The Glorious Revolution (of 1688)

The Glorious Revolution


Background:    

   1642 - 1651  -  English Civil War(s)   

                           Charles I beheaded (1649), his son Charles (Charles II) is exiled in 1651. 

                           Thomas Hobbes publishes Leviathan  in 1651. 

   1649 - 1659  -  England ruled by Commonwealth of England,
                                          then The Protectorate under the Cromwells. 


   1660             -  Charles II restored to the throne.

   1662             -  Mary (later Queen Mary II) is born to Charles' brother, James, and Anne Hyde. 

   1668             -  James converts to Catholicism in 1688, Charles II orders Mary to be raised Anglican.

   1673             -  James marries the 15 year old Catholic princess Mary of Modena of Italy.

   1677             -  Mary is married to the Protestant William III of Orange (Dutch Republic Statholder).   

   1685             -  James II secedes Charles II as king. 

   1688            -   In June, James and Mary have a son, James, who will be raised Catholic.  He replaces Mary as heir presumptive.                       

                       -  English Protestant elites call on William of Orange to invade England.  
                          He invades in November, James' monarchy collapses. 

   1689            -  John Locke publishes Two Treatises on Government & A Letter Concerning Toleration

   1689            -  The English Bill of Rights is issued.


The Bill of Rights lays down limits on the powers of the monarch and sets out the rights of Parliament, including the requirement for regular parliaments, free elections, and freedom of speech in Parliament. It sets out certain rights of individuals including the prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment and reestablished the right of Protestants to have arms for their defence within the rule of law.  

These ideas reflected those of the political thinker John Locke and they quickly became popular in England.  It also sets out—or, in the view of its drafters, restates—certain constitutional requirements of the Crown to seek the consent of the people, as represented in Parliament.