The Glorious Revolution

How the actions of Charles II and/or James II encouraged Parliament to include these rights?

The use of the king’s prerogative to overrule Parliament’s laws was declared illegal

• Taxation without the consent of Parliament was prohibited

• The requirement of regular Parliaments was established

Taxation without the consent of Parliament was prohibited

• Charles I Ship Money

Requirement of regular parliaments was established

• CI’s personal rule 1629-40

• CII’s personal rule

• James II only called Parliament once in his reign

Traditional Viewpoint of GR

• GR result of foreign invasion and not instigated by native population of England

Whig view of GR

• Least violent revolution known to History

• Moderate political consensus of Whigs and Tories

• ‘Sensible Revolution’

Marxist View of GR

• Continuation of bourgeoisie revolution of 1649 and only propertied classes benefitted

Whig views of James II within the Convention Parliament

• Revolutionary ideas on t he nature of Kingship

• Contract existed between King and his people which both sides had to uphold

  • James broke that contract

• Exceeded his powers by attempting to establish Catholicism

  • Actions meant he lost the right to rule as King

• James had violated country’s fundamental laws

Tory Views of James II in the Convention Parliament

• Belief of hereditary succession and divine right of Kings

  • Swore allegiance to James - could not break that as long as the king lived

• Needed justification for James’ replacement

• Flight meant that he abdicated the throne

The Convention Parliament

• 1689

• James had broken the contract between the king and people

• He had violated the country’s fundamental laws

• His flight meant that he had abdicated the throne

  • Tories in the Lords objected, anti-Tory crowds demonstrated outside Parliament

    • 3rd February 1689 - William warned that he would go back to Holland unless he were made King

Significance of the Bill of Rights 1689

• 26th December 1688 - William arranged meeting to discuss future of monarchy

• Convention Parliament - hastily elected (first meeting 22nd January 1689)

• Bill of Rights cited as significant constitutional document

  • Clauses included reference to specific abusers of the royal prerogative under Charles I and Charles II

  • Backward looking?

  • Made certain the legal position of the army and force could not be raised/kept in times of peace without parliament’s consent

• Mutiny Acts passed from 1689 → King could not Court Martial at will - regularly had to get Parliament’s approval

• Parliament asserted control of military through BoR but other clauses cleared up grey areas of the Royal Prerogative - Act did not guarantee regular callings of Parliament

Significance of the Act of Settlement

• 1701

• Succession vested in the House of Hanover after Queen Anne’s reign

  • Next suitable heir (non-Catholic)

  • Sophia married Ernst Augustus before she could inherit the throne and succession went to her son, George I

• Under terms of act - Catholics and those married to Catholics were barred from succession and all future required to be members of Church of England

• Act also enabled a number of legislative proposals first put forward in 1688 to read the statute book

  • Judges could only be dismissed with Parliament’s consent (reaction to James’ removal of disloyal members of the judiciary)

  • No royal pardons declared irrelevant in cases of impeachment (Tories hoped to impeach some of William’s Whig advisors)

  • Clause concerning religion of the monarch - due to concern over William’s Calvinism and fear of Catholicism

  • Another preventing monarch from leaving Britain without consulting Parliament

• Fear of absolutism and desire o rein in the King are the clear objectives of the Act of Settlement

  • no future foreign monarch allowed to enter England into war to protect their home country

  • no foreign-born man allowed to join the privy council, sit in the House of Lords, House of Commons, have a military command or be granted lands/tithes

• Significance - prevented Catholicism and the country suddenly being abandoned by a monarch

To what extent did the Bill of Rights 1689 and the Act of Settlement confirm the end of divine rights and establish a constitutional monarchy?

• Maintained that the Bill of Rights preserved England’s ancient constitution from the absolution of JII therefore representing the restoration of previous political stability rather than on entirely new settlement

• Developed to present political settlement as a starting point of a new constitution - a revolution - where both Tories + Whigs compromised and constitutional monarchy was established

• This interpretation = Parliament as supreme authority in the political system after the settlement

• Post-revolution era seen as the beginning of a new period of English history

• Some marxists hi borrowed much from Whig theorists and went on to present the settlement as one that created a constitutional monarchy in the interest of existing ruling elites

• Some have attached the importance given to the revolution and instead present the events as only changing the line of succession

• Constitutional monarchy was not fully established but concept of divine right was destroyed

• Parliament still only an advisory body + monarch still pre=eminent within political system

  • Parliament represented only the richest 2%

Importance of the Toleration Act 1689

Fears of the Anglican Church

• Anglican churchmen concerned that worship within the church remained uniform and was not modified

William’s attitude to religious toleration and suggestions

• In early 1689, William urged the removal of the sacramental test for public office holders which would repealing the Test Act that expected all office holders to take Anglican Communion

• Compromise that a Toleration Act be passed with a promise for Tory and Anglican demands for uniformity be referred to Convocation

• William aware of need to maintain good relations with Anglicans and dissenters and he attempted to purse a middle path

Attitude of the Tories to religious toleration

• Toleration Act passed by Reluctant Tories

• Toleration Act was influenced by John Locke’s a letter concerning toleration (1689)

• William favoured religious toleration faced confrontation from Tories

• Tories feared William wanted to impose Dutch Calvinism

Terms of the Toleration Act

• Dissenters were exempted from punishment if they took an oath of allegiance to the crown and accepted the 1678 Test Act, meaning they were unable to enter public employment without swearing loyalty to the Anglican Church

• Dissenters not expected to attend Anglican Church, but their meetings closely monitored and the doors of their meeting places could not be locked

• Act also gave special dispensations for certain groups - the Quakers refused to take oaths, they were allowed to declare rather than swear they denied Pope’s authority

• Toleration Act made it easier for dissenters to worship - by 1714 approximately 400000 dissenters in England

Consequences of the Toleration Act for Anglican Clergy and Tories

Served to humiliate them

Consequences of the Toleration Act for the Whigs in the Commons

Insisted the clergy take an oath of allegiance to William and Mary

Consequences of the Toleration Act for some Parish Priests

Many troubled by this demand and were deprived of their livings

Who was excluded from the toleration Act’s provisions and why?

• Catholics, non-Trinitarians and Jews

  • As they still had to pay tithes to a Church to which they did not attend and did not belong

To what extent did the Toleration Act offer full toleration for non-Anglicans?

Catholics, despite legal limitations, appeared to enjoy universal toleration

The extent to which the supremacy of the Anglican Church, and of a confessional state, were both undermined

• The period 1689-1701 saw a broadening of the acceptance of Protestants within the Church of England. It could be argued that, in practical terms, acceptance came, slowly, not from legislation but more from the development of other ways of thinking, in particular, the increased focus on science and reason marked a shift away from the dominance of religious issues

• While after 1689 religious diversity replaced religious uniformity, religion was still central to life and also still central in shaping political attitudes

• By 1701, thanks in part to the Toleration Act, the number and the size of Protestant denominations had grown considerably. There was growing religious diversity, with Catholicism remaining strong in the northern counties, while dissenting congregations grew rapidly in East Anglia. For much of the 17th C the Church of England could claim to be the sole religious authority in England but by 1701 Anglican supremacy had come to an end

The Toleration Act did not mark a great change

• The reality of religious pluralism had been accepted by many in England already

• Opinion had been drifting towards such an Act for a while, with both Locke and the Levellers advocating toleration

• Equality was limited as dissenters were still barred from political office

• Parliament only passed it to avoid the Comprehension Act; they were still largely Anglican

• Catholics were still excluded

The Toleration Act did create great change

• Made the change official - no Act had been passed to this effect before

• Marked the end of the Anglican Church’s attempts to enforce uniformity

• Refusal of some high churchmen to take the oaths meant that they lost their positions, thus weakening the established church

• Legal basis for the enforcement of religious unifromity was lost and reporting non-attenders became more difficult

• Number of denominations tolerated was greater than ever before

Evidence of reduced influence of a national Anglican Church

• The Toleration Act and events of the period 1688-1701 served to undermine the established Anglican Church in a number of ways, and the role of religion in local government and the legal system was also reduced

• It was now accepted that the Church of England could not enforce complete uniformity and that some allowances has to be made for dissenters. The dissenters flourished and made up nearly eight percent of the population by 1714

• Catholics enjoyed a reasonable degree of freedom despite being excluded from the provisions of the Toleration Act. Contemporaries reported that many Catholics were able to participate in mass without any trouble

• William used his royal authority to influence judges and curb Church interference in the lives of Catholics and dissenting sects not covered by the Act

• The power of Church courts, which had been crucial in upholding the authority of the Confessional state earlier in the century, was severely restricted by the Toleration Act

Evidence the the influence of the national Anglican Church was maintained

• Crucially, the statutes enforcing uniformity (Test Act and Act of Uniformity) that had been passed under earlier Stuart monarchs were not repealed, which meant that public officials were duty-bound to swear allegiance from the Church

• To gain public employment or join parliament, there was no choice but to sweat allegiance to the Crown and take Anglican Communion

• There was no great theological debate between MPs and peers before the Toleration Act was passed. It can be seen as a reactionary attempt to maintain order and preserve the Anglican Church

• Further Toleration Acts were passed in Scotland and Ireland, and these did not give dissenters the opportunity to participate in national or local government

• There was a fear in the royal court that the alternative to Anglican supremacy was a dangerous slide into religious radicalism and social revolution

Why did William choose Lord Halifax as Lord Privy Seal?

Led the House of Lords in their discussions about the political settlement during Convention Parliament - was not loyal to either Tories or Whigs`

Who did William appoint as Lord President?

Earl of Danby

How many Whigs and Tories were represented in the Parliament of 1690?

• 225 Whigs

• 206 Tories

Why might the Whigs have been considered to be William’s natural allies and why were they not?

• They favoured progressive reform and originally called for a Protestant Succession

• William believed they were too radical and had suspicions that a number of them were, in fact, Republicans

Battle of the Boyne

• During first session of Parliament (1690) James II amassing a force in Ireland to attempt to regain power in England

• William left to fight James (Summer 1690), culminating in the Battle of the Boyne

Glorious Revolution represented a peaceful transition to power

• James held Parliament in Ireland, gained the support of Irish Catholic gentry for his cause

• Over 80000 soldiers fought on both sides during the ‘Williamite War’ of 1689-91

• Over 8000 people died when William’s forces defended the siege of Derry (1689)

• Half of James’ soldiers killed or captured at the Battle of Aughrim (July 1691)

Foreign Policy Challenges William faced during the 1690s

• Nine Years War (1688-97)

• Jacobite Rising in Scotland (1689-92)

What was the Whig Junto and what did they intend to achieve?

• Group of Whig rebels - influential in the Commons between 1692 and 1693

• Edward Russell, John Sommers, Thomas Wharton and Charles Montagu

• Whig Junto favoured strong executive and supported William’s war against France

• Whig Junto wanted to promote the Protestant cause in Europe

• Their influence waned as they received peerages adn moved to the HOL where their influence was limited

• An attempt was made to pass a triennial bill to ensure regular parliaments

• Bill was passed by both Houses of Parliament - William used his royal veto to deny the bill from becoming law

What were the terms of the triennial act?

• Triennial Bill debated again received royal assent (January 1694)

• Parliament could not last longer than three years = general elections held more regularly

• More seats contested in elections

What was the impact of the Triennial Act upon William?

• Whig and Tory rivalry stronger than ever

• Regular elections meant it was difficult for the Crown to establish a party in the HOCs

• William became more reliant on securing support from MPs

Growth of Parliamentary Power between 1688-1701

Monarch keeps power

• William uses prerogative powers to pick his own privy council (1688)

• Parliament fails to get a commission to investigate government accounts (1690)

• William vetoed attempts of a Triennial Bill (1692-93)

• Speaker of Commons accused of accepting bribe to help get a bill passed (1695)

• William’s army are limited to 7000 and the Dutch Guard is disbanded (1698)

Parliament gains powers

• Bill of Rights (1689)

• Whigs able to establish commission of accounts to try and control expenditure due to war in Ireland (1688-91)

• Nine Years War (1688-97)

• Triennial Act gains Royal Assent (1694)

• Commission established by Parliament found WIII land grants to loyal courtiers illegal and puts forward Bill of Resumption to propose redistributing them (1699)

Effects of the Nine Years War

• William was out of the country campaigning in Europe between Spring and Autumn each year, and left the government in the hands of his wife, Queen Mary

• The war influenced the composition of parliament. Royal powers of patronage increased considerably as the king increased the numbers of MPs who also served as military officers. Many saw this process as increasing the royal power over the Commons, allowing for the possible corruption of individual members, and even the creation of a ‘Court Party’ which would carry out the King’s bidding

• Before the Triennial Act 1694, William had to summon Parliament every year to gain taxes to fund the war, but he was not required to dissolve Parliament at any time. This meant that there was a threat that over parliament would become increasingly subservient to the royal will

Effects of the Declaration of Rights 1688

• Outlined the limitations of the King’s power

• Outlined the rights of Parliament in the reign of the new king

• It was not an official act

Implications of the Declaration of Rights 1688

• Desire by Parliament that William and Mary had been placed on throne based on terms put forward by the elected representatives of the people

• Although William would claim that he did not accept the throne with conditions

Effects of the Bill of Rights 1689

• Confirmed many of the aspects of the Declaration

• Did not technically guarantee Parliament’s existence

• King was still able to dissolve Parliament the following year

Implications of the Bill of Rights 1689

• Majority of aspects reassert rights as demanded by Long Parliament and maintained at Restoration

Effects of the Triennial Act 1694

• Guaranteed regular parliaments including regular elections every three years

• Removed the king’s right to dissolve Parliament at will

• Resulted in the ‘Rage of Party’ involving the rise of faction in Parliament

• Instability caused by frequent elections

Implications of the Triennial Act 1694

• Difficult for crown to establish a party in HoC

  • William’s reliance of his patronage

  • Forced to work with other people

• Press freedom allowed for political pamphleteering and journalism to influence 200000 men (of the political elite) who could vote

• Need for money was the reason for the regular meetings of Parliament

• More seats contested in regular elections

• Increases Parliamentary power - guarantee

• Royal patronage was still key and the HoC was a stepping stone into that

Effects of the Act of Settlement 1701

• Prevented the King from being a Catholic

• Prevented the king from having hidden advisors

• Prevented those in the king’s service from holding a seat in Parliament

• Royal pardons declared irrelevant due to fear of impeachment

• Foreign-born monarchs cannot go to war

• Judges could not be dismissed without the consent of Parliament

• No foreign-born man allowed to join privy council, sit within Parliament, have a military command or be granted land or tithes

Implications of Act of Settlement 1701

• Limits the religion of present and future monarchs

• Limits the King’s ability ot foster a ‘Court’ party - instead forced to work with MPs

Parliament DID become a partner in Government

• If the revolution did not represent the dawn of Parliamentary democracy, it certainly represented a move towards Parliament’s Government

• WIII needed Parliament’s subsidies to fight the French = Parliament gained increased control over Government finance

• Triennial Act = Monarch could not ignore Parliament - necessity forced to appoint men WIII loathed

• WIII forced to reduce size of army as a result of Parliamentary Decision

• Parliament encroach on areas previously part of royal prerogative - Monarch’s appointment of ministers and control of the army

• Under the Bill of Rights, Parliament had to give approval for a standing army in peacetime and taxation without Parliament’s consent was illegal

• After Mary’s death in 1694, when WIII is away, this role passed to small groups of the King’s Councillors as well as Parliament

Parliament DID NOT become a partner in government

• Still a desire among the political class to join the royal court, which strengthened WIII’s hand

• Much of the royal prerogative was left intact - sovereign power to declare war, to dissolve Parliament

• Through the Civil List Act of 1697, Parliament decided to grant £700000 per year to WIII for life, to cover expenses of royal household, as well as salaries for diplomats and judges

• King and Parliament worked in union - he had vast power and commanded and deep respect, but was more aware than any previous monarch of the need to gain approval of the elected representatives

Financial system before the Civil War

The Kings ‘ordinary’ revenue from Crown lands and feudal dues was sometimes supplemented with ‘extraordinary’ revenue (parliamentary subsidies). These were an occasional tax (just as Parliament was an occasional event). Parliament used records of previous subsidies to determine counties’ targets and county sheriffs adjusted demands in light of local circumstances

Financial system during the Civil War

Parliament established effective system. Excise taxes on beer and salt were unpopular but were taxes on purchases rather than wealth. Monthly assessments raised by county committees enquired into wealth of individuals and were less likely to excuse friends.

Financial system during Restoration

• System dismantled at restoration

• Parliament attempted to check power of the crown by capping estimate of what king needed to £1.2 million per annum

• Crown did not receive this income until the 1680s and the figure was less than what the crown needed

• Developments in the 1670s and 1680s led to more efficient administration and income.

• From 1670, the Crown had replaced system of farming out the customs with the collection of customs duties by paid royal officials

• During the 1680s this enabled the Crown to benefit directly from the expansion of trade, giving Charles II a healthy surplus provided remained at peace

The Course of the Nine Years War

• Nine Years war foguht between League of Augsburg, led by Holland, England, Spain, Holy Roman Empire v France

• William spent 6 years on campaign making key strategic decisions himself

• WIlliam keen to ensure France not able to dominate and balance restored to European politics

• Complete transformation in British Foreign Policy. William taking risk by committing millions and thousands of troops to war effort

• War caused strain between William and Parliament - huge sums he was demanding had never been approved by a Parliament before

• Louis appeared to have advantage - including authority by divine right in his country and a larger number of troops

• After 1691 opposition within Parliament favoured reduction in WIII’s participation and only voted him funding for 10000 troops

• Merchants unhappy with hostilities. Trade routes in North Sea, Mediterranean and African Coasts dangerous post 1693

Importance of William III’s wars in the development of a financial revolution

• William recruited 68000 mean; cost £2.8 million through borrowing from new Bank of England (1695)

• Criticism levied at William for the impact war was having on trade, his use of foreign commanders and his poor performances

• William took many key decisions himself e.g. placement of troops and negotiations with other states

• William entered peace talks with the French after 1696 but French failed to offer satisfactory settlement to William and French refused to recognise him as legitimate king of England

• Despite failed peace talks, both sides bankrupt by 1697

• William faced increasing opposition from Tories and non-Junto Whigs in Parliament

• Argued army should be resumed, both sides weary of war, French suffering economic crisis

• A settlement reached at the Treaty of Ryswick in September 1697, Peace officially declared between France and other three powers - Spain, England Dutch United Provinces

• French agreed to abandon claims to their land in Germany and Holland, France forced to accept that William was the legitimate king of England and promised to give no assistance to James II

• French also made gains from the English in North America

Taxes + revenue of Crown

• Estimates war cost just over £5.4m a year (1689-97) Tax revenue was £3.6 million

• Excise taxes

• Borrowing from New Bank of England

• Taxation rates very high on items such as tea, tobacco and alcohol

  • duties could not be avoided

  • Provided up to a quarter of the crown’s income

• Land tax set at 20%

• Provided around 1/3 of required funds

• Landed elites liable to this tax and the efficiency with which it was collected suggests that the war had approval of many of them

  • Introduced in 1692 and yielded £1 million in it first year

• National debt stood at £16.7 million - repayments were 30% of Crown’s annual revenue → also difficult to avoid

• By 1700 the land tax alone accounted for half of the income raised by taxation

• William also levied loans in the form of ‘lotteries’, in 1694 WIII raised £1 million with 100000 tickets sold and winnerd drawn at random

• In 1698 WIII raised £2 million at a rate of 8% by promising investors a stake in the ‘new’ East India Company

How was WIII able to make up the shortfall of his expenses and what did this lead to?

• Debt underwritten by Parliament and the loans employed by William were long-term

What was the 1698 Civil List Act?

• King now granted a ‘civil list’ of income estimated at £700000 per year - surplus only granted with the consent of Parliament

• Renewed annually

Why was the Civil List Act significant?

• All military and naval expenditure in times of peace and war was the responsibility of Parliament

• King and Parliament had to meet regularly in order to renew Civil List Act

Why was the Public Accounts Commission set up?

• There were concerns among backbenchers about the huge sums of money spent on led to multiple parliamentary commissions being set up to investigate government expenditure

  • William open to this scrutiny

What was the impact of the Public Accounts Commission?

• Expose corruption or waste at William’s court

• Scrutiny carried out with unprecedented attention to detail - government officials often obstructed the process

• Many intended reports were never completed and it became difficult to make definitive suggestions for financial improvement

• William was happy to adopt any suggestions

• John Trevor (speaker) expelled for financial malpractice

Establishment of the Bank of England

• 1694 introduction of an effective system of government borrowing through establishment of Bank of England

• 8% interest on a £1.2 million loan was repaid by specific duties allocated by Parliament and in return, the subscribers (those loaning the money) were incorporated into a bank

• Creditors set up banking services and arranged future government borrowing

• Debt was underwritten (payment of creditors guaranteed) by Parliament - no longer royal debt but instead the responsibility of the nation - the National debt, managed by future taxation

• The bank took over affairs related to military funding

• System remains the basis of government finance today

What was the significance of the change from royal control of finance to parliamentary oversight?

• King had no choice but to meet with Parliament regularly, thud increasing its authority

• Controlled military expenditure and could, effectively, hold the Crown to ransom

• Able to aduit Government expenditure

• Crown’s day to day spend controlled by the Civil List Act

• Monarch would never again be able to use their prerogative to avoid working with Parliament

Financial measures of the Financial Revolution

• 1690 Public Accounts Act exposed corruption and deficiencies in government expenditure - responsible to Parliament

• 1692 Land Tax levied 4s in £ on income from land, voted annually by Parliament, yield was £1 million in first year, provided 1/3 of all required funds

• 1693 Milion Loan Act which guaranteed repayments out of Parliamentary taxation

• 1649 B of E established - incorporated investors in Tonnage Loan of £1.2 million as B of E underwritten by Parliament, creation of a national debt

• 1698 Civil List introduced to provide for Monarch’s personal and household as a separate item, distinguishable from the costs of government, renewable regularly

Effects of financial reform of the Financial Revolution

• Regular meeting with parliament = increase in authority

• Parliament controlled military expenditure

• Parliament audit government expenditure

• Crown spending controlled through the Civil List - no longer able to use Prerogative Powers to avoid working with Parliament

• Beneficial to the economy - those previously reluctant to invest in government etc. now confident as Parliament underwriting Bank of England - Ended defaults of the Crown

• Crown had unprecedented income

Military ventures of the Financial Revolution

• Estimates war cost just over £5.4 million a year 1689-1697

• 1689 army = 10000 men rising to 76000 between 1689-97

• 1691 opposition within Parliament only voted WIII funding for 10000 troops

• WIII needed advisors who would manage Parliament and ensure political support, especially in HoC

• Encouraged development of a cabinet of ministers to carry out these tasks

• Death of Queen Mary in 1694 made the cabinet even more essential as the King was preoccupied with the war

Reasons the period could be considered revolutionary

• Revolution was not bloodless and thousands of people lost their lives in this time period

  • Ireland, Scotland, Nine Years War - not seen to form part of that Revolution

• Divine Right of Monarchy was no more - parliamentary sovereignty

• Financial settlement constrained Crown’s ability to control finances

• Judiciary now independent of the crown

Reasons the period was not revolutionary

• Revolution was little more than a change of dynasty

• Act of Settlement ensured smooth Protestant succession

• BoR ensured reversion of England to an ancient constitution

• Toleration Act excluded many and they had to practice their religion