Glorious Revolution, 1688-1701

broadly, what were the causes of the glorious revolution?

• influence of catholics

• trial of the seven bishops

• the birth of james’ son

what was the trial of the seven bishops and when was it?

june 1688

seven bishops sent to be tried in a court by james II because they refused to read out the 1672 declaration of indulgence in their churches

they were released

what does the term 'glorious revolution’ refer to?

series of events in 1688-89 which culminated the exile of james II and the accession to the throne of joint monarchy, william of orange and james’ daughter mary

what political branch is the glorious rev a keystone of?

whigs (those who opposed catholic accession)

who was the first person to use the term ‘glorious revolution’ and why did they use it?

john hampden → to celebrate that the events of 1688-89 were ‘peaceful and bloodless’ and ‘restored peoples rights against absolute monarchy’

what was james II fleeing the country widely viewed as?

his abdicating himself from the throne

how did a joint monarchy appease the conflict between whigs and tories?

whigs wanted william

tories wanted mary (they believed in hereditary succession)

when was the toleration act and what did it say?

1689 → gave all nonconformists freedom of worship, except catholics

what was the intention of the 1689 toleration act?

rewarding protestant dissenters for not siding with james II → had to promise to be loyal to the british monarch/heirs

what main difference did the new coronation oath detail?

outlines parliament has central governing power in the country

what was the transformative change in the joint succession of the throne?

line of succession now dependant on religion

what 4 broad things led to the creation of constitutional monarchy in 1688?

• parliament (political consensus)

• role of william

• religion

• actions of james himself

how did religion in 1688 lead to the creation of constitutional monarchy?

• motivated by james issuing declaration of indulgence, 1672 (anti-catholic sentiment)

• people felt they needed to be more loyal to God

how did the role of william in 1688 lead to the creation of constitutional monarchy?

• invasion provided the necessary ‘solution’ to wanting to removing james

• provided a protestant solution

how did parliament (political consensus) in 1688 lead to the creation of constitutional monarchy?

• whigs and tories both agreed james had broken oath

• james being absolutist led to people wanting to overthrow him

• joint monarchy

how did the actions of james himself in 1688 lead to the creation of constitutional monarchy?

• his fleeing was seen as abdicating

• if he hadn’t fled, he would’ve been able to get the lords support

• supported by works of john locke

what 2 laws was the new constitutional monarchy of 1688 restricted by?

• the bill of rights, 1689

• the act of settlement, 1701

give 5 limits on the monarchy that the 1689 bill of rights posed.

• must have a frequently summoned parliament

• no armies to be raised during peacetime

• no taxes without authority of parliament

• no excessive fines should be imposed

• laws should not be removed or suspended without consent of parliament

what is one big problem with the 1689 bill of rights? how does that affect the govts. power?

there is nothing in place to enforce it = more power to the government

what can the king still do despite the 1689 bill of rights?

• declare war and peace

• dismiss and call parliament when he wants

• right to choose his own advisors/ministers

• right to veto legislation

• power to appoint bishops

• prerogative of mercy

what did the 1701 act of settlement state?

• ensured that the heirs to the english throne would be protestant - no catholic heirs allowed

• if william or his sister died childless, throne would pass to james’ granddaughter sophia

what year did william’s wife, mary, die?

1694

when is the triennial act reinstated?

1694

what are the 3 main schools of thought in historians?

• marxists

• whigs

• revisionists

what is the typical opinion of marxist historians concerning the glorious revolution?

• downplay revolution - large amount of classes not politically involved

• say that the events of the 1640s were more revolutionary

what is the typical opinion of whig historians concerning the glorious revolution?

• revolution doesnt make any transformative/new changes

• it only reforms/rehashes ancient laws and liberties - no fundamental change

• nickname it a ‘sensible revolution’

what is the typical opinion of revisionist historians concerning the glorious revolution?

• say that there is a dramatic shift (argue against whig interpretations)

• large, long-lasting constitutional change

why did william III’s wars cause issues between him and parliament?

• william demanding huge sums of money =

  • wars took his attention away from other issues

  • worried about bankruptcy (after stop the exchequer)

• after 1691, william faced opposition in parliament regarding his power

why did william’s wars require a restructuring of government finances?

• ensure debts/loans are paid back

• regulate sheer amount of money coming in

• annual wartime expenditure over £5.4 million = needed taxation

by the end of william’s wars, what was the governments debt?

£17 million

after william’s wars, what 5 taxes were introduced to help pay off government debt?

• increased taxes on goods

• poll tax

• land tax, 1690

• marriage duty act, 1695

• window tax, 1696

what year was land tax introduced and how much did it raise?

imposed in 1690 → raised £1.6 million annually + helped fund 1/3 of the war

what year was the marriage duty act introduced and what did it entail?

1695 → placed taxes on marriages, burials and christenings

nobles expected to pay £50 for a marriage

was the marriage duty act (1695) successful?

no → it was unenforceable and ended in 1696 having raised only £50,000

when was the window tax introduced and what did it entail?

1696 → tax levied on the number of windows in the house

how was the window tax (1696) unsuccessful?

• people put bricks up on their windows to avoid paying tax

• it was introduced too late to have a significant effect on war funding

what sorts of taxes on goods were increased or introduced to aid war funding?

tax on stamped paper, tobacco pipes, salt, and coal

what two acts were introduced as means of government borrowing to help pay for the war?

• million loan act, 1693

• tonnage act, 1694

when was the million loan act (for govt borrowing) and what did it aim to do?

1693 → intended to raise loan of 1 million

repayment guaranteed from income from excise duties (duty paid on goods like tobacco)

when was the tonnage act (for govt borrowing) and what did it aim to do?

1694 → investors intended to raise a loan of £1.2 million to pay for the war at an interest rate of 8%

why was there increased public scrutiny of income and expenditure?

• concerns about huge amounts of money spent on war

• people started bribing themselves into higher positions

• potential corruption

how was there increased public scrutiny of income and expenditure?

public accounts act, 1691 → sets up commisions where expenditure can be monitored = less corruption

how is the public accounts act (1691) limited in its effectiveness?

good in theory but people can just not show their accounts and the process stops

(this often paints someone as guilty however)

why is the bank of england a significant development?

• took over affairs related to military funding

• formalised way investors can lend money to the crown

  • increased trust = more crown funds

• introduction of long-term investment

  • large sum of money paid back w/ interest

• introduction of lottery tickets

  • often used by women due to disproportionate pay

when was the recoinage act and how was it effective?

1696 → restored confidence in financial system

when was the civil list act and what did it do?

1698

provided william with £700,000 per year for civil expenses and royal spending

if the king wanted any more money, he had to gain parliamentary permission = more parliamentary control over finances

how did william react to the civil list act (1698)?

said he felt like “he was being treated like a dog”

when was the battle of the boyne?

july 1690

what are the 4 main causes of the triennial act?

• ireland 1689-91

• war with the french, 1688-97

• jacobite rising, 1689-92

• the whig junto

what was the league of augsberg?

coalition of catholic and protestant european powers during the nine years’ war → against catholic france

who were the whig junto?

a group of whig rebels that became very influential

what did the whig junto do that contributed to the triennial act being passed?

• supported williams war against french but favoured a strong executive

• tried to pass ‘triennial bill’, which both parliamentary houses supported but william vetoed

when was the triennial act passed?

december 1694

what were the big impacts of the 1694 triennial act?

• pressure from whig junto to limit williams power further

• in-fighting between different factions

• opposition able to secure bill to restrict williams army to 7000

• conflict between whigs and tories increased

what was the rage of party?

a period of instability in parliament when the distinctions between whigs and tories widened

what was the association of 1696?

when whig and tory MPs created an oath of loyalty to be sworn to william after there was a jacobite uprising (people who wanted james)

when were the mutiny acts and what did they do?

1689

ensured parliamentary oversight and control of the military

king couldn’t court martial without parliamentary permission = limitation of kings prerogative powers

by october 1691, what was the estimated cost of war?

more than £4 million

how much was raised in taxes 1689-1702?

more than £58 million