scotland and Ireland. It was previously stated that he always had the support for the Catholics. By assigning Eyconnel as the Lord Lieutenant, he again proved that he was very conventional towards religion. It led to the Irish Protestant up-risings against Stuart monarchy. According to Chaurasia, “the persecution of the Presbyterians in Ireland made English people hostile against the king James II as well as the Irish protestants rose against the Stuart monarchy” (p. 68). People became aggressive towards King James II’s policy. His innovative foreign policy towards France was one of the causes of James II’s downfall. Louis XIV always gained favor from James II because Louis was a Catholic and also his relative. French Protestants had to pay a lot due to James II’s creepy policy. They not only lost their religious freedom in France but also they had to migrate to England and settled there. We can say by seeing James II’s activity that he was conformist and biased ruler at the same time. For that reason, he always had a positive position for the Catholics.
Moreover, he always tried to manipulate the decisions of the parliament. They controlled the majority of the supporters of the parliament. People got major shock when James II was blessed with a male child. The birth of Prince of Wales created a terror among Protestants because this newly prince would be brought up as a Catholic and would also follow the footsteps of his father so there could be no relief from Catholicism. It was the immediate cause of this bloodless revolution.
Results of Glorious Revolution:
James II became very unpopular among his people due to his selfish moves. People started to raise their voice against him. He was a coward so he fled away from England in the year of 1688. Therefore, without any fight or collapse a revolt took place. The basis of this revolution was compromise and mutual consent. Different critics regarded it in different ways. Some considered it as a unique revolution while others consider it as a bloodless battle. Hertzler (1987) noted that, “Writing in 1720, Laurence Echard spoke of “a Revolution the most bloodless,” and many other writers noted how the Revolution was done without any great “effusion of Blood” (p. 580). It was a great achievement not only the people of England but also the people of the entire world. The country got freedom religious, political and law sector. After this revolution, many acts were passed for the welfare of the country and its people.
I. The effects of Glorious Revolution in the sector of religion - Glorious Revolution was considered as a pleasant event where William of Orange was convinced to come and rescue Britain from reverting back to Catholicism under the absolutist regime of James II. Glorious Revolution regained religious domination of the landed classes in alliance with the Church of England and immediate steps were taken to establish order against future assaults. It was the final triumph for Protestantism in England.
II. The effects of Glorious Revolution in the sector of politics - Glorious revolution was a successful invasion of England in which the monarch was replaced by parliamentary system. The successful invasion of William of Orange in England ceased the autocratic rule and established democracy in country. The parliament got its autonomy in decision making. The relationship with Scotland and Ireland also had drastically changed due to the revolution. For supporting Glorious Revolution, Scotland got preferable condition in the unification and supporting James, Ireland remain under England’s terms and conditions.
III.
The effects of Glorious Revolution in the sector of law – Due to the Glorious Revolution, many laws and acts were created to resolve the parliamentary system in England. Several changes were made from the constitutional view point. Post revolutionary parliament passed some of the important legislations.
• The Bill of Rights: It was very important measure taken by the parliament which limited the royal power and also established supremacy of the parliament. The bill was passed in February, 1689. It enumerates the act of James II stating that he abdicated from the power by himself. It reduced the power of the king and made the king bound to take into account the consent of the parliament. The king could not suspend or create laws without the allowance of parliament. He could not raise taxes by royal prerogative and he was forbidden to keep standing army in peace.
• The Mutiny Act: After the Bill of rights, the Mutiny act was passed in 1689. By the establishment of this act the parliament got more power and took control over the standing army for the protection of the country. This new military was maintained by court
martial.
• The Triennial Act: Triennial act was passed in 1694. The act defined the clauses of Declaration of right regarding the frequency of the parliament more concisely. In which, it was clearly mentioned that the parliament should be elected for three years and also dissolved for the same time. Fresh election should be held and also the tenure of the house of common was made.
• The Act of Settlement: For the post revolutionary parliament it was a very important act. The Act of Settlement was passed in 1701 to secure the Protestant succession. According to the act, Stuarts were excluded and the succession of the throne went to Princess Sophia, who was the Electress of Hanover and her Protestant heirs. Unfortunately, Sophia died before Queen Anne, as a result the succession passed to her son, George. He became King George I in 1714. It also stated that neither any Roman Catholic nor anyone married to a Roman Catholic could hold the English Crown. In this way, it secured the liberty of the common people.
• The Licensing Act: By this act, the freedom of press was granted which led to the establishment of the democracy.
• The Toleration Act: This act was established in May, 1689. The act allowed the freedom of worship but excluded the Jews and Catholics. But there was Social and political disabilities and Nonconformists were still denied in political office.
Conclusion: In fine, it can be said that the so-called bloodless revolution did not take place for any particular reason. It was the result of the series of injustices that the people of England or the Protestant had to face at that time. The system of anarchy was prevailed in the country before this revolution. No one had any right to say anything in favor or against of the king. The king had supreme authority to rule so he could do whatever he feels like to do. He did not have any concern for the welfare of the state and its commoners. At that time Roman Catholicism was used either to gain power or to oppress the people.
Introduction:
The …show more content…
word ‘glorious’ portrays the meaning of splendid, magnificent, dignified and so on. On the other hand, the word ‘revolution’ refers to movements. By making association between these two words, we can understand that it signifies the revolt of 1688-89 that took place in England. It was a unique event in the world history that occurred without any bloodshed. It made possible the establishment of the democratic rule in the country by abolishing absolute monarchy. Before this event, the country England had to go through many ups and downs.
Pre – condition of Glorious Revolution:
1685
Charles II died on the 6th February and he was succeeded by his younger brother Catholic James II. He made several attempts to exclude James II from the throne. On the 19th May, James’s Parliament met and the House voted James. The House was recalled after the summer and James told the commons to give more money to maintain his standing army. Moreover, there were 1673 acts which wanted officers to prove that they were Protestants by making a declaration against transubstantiation. On the 20th November, James prorogued Parliament and he realized that they would not agree to repeal the penal laws against Catholics. It means that James II was a strong supporter of Catholicism but he failed to establish it.
1686
In April, in a law case, Godden vs. Hales, the judges ruled that James II could give out with the Test Acts. Moreover, they do not need the permission of Parliament in individual cases. He wanted to introduce Catholicism. On the 15th July an Ecclesiastical Commission was set up and its first act was suspending Henry Compton, Bishop of London, as he had refused to suspend a London clergyman who had preached against Roman Catholicism. It also proves that in that year Catholics were in powerful position.
1687
On the 5th April, the King published a Declaration of Indulgence. It suspended all religious penal laws. In July, the Lord Lieutenants got an instruction to call the prominent local people to ensure whether they would approve the repeal of the penal laws and other questions were designed also. Most of them refused to put the questions. It means that may be they were not transparent enough in case of confessing something.
Causes of Glorious Revolution (1688):
The Glorious Revolution of 1688 was the outcome of the series of incidents that England faced during the regime of James II.
If we take a look at the history, we will find that the prime cause of Glorious Revolution is the restoration of the Roman Catholicism ideology in England.
Though the belief of Roman Catholicism was infamous, the king James II attempted to redefine it. He tried to make it the state religion of the country. He was in favor of the Catholics so always tried to give more privileges to them. His ‘dispensing power’ of ruling was the indication of that. He had the authority to renew or repeal any parliamentary act. Therefore, he issued a proclamation was rejected by the parliament because that clearly visualized his tyrannical …show more content…
motive.
In addition to, he was the believer of the ideology of absolute monarchy or the ‘divine right of theory’. It combines political idea with theological doctrine. The believer of this ideology thought of himself as the agent of God and was not the subject of any earthly authority. Thus, no one had the right to question, judge or go against the monarch without God. From Morton’s perception, “… religious toleration was being used as an instrument for creating a political absolution, that they remain unmoved” (p. 242). However, the English people were politically conscious so they did not want to accept this ideology. Therefore, James II altered all the judges having the belief in autonomous authority from their benches and replaced them by his ‘Yes’ men. He also restored the Prerogative Court of High Commission. It renamed as “Court of Ecclesiastical Commission.” It gained negative perception from its people for two reasons. First of all, it made harsh, strict and cruel judge Jeffrey as the chief judge of the court. People experienced his cruelty during the revolt of Duke of Monmouth. Secondly, the court enforced of the strict religious policy of the king.
Another evidence of James II’s greater concern towards the preacher of Roman Catholicism was the first Declaration of the Indulgence in 1687. It made null and void all types of religious tests that were previously necessary for having admission to any government seat. Though it astonished English people, James II did not pay any heed towards them. He only cared for the Catholics and by appointing them as the Town Council, he proved so. In 1688, another indulgence was issued. “It was ordered that it should be read in all churches of Britain. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Bancroft and six other bishops refused to read this declaration. They were immediately tried in the court and were declared “not guilty” by the juries (Chaurasia, p. 68). It was deleterious to the reputation of the king.
The bloodless Glorious Revolution was occurred due to James II’s special policy towards Scotland and Ireland. It was previously stated that he always had the support for the Catholics. By assigning Eyconnel as the Lord Lieutenant, he again proved that he was very conventional towards religion. It led to the Irish Protestant up-risings against Stuart monarchy. According to Chaurasia, “the persecution of the Presbyterians in Ireland made English people hostile against the king James II as well as the Irish protestants rose against the Stuart monarchy” (p. 68). People became aggressive towards King James II’s policy. His innovative foreign policy towards France was one of the causes of James II’s downfall. Louis XIV always gained favor from James II because Louis was a Catholic and also his relative. French Protestants had to pay a lot due to James II’s creepy policy. They not only lost their religious freedom in France but also they had to migrate to England and settled there. We can say by seeing James II’s activity that he was conformist and biased ruler at the same time. For that reason, he always had a positive position for the Catholics.
Moreover, he always tried to manipulate the decisions of the parliament. They controlled the majority of the supporters of the parliament. People got major shock when James II was blessed with a male child. The birth of Prince of Wales created a terror among Protestants because this newly prince would be brought up as a Catholic and would also follow the footsteps of his father so there could be no relief from Catholicism. It was the immediate cause of this bloodless revolution.
Results of Glorious Revolution:
James II became very unpopular among his people due to his selfish moves. People started to raise their voice against him. He was a coward so he fled away from England in the year of 1688. Therefore, without any fight or collapse a revolt took place. The basis of this revolution was compromise and mutual consent. Different critics regarded it in different ways. Some considered it as a unique revolution while others consider it as a bloodless battle. Hertzler (1987) noted that, “Writing in 1720, Laurence Echard spoke of “a Revolution the most bloodless,” and many other writers noted how the Revolution was done without any great “effusion of Blood” (p. 580). It was a great achievement not only the people of England but also the people of the entire world. The country got freedom religious, political and law sector. After this revolution, many acts were passed for the welfare of the country and its people.
I. The effects of Glorious Revolution in the sector of religion - Glorious Revolution was considered as a pleasant event where William of Orange was convinced to come and rescue Britain from reverting back to Catholicism under the absolutist regime of James II. Glorious Revolution regained religious domination of the landed classes in alliance with the Church of England and immediate steps were taken to establish order against future assaults. It was the final triumph for Protestantism in England.
II. The effects of Glorious Revolution in the sector of politics - Glorious revolution was a successful invasion of England in which the monarch was replaced by parliamentary system. The successful invasion of William of Orange in England ceased the autocratic rule and established democracy in country. The parliament got its autonomy in decision making. The relationship with Scotland and Ireland also had drastically changed due to the revolution. For supporting Glorious Revolution, Scotland got preferable condition in the unification and supporting James, Ireland remain under England’s terms and conditions.
III.
The effects of Glorious Revolution in the sector of law – Due to the Glorious Revolution, many laws and acts were created to resolve the parliamentary system in England. Several changes were made from the constitutional view point. Post revolutionary parliament passed some of the important legislations.
• The Bill of Rights: It was very important measure taken by the parliament which limited the royal power and also established supremacy of the parliament. The bill was passed in February, 1689. It enumerates the act of James II stating that he abdicated from the power by himself. It reduced the power of the king and made the king bound to take into account the consent of the parliament. The king could not suspend or create laws without the allowance of parliament. He could not raise taxes by royal prerogative and he was forbidden to keep standing army in peace.
• The Mutiny Act: After the Bill of rights, the Mutiny act was passed in 1689. By the establishment of this act the parliament got more power and took control over the standing army for the protection of the country. This new military was maintained by court
martial.
• The Triennial Act: Triennial act was passed in 1694. The act defined the clauses of Declaration of right regarding the frequency of the parliament more concisely. In which, it was clearly mentioned that the parliament should be elected for three years and also dissolved for the same time. Fresh election should be held and also the tenure of the house of common was made.
• The Act of Settlement: For the post revolutionary parliament it was a very important act. The Act of Settlement was passed in 1701 to secure the Protestant succession. According to the act, Stuarts were excluded and the succession of the throne went to Princess Sophia, who was the Electress of Hanover and her Protestant heirs. Unfortunately, Sophia died before Queen Anne, as a result the succession passed to her son, George. He became King George I in 1714. It also stated that neither any Roman Catholic nor anyone married to a Roman Catholic could hold the English Crown. In this way, it secured the liberty of the common people.
• The Licensing Act: By this act, the freedom of press was granted which led to the establishment of the democracy.
• The Toleration Act: This act was established in May, 1689. The act allowed the freedom of worship but excluded the Jews and Catholics. But there was Social and political disabilities and Nonconformists were still denied in political office.
Conclusion: In fine, it can be said that the so-called bloodless revolution did not take place for any particular reason. It was the result of the series of injustices that the people of England or the Protestant had to face at that time. The system of anarchy was prevailed in the country before this revolution. No one had any right to say anything in favor or against of the king. The king had supreme authority to rule so he could do whatever he feels like to do. He did not have any concern for the welfare of the state and its commoners. At that time Roman Catholicism was used either to gain power or to oppress the people.