Glorious Revolution
By Ellie James
What is the Glorious Revolution?
The Glorious Revolution is a time in England when the English throne was taken from King James II by William the Orange and his wife Mary (1688).
Oliver Cromwell
In 1649 when King Charles I was beheaded for treason, Oliver Cromwell was sent to the throne to be the next ruler of England. During his time as ruler, he served no good purpose and was considered a mistake by the Parliament. He adopted a military dictatorship and did not follow through with his promise for democracy.
Charles II
After the rule of Oliver Cromwell, Charles II was reinstated to the throne after the denial of the throne in his earlier years. He was given a standing army by Parliament and was able to forget the execution of his father Charles I. Charles II believed he possessed the divine right to rule, but he did not make it his priority like his father. In 1670 Charles signed a treaty with France which stated he "would" convert to Catholicism. A year later, false accusations about Charles appeared due to anti-catholic hysteria in Parliament after investigations from the King assassination. Tired of the conflicts, he got away from Parliament. On his death bed he finally converted to Catholicism.
James II
James II, the second surviving son of Charles I, became King of England following the death his brother Charles II. James had two surviving children, Mary and Anne, out of the seven his first wife had birthed. After the death of his first wife, James married an Italian Catholic princess who was 15 years of age. Due to the passing of the Test Act, all catholic people apart of the political office were excluded. James, who believed in the Divine Right as King, made the Declaration of Indulgence happen to suspend the Test Act and promote his catholic supporters in Parliament. Soon after this William of Orange then scared James II to flee from the office and was then over taken.
William and Mary
Once William was invited by the Parliament to take the throne from James II, he became very successful at the invasion and was then announced the new King of England along with his wife Mary, who was the daughter of James II. Parliament passed a Bill of Rights which stated that no catholic shall succeed at the throne making Mary's sister Anne the next queen. Mary died in 1674 of smallpox leaving William all alone to rule. Shortly after that William died of Pneumonia and a broken collar bone from a fall off his horse.
World Wide Impact
The Glorious Revolution had a very big impact on the American Colonies. Once the colonies heard of the rise of King William III and Queen Mary II, it caused them to have series of revolts on the government officials appointed by James II. This targets more towards the Massachusetts Bay. They started what was called the Boston Revolt in 1989. They imprisoned the governor of the Dominion, which is considered the New England version of the Glorious Revolution.