The Glorious Revolution was the deposition of King James II in November 1688. He was replaced by his daughter Mary II and her Dutch husband, James's nephew William III of Orange. The two ruled as joint monarchs of England, Scotland, and Ireland until Mary's death in 1694, when William became ruler in his own right. Jacobitism, the political movement that aimed to restore the exiled James or his descendants of the House of Stuart to the throne, persisted into the late 18th century. Some historians consider William's invasion the last successful invasion of England.
Despite being a Roman Catholic, James had become king in February 1685 with widespread backing from the Protestant majorities in England and Scotland, as well as largely Catholic Ireland, but his policies quickly eroded support. The prospect of a Catholic dynasty following the birth of his son James Francis Edward Stuart on 10 June 1688 led some of his domestic opponents to issue the Invitation to William, seeking Dutch support to remove him.
The Dutch States General and William of Orange were concerned that James might support France in the Nine Years' War. Exploiting unrest in England and claiming to be responding to the invitation, William landed with an army in Devon on 5 November 1688. As William advanced on London, James's army disintegrated and he went into exile in France on 23 December. In April 1689, a Convention made William and Mary joint monarchs of England and Ireland. A separate but similar Scottish settlement was made in June 1689. During the early years of his reign, William was occupied abroad with the Nine Years' War (1688–1697), leaving Mary to govern the three kingdoms alone.
Domestically, the Revolution confirmed the primacy of Parliament over the Crown in both England and Scotland. In terms of external policy, until his death in 1702, William combined the roles of Dutch stadtholder and English and Scottish monarch. Both states thus became allies in resisting French expansion, an alliance which persisted for much of the 18th century, despite differing objectives.
James had become king in 1685 with widespread backing in all three of his kingdoms, despite his conversion to Roman Catholicism while in exile during the English Civil War. June 1685 even saw James successfully crush Protestant uprisings in both Scotland and England. However, James failed to appreciate the extent to which his power relied on support from the landed gentry, whose alienation fatally damaged his regime. The vast majority of the gentry in England and Scotland were Protestant, while even in largely Catholic Ireland a disproportionate number were members of the Protestant Church of Ireland. His supporters accepted James's personal religious beliefs, so long as he maintained the primacy of the Protestant Church of England and Church of Scotland. When his policies appeared to undermine them, it destabilised all three kingdoms.
Stuart political ideology derived from James VI and I, whose political ideology was based on the principle of divine right, and Parliament's function was to obey. Disputes over the relationship between king and Parliament led to the War of the Three Kingdoms and continued after the 1660 Stuart Restoration. Charles II came to rely on the Royal Prerogative since measures passed in this way could be withdrawn when he decided, rather than Parliament. It could not though be used for major legislation or taxation.
Concern that Charles II intended to create an absolute monarchy led to the 1679 to 1681 Exclusion Crisis, dividing the English political class into those who wanted to 'exclude' James from the throne, mostly Whigs, and their opponents, mostly Tories. However, in 1685 many Whigs feared the consequences of bypassing the 'natural heir', while Tories were often strongly anti-Catholic, and their support assumed the continued primacy of the Church of England. Most importantly, it was seen as a short-term issue; James was 52, his marriage to Mary of Modena remained childless after 11 years, and the heirs were his Protestant daughters, Mary and Anne.
There was much greater sympathy in Scotland for a 'Stuart heir', and the 1681 Succession Act confirmed the duty of all to support him, 'regardless of religion.' Over 95 percent of Scots belonged to the national church or kirk, while even other Protestant sects were banned, and by 1680, Catholics were a tiny minority confined to parts of the aristocracy and the remote Highlands. Episcopalians had regained control of the kirk in 1660, leading to a series of Presbyterian uprisings, but memories of the bitter religious conflicts of the Civil War period meant the majority preferred stability.
In England and Scotland, most of those who had backed James in 1685 wanted to retain existing political and religious arrangements, but this was not the case in Ireland. While he was guaranteed support from the Catholic majority, James was also popular among Irish Protestants, since the Church of Ireland depended on Royal support for its survival, while Ulster was dominated by Presbyterians who supported his tolerance policies. However, religion was only one factor; of equal concern for Catholics were laws barring them from serving in the military or holding public office, and land reform. In 1600, 90% of Irish land had been owned by Catholics, but following a series of confiscations during the 17th century this had dropped to 22% in 1685. Catholic and Protestant merchants in Dublin and elsewhere objected to commercial restrictions placing them at a disadvantage to their English competitors.
The political background in England
While James's supporters viewed hereditary succession as more important than his personal Catholicism, they opposed his policies of 'Tolerance' under which Catholics would be allowed to hold public office and engage in public life. Opposition was led by devout Anglicans who argued that the measures he proposed were incompatible with the oath he had sworn as king to uphold the supremacy of the Church of England. According to opponents, in demanding that Parliament approve his measures James was not only breaking his own word but requiring others to do the same. Parliament refused to comply, despite being "the most Loyal Parliament a Stuart ever had".
Although historians generally accept James wished to promote Catholicism, not establish an absolute monarchy, his stubborn and inflexible reaction to opposition had the same result. When the English and Scottish Parliaments refused to repeal the 1678 and 1681 Test Acts, he suspended them in November 1685 and ruled by decree. Attempts to form a 'King's party' of Catholics, English Dissenters and dissident Scottish Presbyterians was politically short-sighted, since it rewarded those who had joined the 1685 rebellions and undermined his supporters.
Demanding tolerance for Catholics was also badly timed. In October 1685 Louis XIV issued the Edict of Fontainebleau revoking the 1598 Edict of Nantes which had given French Protestants the right to practise their religion; over the next four years, an estimated 200,000 to 400,000 went into exile, 40,000 of whom settled in London. Combined with Louis's expansionist policies and the killing of 2,000 Vaudois Protestants in 1686, it led to fears that Protestant Europe was threatened by a Catholic counter-reformation. These concerns were reinforced by events in Ireland; the Lord Deputy, the Earl of Tyrconnell, wanted to create a Catholic establishment able to survive James's death, which meant replacing Protestant officials at a pace that was inherently destabilising.
Timeline of events: 1686 to 1688
The majority of those who had had backed James in 1685 did so because they wanted stability and the rule of law, qualities frequently undermined by his actions. After suspending Parliament in November 1685, he sought to rule by decree. Although the principle was not disputed, the widening of its scope caused considerable concern, particularly when judges who disagreed with its application were dismissed. He then alienated many by perceived attacks on the established church; Henry Compton, Bishop of London, was suspended for refusing to ban John Sharp from preaching after he gave an anti-Catholic sermon.