The Glorious Revolution

• In June 1688, The immortal seven sent a letter to William of Orange to invade England.
• Why did the immortal seven invite William to invade?

  They did this due to the birth of James' son and the fact that James had introduced a Declaration of Indulgence 1687 which had suspended the requirements of the Test Act.
• What was the Test Act 1673?

  It was an act that forced all key holders of public office to deny key catholic doctrines which led to the resignation of James II.
• In November 1688, William arrived in England ready to invade. He saw this call as a sign from God as he had already been planning to invade.
• In December 1688, James fled to France which did not help matters as France is a Catholic nation.
• In January 1689, a convention parliament met and offered the crown to William and Mary as joint sovereigns.
• In April 1689, William and Mary were coronated.
• In May 1689, William passed a Toleration Act.
• What did the Toleration Act 1689 do?

  Toleration Act: Granted religious freedom to Protestant nonconformists in England. However Catholics were not included in this act.
• In July 1690, William defeated James II in Ireland at the Battle of Boyne
• In 1694, Mary dies and the Triennial act was passed.
• What was the Triennial act 1694?

  The act said that parliament had to be called regularly.
• What was the Civil List Act 1698?

  It was an act that gave William a yearly allowance of £700,000 that can only be approved by parliament.
• Why did parliament intentionally give William a small amount of money yearly?

  They did this so that William will have a reason to call them every year.
• What was the Mutiny Act 1689?

  It was an act that ensure that the king could not form a military force without parliamentary approval. It was renewed every year and allowed William to punish mutineers.
• Who benefitted from the Mutiny Act, William or parliament?

  Both.
• How did the Mutiny act benefit both the crown and parliament?

  Parliament benefited because it being renewed every year meant that they got to be called regularly. William benefitted because he could punish mutineers[rebels] as his aim was to defeat Louis XIV.
• In 1694, The Bank of England is created to fund Williams war with France which ended in 1697.
• What was the Bill of Rights 1689?

  It was the modified version of the 1688 Declaration of rights.
• What was included in the Bill of Rights 1689?

  It withdrew the monarchs right to:

  • suspend or implement laws without parliamentary approval
  • raise money without parliamentary approval
  • maintain a standing army without parliament
  • interfere with elections
• What was wrong with the Bill of Rights?

  It made no provision for ensuring that elections were regular or free?
• What was John Morrill's thoughts on the Bill of rights 1689?

  He suggested that the bill was not significant as it was a statute law that could be revoked by the future parliament and also did not create a procedure for arbitrary monarchs to be removed.
• What was the Toleration Act 1689?

  It was William's attempt to establish com promise between the Whigs and the Tories, dissenters and Anglicans.
• What was the content of the Toleration Act 1689?

  • Dissenters were exempted from punishments if they took the oath of allegiance to the king and accepted the 1678 Test Act
  • Dissenters were not required to attend Anglican churches but their meetings were closely monitored as their doors could not be locked.
  • They could not enter public office without swearing an oath to the Anglican church.
• What were the provisions of the Triennial Act 1694?

  It established that elections had to be held every 3 years and parliament had to meet at least once every 3 years.
• The Act of settlement was passed in 1701.
• What was the content of the Act of Settlement 1701?

  It excluded Catholics and those who married Catholics from succession and withdrew the monarch's right to:

  • dismiss judges without parliament's consent
  • Pardon anyone impeached by parliament
  • leave Britain without parliamentary consent
  • Involve England in war without parliamentary consent
• Many Whigs shared the same views as John Locke.
• What were the main views of John Locke?

  • He argued that religious uniformity would lead to social disorder.
  • He believed that the monarch did not have divine right to rule.
  • He believed that James had broken the social contract between the king and his subjects.
• What were the views of the Whigs on the glorious revolution?

  They believed that the glorious revolution was justified as they challenged the divine right of the monarch and wanted more cooperation between the crown and parliament.
• What were the views of the Tories on the glorious revolution?

  They were strict Anglicans and so justifying the GR was difficult for them, however they believed that God's law outweighs that of the king and by James tolerating Catholics who were seen as a threat to life, he had broken God's law and so the believed he should be removed.
• What impact did the Toleration act have on dissenters?

  1. They were still suspended from public office, university and legal and medical professions by the 1678 Test Act.
  2. They still had to pay tithes to the Church of England.
  3. There was 400,000 dissenters by 1714 which was 8% of the population.
• What impact did the Toleration Act have on Catholics?

  1. They still had to pay tithes and were subject to the Test Act.
  2. They felt protected by the League of Augsburg 1689.
  3. They enjoyed religious freedom although that came wuth some restrictions.
• What impact did the Toleration Act have on the Church of England?

  1. It ended Anglican supremacy and stopped England from being a confessional state as it unified protestants.
  2. It reduced the power of church courts.
  3. Resulted in 400 parish priest loosing their jobs for refusing to take the Oath of Allegiance out of loyalty to James and belief in divine rights. This shows that the influence of the church had reduced.
• The Public Account Act of 1690 led to the formation of the Public Account Committee 1691 which gave parliament the power to investigate govt. finances.