Glorious Revolution

The Glorious Revolution (, or ), or Revolution of 1688, was the deposition and replacement of James II and VII as ruler of England, Scotland and Ireland by his daughter Mary II and his Dutch nephew and Mary's husband, William III of Orange, which took place between November 1688 and May 1689. The outcome of events in all three kingdoms and Europe, the Revolution was quick and relatively bloodless, though establishing the new regime took much longer and led to significant casualties. The term was first used by John Hampden in late 1689.
Despite his Catholicism, James became king in February 1685 with widespread support because many feared excluding him would lead to a repetition of the 1638—1651 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. His religion was seen as a short-term issue because his Protestant daughter Mary was heir presumptive, he was 52 and his second marriage remained childless after 11 years. The birth of his son, James Francis Edward, on 10 June 1688 changed this by the male-preference, automatic change of that heir presumptive, thus raising the prospect of a Catholic dynasty.
James suspended the Scottish and English Parliaments when they refused to repeal the anti-Catholic Test Acts, and efforts to rule without them caused the instability his supporters wanted to avoid. His primary support base in England were Tory members of the Church of England, who remained loyal until actions such as the prosecution of seven Anglican bishops seemed to go beyond tolerance and into an assault on the church. News that their prosecution had gone to full trial (albeit they were acquitted) on 30 June 1688 led to widespread anti-Catholic riots throughout England and Scotland and destroyed James's political authority.
As stadtholder of Holland, William was de facto ruler of the Dutch Republic; the coalition he built after 1678 to defend it against French expansion was threatened by an Anglo-French alliance. With political support from allies in England, Scotland and Europe, a fleet of 463 ships landed William and 14,000 men in Torbay on 5 November. As he advanced on London, desertions reduced the 30,000 strong Royal Army to 4,000; James ordered these remnants disbanded and went into exile in December. A Convention Parliament met in April 1689, making William and Mary joint monarchs of England; a separate but similar Scottish settlement was made in June.
The Revolution was followed by pro-Stuart revolts in Scotland and Ireland, while Jacobitism persisted into the late 18th century. However, it ended a century of political dispute by confirming the primacy of Parliament over the Crown, a principle established in the Bill of Rights 1689. Restrictions on Catholics contained in the 1678 and 1681 English and Scottish Test Acts remained in force until 1828; religious prohibitions on the monarch's choice of spouse were not removed until 2015, while restrictions on the monarch personally remain in place today.
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Category:British monarchy
Category:Wars involving England
Category:William III of England
Category:Mary II of England
Category:Civil wars in England
Category:James II of England