Changes

The cause of the overthrow was a combination of two battles taking place in England at the time; one was a battle between Protestantism and Catholicism, the other between the growing power of [[Parliament]] and the "Divine Right" of the King. James was unpopular and seen as a threat due to his Catholicism and his closeness to King [[Louis XIV]] of France. However attempts to exclude him from becoming King had been unsuccessful.  [[William III]] and [[Mary II]] were effective rulers, Protestantism became firmly established, Parliament gained the upper hand in the government, and a [[English Bill of Rights|Bill of Rights]] was issued to protect the rule of law from arbitrary royal power.

The cause of the overthrow was a combination of two battles taking place in England at the time; one was a battle between Protestantism and Catholicism, the other between the growing power of [[Parliament]] and the "Divine Right" of the King. James was unpopular and seen as a threat due to his Catholicism and his closeness to King [[Louis XIV]] of France. However attempts to exclude him from becoming King had been unsuccessful.  [[William III]] and [[Mary II]] were effective rulers, Protestantism became firmly established, Parliament gained the upper hand in the government, and a [[English Bill of Rights|Bill of Rights]] was issued to protect the rule of law from arbitrary royal power.

==Events of 1688==

==Crisis of 1688==

 

At the death of King [[Charles II]] in 1685, his younger brother [[James II]] became king of England, Scotland and Ireland, alarming many leaders by his pro-Catholic policies. William let it be known he was available if invited by a very broad spectrum of English political leadership. Unrest escalated with the birth of a son to James by his wife, Mary of Modena, a Catholic, on June 10, 1688. Within a few days, an invitation, signed by seven prominent personages, was taken over to William with an assurance of military support if he effected a landing in England. William issued a "Declaration of Reasons", which immediately won widespread acceptance by the English elite as a statement of his policy.<ref> However Claydon (1996) argues that James's supporters did try to refute it. Once king, the "Declaration" was used to limit William's ambitions. Tony Claydon "William III's Declaration of Reasons and the Glorious Revolution." ''Historical Journal'' 1996 39(1): 87-108. Issn: 0018-246x Fulltext: [http://www.jstor.org/stable/2639941 in Jstor]</ref>  With 50 men-of-war and 14,000 men William landed on November. 5, 1688, and marched on London. There was no opposition as James' army melted away and the political leadership welcomed William. James in late December fled the country, thereby abdicating the throne. James received protection in France from King [[Louis XIV]] and began plotting schemes for the invasion of England with French and "Jacobite" military help. ("Jacobites" were the English and Scottish supporters of James and his sons.)

At the death of King [[Charles II]] in 1685, his younger brother [[James II]] became king of England, Scotland and Ireland, alarming many leaders by his pro-Catholic policies. William let it be known he was available if invited by a very broad spectrum of English political leadership. Unrest escalated with the birth of a son to James by his wife, Mary of Modena, a Catholic, on June 10, 1688. Within a few days, an invitation, signed by seven prominent personages, was taken over to William with an assurance of military support if he effected a landing in England. William issued a "Declaration of Reasons", which immediately won widespread acceptance by the English elite as a statement of his policy.<ref> However Claydon (1996) argues that James's supporters did try to refute it. Once king, the "Declaration" was used to limit William's ambitions. Tony Claydon "William III's Declaration of Reasons and the Glorious Revolution." ''Historical Journal'' 1996 39(1): 87-108. Issn: 0018-246x Fulltext: [http://www.jstor.org/stable/2639941 in Jstor]</ref>  With 50 men-of-war and 14,000 men William landed on November. 5, 1688, and marched on London. There was no opposition as James' army melted away and the political leadership welcomed William. James in late December fled the country, thereby abdicating the throne. James received protection in France from King [[Louis XIV]] and began plotting schemes for the invasion of England with French and "Jacobite" military help. ("Jacobites" were the English and Scottish supporters of James and his sons.)

==Further reading==

==Further reading==

* Barone, Michael. '' Our First Revolution: the Remarkable British Upheaval That Inspired America's Founding Fathers'', Crown Publishers, New York (2007) popular

* Barone, Michael. '' Our First Revolution: the Remarkable British Upheaval That Inspired America's Founding Fathers'', Crown Publishers, New York (2007) popular

* Miller, John.  ''The Glorious Revolution,'' (2nd ed. 1997) [http://www.amazon.com/Glorious-Revolution-2nd-John-Miller/dp/0582292220/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1257103761&sr=1-2 excerpt and text search], solid scholarly overview

* Miller, John.  ''The Glorious Revolution,'' (2nd ed. 1997) [http://www.amazon.com/Glorious-Revolution-2nd-John-Miller/dp/0582292220/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1257103761&sr=1-2 excerpt and text search], solid scholarly overview

* Pincus, Steve. ''1688: The First Modern Revolution'' (2009) [http://www.amazon.com/1688-Modern-Revolution-Walpole-Eighteenth-C/dp/0300115474/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1257104647&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search], major reinterpretation

* Pincus, Steve. ''1688: The First Modern Revolution'' (2009) [http://www.amazon.com/1688-Modern-Revolution-Walpole-Eighteenth-C/dp/0300115474/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1257104647&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search], major reinterpretation