Glorious Revolution

Glorious Revolution, 1688

1. The Glorious Revolution 1688

2. The Glorious Revolution took place in 1688. It resulted in the deposition of James II and the accession of William III and Mary II to the English throne.

3. When Charles II died without any legitimate children in 1685, the Duke of York became King as James II in England and Ireland. Charles II James II

4. James II had made clear that he wanted Roman Catholicism reinstalled as the country’s religion. King James II would not let people vote or practice the religion of their choice. James II

5. James II wanted to reduce the power of Parliament. The people in the Parliament were Protestant. They wanted to stop the King. The Parliament

6. James had a son, and that meant another Catholic King would follow after him. Consequently, a group of powerful noblemen led by the Earl of Shaftesbury decided it was time to get rid of James II

7. The plan was to invite William of Orange and his wife Mary, who was James eldest daughter, over to England. They were Protestants, so the Parliament could make a deal with them. Mary II William III

8. James II fled to France, and the Parliament made William and Mary sign the Bill of Rights, which was an agreement between Parliament and the new King and Queen about how the country should be run.

9. Parliament were able to gain enormous power and William and Mary were able to become King and Queen. Parliament was sovereign and England prosperous. It was a victory of Whig principles and Tory pragmatism.

10. Those who would not swear allegiance to the new monarch were called Jacobites. They were most numerous among the Roman Catholics in the Scottish Highlands and in Ireland.