Glorious Revolution Justified
Glorious Revolution The Glorious Revolution is justified because King James II was infringing on human rights and individual liberties, such as life, liberty, and property. Before the Glorious Revolution, the people of England felt restless and held down by unacceptable restrictions in society and religion by James II. In 1685 James II, son of Charles I and brother of Charles II, ascended to the throne. During this time, there was great tension between the Catholics and Protestants, and James II happened to be Catholic. The citizens of England began to feel restricted when James II issued his father’s Declaration of Indulgence, which allowed Catholics and non-Anglicans freedom. This enraged the people and Parliament because, “This act suspended the Test Act, which excluded Catholics from any political power, and
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would also promote his Catholic supporters in Parliament.”(Parker). On the surface, it seems like James was doing the morally right thing by advocating for religious tolerance, but subliminally he was establishing a Catholic parliament. He then required the Declaration of Indulgence to be read in all churches, ironically restricting the Anglicans after he vouched for religious equality, sparking more tension to the already heated religious conflict. Although the Glorious Revolution does not follow Brinton’s “Anatomy of a Revolution” step by step, there are many parallels. Brinton stated as one of his causes of revolution that, “The leaders of the government and the ruling class begin to doubt themselves.”. Instead of doubt, King James arrogantly claims divine right to the throne, and in May of 1686 he created a law that gave him power over the Parliament. The judges who disagreed with this law were dismissed from the Parliament, therefore the law was ruled in favor for. In June 1688, James Francis Edward was born, James II and Mary of Modena’s son. The birth of a Catholic heir to the throne ended the last glimpse of hope for the Protestants, the Catholic dynasty had just begun. The birth of James Francis Edward was significant because King James II had two protestant daughters, so after his death the throne would be back in the hands of the Protestants, giving them patience to simply wait until James II’s death. After the birth of James II’s Catholic heir, the Protestants realized they had to now take matters into their own hands if they did not want to continue to be stripped of human rights.
After the dismay of James II’s oppression, a small group of nobles privately invited William of Orange, a Stadtholder of the Netherlands and husband to James II’s daughter Mary, to invade England and remove James II from the throne.”Seven prominent Englishmen sent invitation to William, Prince of Orange, and his wife Mary to come to England to defend ‘Protestantism and Liberty’ “(McCandless).
James II did not respond to the needs of the society and did not protect their human rights, which the nobles point out James II’s violation of liberty. William and Mary arrive in England on November 5, 1688, protected by a Dutch army.
“William of Orange landed at Torbay on 5 November 1688 in 463 ships unopposed by the Royal Navy, and with an army of 14,000 troops which gathering local support grew to over 20,000 and advanced on London in what became known as ‘The Glorious Revolution’ “(Parker). This demonstrates when revolutionaries gain power and seem united in Brinton’s “Anatomy of a Revolution” because the Glorious Revolution was bloodless in England, which is significant because nobody wanted to challenge William and his army, showing their support to
him.
When William stepped on British soil, he established his dominance over James II. “As William and his army advanced slowly towards London, many of James' supporters changed sides. Even senior generals in James' army, like John Churchill, went over to William. At this point James sent his wife and son to France for safety.James soon decided to flee himself. His boat was stopped by some fishermen in Kent and he was taken back to London”(Bennett). This demonstrates James II’s submissive attitude once he was challenged, proving that James was self absorbed by putting his needs before England.
Although not in England, the Jacobite rebellions caused a period of terror in Ireland and Scotland. The Jacobites were followers of King James II, and supporters of the Catholic church. The Jacobites first rebellion was in Scotland in 1689, after the Convention of Estates in Scotland found in favor of William and Mary to become legitimate monarchs. Unfortunately for James, the period of terror did not last long, as the Williamites (supporters of William) easily defeated them and caused the Jacobites to surrender, causing James to flee to France. The revolution ended on April 11 1689 when William and Mary were crowned together at Westminster Abbey as joint monarchs
would also promote his Catholic supporters in Parliament.”(Parker). On the surface, it seems like James was doing the morally right thing by advocating for religious tolerance, but subliminally he was establishing a Catholic parliament. He then required the Declaration of Indulgence to be read in all churches, ironically restricting the Anglicans after he vouched for religious equality, sparking more tension to the already heated religious conflict. Although the Glorious Revolution does not follow Brinton’s “Anatomy of a Revolution” step by step, there are many parallels. Brinton stated as one of his causes of revolution that, “The leaders of the government and the ruling class begin to doubt themselves.”. Instead of doubt, King James arrogantly claims divine right to the throne, and in May of 1686 he created a law that gave him power over the Parliament. The judges who disagreed with this law were dismissed from the Parliament, therefore the law was ruled in favor for. In June 1688, James Francis Edward was born, James II and Mary of Modena’s son. The birth of a Catholic heir to the throne ended the last glimpse of hope for the Protestants, the Catholic dynasty had just begun. The birth of James Francis Edward was significant because King James II had two protestant daughters, so after his death the throne would be back in the hands of the Protestants, giving them patience to simply wait until James II’s death. After the birth of James II’s Catholic heir, the Protestants realized they had to now take matters into their own hands if they did not want to continue to be stripped of human rights.
After the dismay of James II’s oppression, a small group of nobles privately invited William of Orange, a Stadtholder of the Netherlands and husband to James II’s daughter Mary, to invade England and remove James II from the throne.”Seven prominent Englishmen sent invitation to William, Prince of Orange, and his wife Mary to come to England to defend ‘Protestantism and Liberty’ “(McCandless).
James II did not respond to the needs of the society and did not protect their human rights, which the nobles point out James II’s violation of liberty. William and Mary arrive in England on November 5, 1688, protected by a Dutch army.
“William of Orange landed at Torbay on 5 November 1688 in 463 ships unopposed by the Royal Navy, and with an army of 14,000 troops which gathering local support grew to over 20,000 and advanced on London in what became known as ‘The Glorious Revolution’ “(Parker). This demonstrates when revolutionaries gain power and seem united in Brinton’s “Anatomy of a Revolution” because the Glorious Revolution was bloodless in England, which is significant because nobody wanted to challenge William and his army, showing their support to
him.
When William stepped on British soil, he established his dominance over James II. “As William and his army advanced slowly towards London, many of James' supporters changed sides. Even senior generals in James' army, like John Churchill, went over to William. At this point James sent his wife and son to France for safety.James soon decided to flee himself. His boat was stopped by some fishermen in Kent and he was taken back to London”(Bennett). This demonstrates James II’s submissive attitude once he was challenged, proving that James was self absorbed by putting his needs before England.
Although not in England, the Jacobite rebellions caused a period of terror in Ireland and Scotland. The Jacobites were followers of King James II, and supporters of the Catholic church. The Jacobites first rebellion was in Scotland in 1689, after the Convention of Estates in Scotland found in favor of William and Mary to become legitimate monarchs. Unfortunately for James, the period of terror did not last long, as the Williamites (supporters of William) easily defeated them and caused the Jacobites to surrender, causing James to flee to France. The revolution ended on April 11 1689 when William and Mary were crowned together at Westminster Abbey as joint monarchs