The glorious revolution 1688-1701

Bill of Rights

Outlined specific constitutional and civil rights giving parliament more power over the monarchy. William and Mary had to swear an oath to rule by Parliament’s instruction. It included grievances with previous monarchs and stated they could not rule without parliament, elections were to be done regularly and parliament had power over the army. It also had 13 articles including confirmation of William and Mary as successors and that Catholics could not be monarch. Vague, made no provisions for ensuring regular elections, structure had not changed and monarch had power over war, foreign policy and peace.

Mutiny act

the Army could not be maintained during peacetimes without parliament’s consent. It was limited to a year so parliament would be called frequently

Act of Settlement

ensured protestant succession, parliamentary sanction over divine right of kings and excluded Catholics. Also stated the monarch must be in communion with CofE and could not leave the Uk or start a war without parliament’s consent. Reflected the expensive 9 years war and William’s Calvinism and ensured decisions would be made with a privy council. However, only really changed line of succession as there was not yet a constitutional monarchy, parliament was only an advisory body representing the richest 2%

Toleration act

Replacing the unpopular comprehension bill, this allowed dissenters to be exempt from penal laws if they took an oath of allegiance and a declaration against transubstantiation. However there was no exemption from the test act so they still Could not hold public office. Somewhat undermines CofE as uniformity not granted, dissenters and Catholic given a degree of religious freedom and the power of the church courts were weakened however, Anglicanism had a narrower definition, the comprehension which would have allowed non-conformists into the CofE was denied, and public office still required anglican communion.

Seige of Derry

Part of the Williamite wars, Jacobite forces surrounded the city loyal to William for 105 days resulting in the deaths of up to 8000 mainly for starvation. William successfully ordered the boom preventing supplies to be broken

Battle of Killicrankie

An organised Jacobite resistance resulting in the deaths of around 6000 highlanders

Battle of Aughrim

Part of Williamite war. fought by 40 000, over half of the Jacobite forces were captured and killed and William lost up to 3000 men. William victorious

Macdonalds of Glencoe

Postponed a required oath of allegiance so William ordered military punishment. Many escaped but the chief and 37 others were killed

Battle of the Boyne

Part of Williamite war. First time William and James met in battle. Saw over 2000 casualties, James fled and William was victorious

Glorious revolution

William lands in Torbay in November with c14 000 troops and weaponry (4 times the size of the Spanish Armada). they were generally welcomed with some confusion. Minor skirmishes in Wincanton and near reading resulting in some violence and few deaths. James’ army was not eager to fight and James was captured in Kent but allowed to flee to France.

Rage of Party

Political instability caused by the frequent elections. This resulted in a renewed interest in politics with an electorate better informed than ever. However very few constituencies remained uncontested

Whig Junto

Whig Robert Harley set up an accounts commission for the Williamite wars but these whig rebels became more influential and supported William’s war

Triennial act

This meant a parliament could not last longer than 3 years and elections were more frequent. This was significant as William became reliant on support from Mps rather than establishing a party in the house of commons. William attempts to veto it

Loyal association

After the assassination plot, the houses acknowledged William as the lawful king and reasserted their belief in him

Nine years war

fought between the league of Ausburg and France, William was heavily involved in the camoaigns, committing millions of pounds, thousands of troops, and spending 6 years in campaign. Paliament had not approved these decisions so only funded 10 000 troops but william funded a further 68 000 men through the new Bank of England. As peace talks underwent, there was increased opposition in parliament arguing that the army and taxes used to fund the war should be redueced. the annual expenditure of the war had been £5.4 million but tax revenue only £3.6 million, William achieving revenue through other taxes.

Treaty of Ryswick

Ended the nine years war and France had to accept William as King.

land tax

paid for 1/3 of war funding. yielded £1 million after its first year

National debt

a new system of public credit taking up 30% of the crown’s annual revenue

Civil List

This granted William £700 000 annually as well as parliamentary control over naval and military spending. this meant that the King had to meet with Parliament regularly in order to cover his expenses and Parliament could withhold this money, ensuring the King had to do what Parliament wished. For the first time they had the power to look over government expenditure and make decisions on it.

Bill of Resumption

after commissions found that William had made excessive land grants in Ireland to loyal courtiers, this was put forward that would cause any land granted to members of the privy council were deemed illegal and would be sold to appropriate individuals. William viewed this as a personal insult and infringement on his royal prerogative.

Tories

favoured tradition, the true monarch, and Anglican church however due to William’s fear of the whigs being too radical, he tried to gain favour with this group

Jacobite assassination plot

the discovery of this united the whigs and alongside the constant threat from France, William became even more dependent on the Whig party

Public accounts act

William agreed to parliamentary commissions which had the right to interrogate ministers and request information from the government. They were responsible to parliament and published reports exposing corruption and waster and sat each year for 7 years then again under Queen Anne. Officials often obstructed the process. William seemed happy to take on suggestions however it lost its initial impact as it became more used to remove unfavourable MPs than check finances

Tonnage act

provided long term loans, and as people invested into the bank, they were given bills of exchange that eventually were produced on a wider scale (bank notes)

Bank of England

established to attract large numbers of investors which began the long term borrowing that kept parliament afloat since. Eventually it took over military funding and opened a branch in Holland to attract more investors.

Recoinage act

the value of coins had declined significantly so all old coins were requested to be surrendered and new coins were struck at mints across the country. They maintained their value and restored confidence in the economy, however they lost their value within 2 years. displays a need for parliament’s involvement for national economic issues

1689

Bill of rights

1689

Mutiny act

1701

Act of Settlement

1689

toleration act

1689

Seige of Derry

1689

Battle of Killicrankie

1691

Battle of Aughrim

1691

Battle of the Boyne

1692

Macdonalds of Glencoe attacked

1688

Glorious revolution

1688

Start of nine years war

1690

Start of Rage of Party

1692

Whig Junto

1694

Triennial act

1695

inquiries to investigate government corruption

1696

Loyal Association passed

1697

Restrictions on the army

1698

commission to investigate crown finances

1699

Bill of Resumption

1690

parliament made up of 225 Whigs and 206 Tories

1696

Jacobite assassination plot

1698

Whig Junto dismantled

1698

army limited to 7000

1693

first triennial act denied by royal veto

1691

Parliament only funds 10 000 troops

1696

nine years war peace talks, both sides bankrupt

1697

Treaty of Ryswick

1688

Royal income doubled

1692

land tax

1698

creation of National debt

1690

Public accounts act

1691

the first commission was set up

1694

Tonnage act

1696

Recoinage act

1694

Bank of England

1690

900 meeting houses gained licenses allowing dissenters to freely worship

1691

Latitudinarian John Tillotson appointed archbishop of Canterbury

1695

Licensing act expired (dissenters gain more publishing freedoms)

1689-1715

only 19 constituencies without contests