The Glorious Revolution was an English civil war to overthrow King James II. The entire ordeal was hardly a war, however. The Protestant forces moving to overthrow James saw little resistance from the Catholic monarch, hence the name “Glorious Revolution.”
When James II ascended the throne, Protestant forces were highly skeptical. As a Catholic, they feared he would reinstitute pro-papal policies and move to suppress Protestantism. However, they saw little persecution under his rule. Though it was a suboptimal situation for the Protestants, it was tolerable. Their chief hope resided in his heir, Mary. As his only child through wedlock, she would be the presumptive queen upon James’ death. Most importantly, she was a Protestant. Thus, the Protestants viewed the reign under James as a temporary inconvenience that would quickly be alleviated. However, this all rested on the presupposition that he would not bear another heir besides Mary. This presupposition was false, and he had a son.
Upon the news of an heir who would be tutored in a Catholic school, the Protestant forces moved towards revolt. They called on Prince William of Orange, Mary’s husband, to move against James and overthrow the monarchy. Two hundred ships sailed under William’s command, the largest fleet to ever attack England up to that point. James immediately fled London, and William took power without any resistance. Parliament gave William and his wife Mary joint rule over England as regents.
The Glorious Revolution was significant in England because Parliament passed the English Bill of Rights as a result of the civil war. The English Bill of Rights went to push England towards a system of Parliamentary supremacy, since it guaranteed Parliament would meet regularly and members of Parliament were protected with the right of free speech.
Asher Sisneros 