The Glorious Revolution in England of 1688

The Glorious Revolution in England of 1688 James II succession to the throne of England came without protest of any kind. James II was the son of Charles I and younger brother to Charles II. In January of 1649, Charles I, King of England, went on trial and was convicted as a "'Tyrant, Traitor, Murderer, and public enemy to the good people of this nation.'" (Cannon, pg. 385) On 7 February 1649, Charles II was proclaimed King of Great Britain. While Charles II was in office, he began to develop a form of government that existed without the parliament. In 1685, when Charles' II brother, James II, took over, James continued with the trend in government that his brother set into action. From the Restoration of Charles II in 1660 to the Glorious Revolution in 1688, there were only six parliaments elected and they met for a total of twenty-two sessions. This was far too little time to resolve political issues or to consider new legislation. Upon James II accession to the throne, he was widely resented by the people of Great Britain because he was a Roman Catholic King to an overwhelmingly Protestant nation. Despite the resentment James II received from his people, he felt that it was his duty as king to spread Catholicism. In his first attempts to shut out any opposition to his expansion of Catholicism, James II attacked the law, the church, the army, the universities, and the commission of the peace. As a preliminary to establishing his right to appoint Catholic army officers, James II dismissed six judges in early 1686. Later on in 1686, James II set up the Ecclesiastical Commission, which was appointed to keep the church from discussing anything against the Catholic religion. James II had authority figures in the major universities and institutions replaced with a Catholic. This also happened in the army and government. Non-Catholic justices were dismissed and Catholic ones replaced them. Within one year of his accession, the vast majority of the

Cited: Morgan, Kenneth O., and Paul Langford. The Oxford Illustrated History of Britain. New York: Oxford University Press, 1984. Cannon, John, and Ralph Griffiths, Ed. The Oxford Illustrated History of the British Monarchy. New York: Oxford University Press, 1988. Strong, Roy. The Story of Britain. New York: Fromm International Publishing Corporation, 1997. Speck, William Arthur. A Concise History of Britain, 1707-1975. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1993. Israel, Jonathon I. The Anglo-Dutch Moment: Essays on the Glorious Revolution and its world impact. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1991. Theckeray, Frank W., John E. Findling, and Steven E. Siry, ed. Events That Changed Great Britain, from 1066-1714. Westport: Greenwood Press, 2004. Ashley, Maurice. The Glorious Revolution of 1688. New York: Scribner, 1966. Holmes, Geoffrey S. Britain after the Glorious Revolution. New York: St. Martin 's Press, 1969. Hoppit, Jullian. A Land of Liberty? : England 1689-1727. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000. Kissinger, Henry. Diplomacy. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1994.