The Glorious Revolution and the Bill of Rights

Chelariu Miruna Cucu Andreea Gabriela Nicuta

Historical Context

Within 30 years of Charles II's restoration to

the throne in 1660, England was once again on the verge of civil war. In 1688 the country was invaded by a foreign army and its King fled, as the Crown was offered by Parliament to his own nephew and son-in-law. Yet these events are usually called the Glorious Revolution. What is 'glorious' about them and why are they often considered a turning point in the development of parliamentary democracy and civil liberties?

Catholics and Protestants a

Restoration England was afflicted by religious

conflict. A series of Acts of the early 1660s restored the Church of England and enforced harsh penalties against those who refused to be members. Those Nonconformists, along with many of those who did conform, were concerned that the Church was dangerously close to Catholicism in both its government and ceremonies. Charles II's proclamation in 1672, suspending by his royal prerogative the penal statutes against Nonconformists (known as the Declaration of Indulgence), was seen by many Members of Parliament as evidence of both the King's sympathy for Catholicism and his preference for absolutist rule. Their opposition was so fierce that Charles II was forced to cancel it in 1673 and instead to agree to Parliament's Test Act. This required all those wishing

The reign of James II c

James II's Parliament of May 1685 was initially

obedient and generous. But when it resisted his wishes to exempt Catholics from the restrictions of the Test Act, James adjourned it in November. He then continuously prorogued it for more than a year and a half until he dissolved it in July 1687. The crisis for many came with the birth of James II's son in June 1688. This changed the succession to the throne, which up to that point would have passed to his two adult Protestant daughters - Mary, married to the Protestant ruler of the Netherlands, (William of Orange, also James's nephew), and Anne.

Invasion and Desertion g

In response to an invitation of seven peers

(the so-called Immortal Seven) to invade England in order to preserve Protestantism, to investigate the true parentage of James II's child, and to call a 'free' Parliament, the Dutch ruler William of Orange landed at Torbay with an invasion force on 5 November 1688 and proceeded to march on London.

a
James made his first attempt to escape, but was

captured by Kent fishermen near Sheerness.But the Orangist conspiracy against James had been maturing for years and had infiltrated James own army, with the kings nephew, Lord Cornbury, one of the first to defect to William. At this point, James health also deserted him. He was frequently debilitated by heavy nosebleeds. Having reached Salisbury on 19 November with the intention of resisting Williams advance, James had by the 23 November resolved to retreat back to London.

c
The desertions continued, with the defection of

John Churchill, later Duke of Marlborough, and James son-in-law, the Prince of Denmark on 24 November. The final betrayal came on the kings return to his capital on the 26 November when he discovered that his daughter, Princess Anne had also absconded to join the Orangist side. James now announced that he was willing to agree to Williams main demand - to call a free parliament. However, the king was now convinced that his own life was in danger and was making preparations to flee the country.

The fact that William, upon arrival with his army in

the English capital, did not claim the throne by conquest, but summoned a Convention of Lords and MPs (not called a Parliament, as it was not summoned by the King) to devise a political settlement has made him the great hero of Whig historians such as Macaulay. These events were, in Macaulay's view, the Glorious Revolution because they saw great constitutional change and parliamentary supremacy definitively asserted with little bloodshed in England - forgetting that the Revolution became very bloody in Ireland and

a
The Whigs and Tories in the Convention

argued for days over whether James II had abdicated and had thereby made the throne vacant or whether he had temporarily deserted the throne, by which a regency in his name should be established. William of Orange cut the debate short by threatening to abandon the country if he was not made King. On 6 February 1689 Parliament resolved that James II had abdicated by his departure and that the Crown should be offered jointly to William and his wife Mary, the actual successor of James II.

A Declaration of Rights
This was a statement of the rights and, particularly, the

liberties of Parliament (such as frequent Parliaments and freedom of speech) which it was claimed the last Stuart monarchs had infringed. Contrary to common belief, Parliament did not present the Declaration to William and Mary as a condition which they had to accept to be made King and Queen. The rights affirmed in the Declaration did, however, take statutory effect in December 1689 when the Convention, with William and Mary's royal assent, passed the Declaration as an Act of Parliament, now known as the Bill of Rights. Though it is not a revolutionary statement of universal liberties, being mostly concerned with the specific misdeeds of James II, the Bill of Rights stands as one of the landmark documents in the development of civil liberties in England - and a model for later, more general, statements of rights, such as the Bill of Rights in the US