The Restoration Period
Complete free lesson · 8 sections
Related guide: Read the first-time preparation guide.
When Charles II died, the throne passed to his brother James, who became King James II of England, Wales, and Ireland, and King James VII of Scotland. His Roman Catholic faith unsettled many, who worried he would work to extend Catholic influence within the state. His two daughters were both Protestant, and it had long been assumed that succession would pass through one of them. When James’s wife gave birth to a son, those hopes were dashed and anxiety about a Catholic heir intensified sharply.
The Glorious Revolution
In 1688, a group of senior Protestants extended an invitation to William of Orange, urging him to seize the English crown and unseat the Catholic James II. William of Orange, who served as Protestant Stadtholder of the Netherlands, was the husband of James II’s own daughter Mary. Faced with this challenge, James II abandoned the country and escaped to France, leaving the throne open for William and Mary to claim jointly. The episode became known as the “Glorious Revolution” on account of the fact that no blood was shed and that it resulted in a decisive shift of power towards Parliament.
James II mounted a comeback attempt, landing in Ireland with an army backed by France, but William defeated him decisively and he again took flight to France. The Catholic community in Ireland bore the consequences of his failure: the Roman Catholic Church there found itself subjected to severe restrictions, and Irish Catholics were excluded from holding any government office.
North of the border, James’s Scottish loyalists – known as Jacobites – were suppressed and compelled to swear an oath of loyalty to William. The MacDonalds of Glencoe failed to swear the oath by the required deadline and were subsequently killed. This brutal act made it plain that deep mistrust of the new regime persisted in parts of Scotland.
- Stadtholder: A historical term for a political leader or steward often in the Netherlands.
- Jacobites: Supporters of King James II and his descendants in their claim to the British throne.