thee Glorious Revolution essays

thee Glorious Revolution essays The Glorious Revolution, otherwise known as the Bloodless Revolution, marks the events of 1688 in England. In 1660, when Charles II was restored to the throne, many Englishmen felt uneasy about the Stuarts and suspected them of Papal tendencies and absolutists leanings. Charles II increased this distrust by not adhering to Parliament, by his toleration of Catholic dissent, and by favoring alliances with Catholic powers in Europe. The Whigs, a parliamentary group, tried within their power to ensure a Protestant successor by excluding James, Duke of York, from the throne but were unsuccessful. James II came to the throne in 1685 and like his brother Charles II, determined to rule without the consent of Parliament and to reintroduce Roman Catholicism as the state religion. James overt Catholicism followed by the birth of a son, caused the Tories, who until now felt a strong loyalty to the king, to unite with the Whigs in common opposition to James. The leader of the parliament then ove rthrew James troops, invited William of Orange and his wife Mary to rule as a joint sovereign, while allowing James to flee the country. The Bill of Rights, passed during Williamss reign established the revolution. It was a comprehensive piece of literature whose purpose was to make it the kings obligation to govern with the assistance of Parliament. It prohibited the king to levy taxes or maintain a standing army in peacetime without the consent of parliament. The provisions of the Bill of Rights were in effect conditions upon which the crown was offered to William and Mary. These events were a milestone in the gradual process by which practical power shifted from monarch to Parliament. The Old Regime was the French political and social system before 1789. Under the Old Regime the king was the absolute monarch. Louis XVI, the Bourbon ...