5.3 how significant was the triennial act of 1694 in promoting parliamentary power? Flashcards
8 themes as to how significant was the triennial act of 1694 in promoting parliamentary power?
williams ministers whig majority williamite wars whig junto triennial act 1694 licensing act 1695 court and country factions bill of resumption
problem between william and mary
william = foreign and unpopular, ungraciuos manner, disliked england, just accepted crown to form an aliiance between england and dutch, but carries out his duties, poor health, jacobites very active mary = rules as queen regnant (had power but didnt exercise it), did not share williams unpopularity, died of smallpox 1694 = grief to king and nation
1690 ish who had majority in parliament
whigs
what did william do about his privy council
made it a mix of whigs and tories
why did william make his privy council mixed
so as to be regarded as the king of the nation and not in favour of either party
lord halifax
appointed as lord privy seal - closest adviser to the king
negotiated 1689 settlement
was politically neutral
problem with traditional tory, whig ideology regarding william
whigs brought william over but were traditionally not pro-monarchy
tories traditionally pro-monarchy but due to divine right of kings surely james / james’ son was still king and if not should be Mary in charge, not william
who were the jacobites
james supporters / catholics
problem in ireland
despite settlement putting william on throne, jacobite plots never far away
- several plots to assassinate william
most serious plot = 1689 from deposed james 2 who had landed in ireland with french support
james established parliament there in 1689, majority of catholics and nobles supported his cause
Williamite wars = 80,000 soldiers fighting on both sides
william achieved a relatively swift victory
how william won in ireland
1689 - william sent troops under Schomberg to ireland camped at the boyne river
william followed up with reinforcements the following yer
1690 = battle of the boyne
james defeated and fed to france
reconquest of ireland by churchill and ginkel, lots of fighting
1691 = capture of limerick and the struggle ends
what do some historians use the williamite wars to show
the glorious revolution was not bloodless
+8,000 died in the siege of derry 1689
battle of aughrim 1691 = half of james’ forces killed or captured
also describe williamite wars as extension of nine years war william wars fighting on the continent (louis would never have given james troops if had not already been at war with
what followed the uprisings in ireland
uprisings in scotland
ended by massacre of james 2 supporters at glencoe
consequences of williamite wars
cost
robert harley and whigs established commission of accounts to control expenditure
the war also gave way to Whig Junto
many other political figures feared william was using foreign policy to consolidate his power and restirct parliament
tory critics tried to pass an act to ensure regular parliaments were called but william vetoed it
what were the Whig Junto
group of whigs
favoured strong executive and supported williams wars
also favoured william using his position to promote protestant cause abroad against catholics
triennial act when and what and why
1694
parliament could not last longer than 3 years
established principles of regular elections
more seats were contested (so more than one person standing for the same seat)
regular elections meant it was difficult for a group too cosey with the crown to form
william had to adapt to new MPs at every election
1690-1715 became known as…..
why?
rage of party
instability caused by such frequent elections
what happened in the rage of party period?
instability
interest in politics
lapsing of the licensing act 1695 = increased press freedoms, allowed pamphleteering and journalism to influence 200,000 voters
act repealed 1716 = septennial act
role of parliament 1694-1701
triennial act gave commons new found confidence to assert itself
1695 - number of inquires set up to investigate corruption in government
speaker accused of accepting a bribe of 1,000 guineas
parliament was dissolved preventing any further inquiries
subsequent election further consolidated whig power and dominance
feb 1696 = plot by stuart sympathisers to assassinate king discovered and whigs united even more and william became even more dependent on the whig junto
whigs became the party of william (oddly..)
1696-1700 characterised by struggle between whig junto in privy council and those in commons
junto usually had enough support to govern as they pleased
court vs country developed
country managed to reduce army to 7,000
1698 william had little room to manoeuvre with parliament dictating policy
1698 - 1700 junto dismantled
1699 commission investigating confiscated lands in ireland issued william was bribing using tax money
Bill of resumption passed as a result
1701 - tories made gains and william forced to appoint tory minsters
1702 - back to strong whig majority
bill of resumption
stated that grants of land in ireland given to members of the privy council were illegal
had to be sold
arrears to be given to army
william infuriated but eventually gave it royal assent
had parliament become a partner in government by 1702
arguments for
triennial act
needed parliament to go to war
reduction of prerogative powers (chosing ministers now a political calculation rather than a personal choice)
military size up to parliament - mutiny act and army act
crown could not interfere with parliamentary elections
crown dependent on parliament
independent judges
had parliament become a partner in government by 1702
arguments against
no swift development of paliamentary democracy - merely sought to reign in the crown
elasticity - royal prerogative molded and reshaped
desire to be in privy council so still some patronage = loyalty to king
no PM or party government YET 20-30 years away
