Question: when was the two treatises of government written

title: Two Treatises of Government
text: King James II of England ( VII of Scotland ) was overthrown in 1688 by a union of Parliamentarians and the stadtholder of the Dutch Republic William III of Oranje - Nassau ( William of Orange ) , who as a result ascended the English throne as William III of England . This is known as the Glorious Revolution , also called the Revolution of 1688 . Locke claims in the `` Preface '' to the Two Treatises that its purpose is to justify William III 's ascension to the throne , though Peter Laslett suggests that the bulk of the writing was instead completed between 1679 -- 1680 ( and subsequently revised until Locke was driven into exile in 1683 ) . According to Laslett , Locke was writing his Two Treatises during the Exclusion Crisis , which attempted to prevent James II from ever taking the throne in the first place . Anthony Ashley - Cooper , 1st Earl of Shaftesbury , Locke 's mentor , patron and friend , introduced the bill , but it was ultimately unsuccessful . Richard Ashcraft , following in Laslett 's suggestion that the Two Treatises were written before the Revolution , objected that Shaftesbury 's party did not advocate revolution during the Exclusion Crisis . He suggests that they are instead better associated with the revolutionary conspiracies that swirled around what would come to be known as the Rye House Plot . Locke , Shaftesbury and many others were forced into exile ; some , such as Sidney , were even executed for treason . Locke knew his work was dangerous -- he never acknowledged his authorship within his lifetime . 

Answer: answer: King James II of England (VII of Scotland) was overthrown in 1688. Locke claims in the ``Preface'' to the Two Treatises that its purpose is to justify William III's ascension to the throne, though Peter Laslett suggests that the bulk of the writing was instead completed between 1679 - 1680. According to Laslett, Locke was writing his Two Treatises during the Exclusion Crisis, which attempted to prevent James II from ever taking the throne in the first place.
answer: Peter Laslett suggests that the bulk of the writing the Two Treatises was instead completed between 1679 -- 1680.