1688 155 years after Henry IIX's split from the Pope, the Glorious Revolution of 1688-1689 in Britain replaces the reigning Catholic king, James II, with his protestant daughter Mary and her Dutch husband, William of Orange. (Ninety-eight percent of Britain is Protestant.) Parliament creates the Declaration of Rights. Kings become subject to the man-made laws of Parliament rather than exercising godly sanctions.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/civil_war_revolution/glorious_revolution_01.shtml
The Glorious Revolution of 1688-1689 in Britain replaces the reigning Catholic king, James II, with his protestant daughter Mary and her Dutch husband, William of Orange.
According to the Whig account, the events of the revolution are bloodless and the revolution settlement establishs the supremacy of parliament over the crown, setting Britain on the path towards constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy. [A broader view is that it] constitutes a foreign invasion of England by another European power, the Dutch Republic. Although bloodshed in England is limited, the revolution is only secured in Ireland and Scotland by force and with much loss of life. Protestants fear England would become merely a satellite state, under the control of an all-powerful Catholic monarch.
The British causes of the revolution are as much religious as political. Indeed, the immediate constitutional impact of the revolution settlement is minimal. Nonetheless, over the course of the reign of William III (1689-1702) society undergoes significant and long-lasting changes.
To understand why James II’s most powerful subjects eventually rose up in revolt against him we need to understand the deep-seated fear of 'popery' in Stuart England. 'Popery' means more than just a fear or hatred of Catholics and the Catholic church.
Popery reflects a widely-held belief in an elaborate conspiracy theory, that Catholics are actively plotting the overthrow of church and state. In their place would be established a Catholic tyranny, with England becoming merely a satellite state, under the control of an all-powerful Catholic monarch, Louis XIV of France, the Sun King. He is an absolute monarch but he stabilizes France and makes France one of the strongest powers in Europe. He brings about his ideal of culture so he can boast it to the world. The country changes drastically from savage mediaeval ways to a more refined, exquisite living for the elite. Evidence is his palace in Versailles. Within just 54 years he does what several kings worked on for centuries. French culture becomes one of the most appealing in the world.
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In 1686 James was appointing Catholics to office, and those Protestants who objected he dismissed from office. Seven Anglican bishops were tried for libel for refusing James' order to read from their pulpit his declaration removing restrictions on Catholics. Oxford University was converted from an Anglican to a Catholic institution. People again saw danger in Catholicism – although only two percent of the English were Catholic.
Anti-Catholicism increased in England as a result of the Catholic King Louis XIV of France deciding that his realm should be united religiously. In effect, Louis was revocating his grandfather's Edict of Nantes, which had guaranteed the Protestant Huguenots freedom of worship. Economically it was a bad move for France. Tens of thousands of Protestants moved from there to Holland, England and Prussia, taking their skills and business acumen with them.
James II, meanwhile, had only two daughters, both Protestant, as possible heirs: Mary and Anne. The expectation was that James would be succeeded by a Protestant heir, but when a son was born to James' wife this hope among Protestants was dashed. If nothing were done, the crown would become permanently Catholic. Parliament looked for help from Princess Mary, who was in the United Netherlands.
Mary was married to William III, a member of a royal family originating from Orange (just north of Avignon in France). He had become royalty in the Netherlands. He was a Protestant like Mary, and he had been recognized by the Dutch bourgeois oligarchy as head of state (stadtholder) for life. William had been looking forward to Mary inheriting the throne in England and to a greater unity between England and the United Netherlands. Now with a son having been born to Catholic James, William accepted Parliament's invitation to him and to Mary to rule in place of James. On November 5, 1688, William landed in England at the head of a large army. It was an invasion supported by a good strategy and circumstances: Protestants rose in support of William and Parliament. In Yorkshire, the Duke of Marlborough, John Churchill and most of England's army switched their loyalty to William. James lacked sufficient forces with which to resist. With just 2% of British being Catholic, he feared for his and his family's safety, and with his wife and son he went into exile in France, where Catholic Louis XIV provided them with a pension. These events were called the Glorious Revolution because they were relatively bloodless in contrast to the civil wars in the mid-1600s.
In February 1689, Parliament created the Declaration of Rights. In December this was amended and became the Bill of Rights, a bill that embodied terms of Parliament's offer to William and Mary to rule as joint sovereigns. It was a list of grievances against James II, laws agreed to by William and Mary. In accordance with these new laws,
Parliament was to meet frequently.
The crown retained the right to veto bills and to pardon whomever he or she chose.
Freedom of speech was guaranteed.
The crown was not allowed to interfere in the selection of members of Parliament.
The crown was to keep no standing army without the consent of Parliament.
People had the right to petition government.
People were to be free from cruel and unusual punishments, and they were guaranteed freedom from excessive bail.
In the euphoria of a bloodless revolution (though not in Ireland and Scotland) and unity against Catholicism, Parliament also passed the Toleration Act: people were not to be compelled to become members of the Church of England.
These laws guaranteeing freedom of worship in Britain were uncommon in Europe. Dissenters, however, were still required to pay tithes to the Church of England, and Catholics and Dissenters remained barred from public office and the universities.
The royal family were not allowed to marry Catholics. And another act declared that no Catholic could become king or queen. In England the religion of the ruled, 98% Protestant, now determined the religion of the ruler, a reversal of the old tradition that the religion of the ruler determined the religion of his subjects.
In England it was now recognized that the king was subordinate to Parliament. England now had a truly constitutional monarchy. Rather than a monarchy ruling by divine right, rule was seen as a social contract. God was removed from the political equation. Kingship was seen as empowered by man-made laws rather than godly sanctions.