230 Ch. 6 • England and the Dutch Republic
- William marched cautiously to London, encouraged by defections
from James’s cause. Uprisings on William’s behalf in several northern towns
further isolated the king. James was in a state of virtual physical and psycho
logical collapse. At the end of November, he promised to summon Parlia
ment and allow William’s supporters to sit. But riots broke out against his
rule and against Catholics. In December, James left England for exile in
France. Parliament, victorious again, declared the throne vacant by abdica
tion and invited William and Mary to occupy a double throne.
The Bill of RightsThis “Glorious Revolution” of 1688, less dramatic than the English Civil
War, was arguably of more lasting importance in the constitutional evolu
tion of England. Parliament passed a Bill of Rights in 1689 that ratified the
Revolution of 1688, ending decades of constitutional battles. Accepted
by William and Mary, it became a milestone in English history. It was
passed at a time when the rights and influence of representative bodies lay
in shambles throughout much of the continent as absolute monarchs con
solidated their power (see Chapter 7). The Bill of Rights reaffirmed the
rights of Parliament and guaranteed the rights of property owners to self
government and of the accused to the rule of law. In particular, it reasserted
Parliament’s financial authority over government by enumerating what a
monarch should not do and by reducing royal control over the army. The
Toleration Act (1689) stipulated that Protestant Dissenters could hold pub
lic services in licensed meeting houses and could maintain preachers. Angli
canism, however, remained the Established Church of England, and only
Anglicans could hold office. Catholics could not occupy the throne and, like
Dissenters, they were excluded from government positions.
The Glorious Revolution pleased the English philosopher John Locke
(1632-1704), friend of some of the wealthy landowners who sent James II
into exile. Locke was specific about the ways in which the power of mon
archs ought to be limited. “The end of government,” he wrote, should be “the
good of mankind.” Locke argued that the rights of individuals and, above all,
the ownership of property found protection when Parliament’s rights limited
monarchical prerogatives. Knowing of the bloody chaos of the Thirty Years’
War (1618-1648) on the continent, Locke also advocated religious tolera
tion and espoused the right of subjects to rise up against tyranny, as the En
glish supporters of Parliament had against Charles I.
The Glorious Revolution reaffirmed the political domination of the gentry,
whose interests Parliament represented above all. English monarchs named
nobles to hereditary seats in the House of Lords, but wealthy landowners
elected members to the House of Commons. The gentry’s economic and
social position was more secure than during the inflationary years of the first
half of the century. Order and social hierarchy reigned, and the fear of popu