Stuarts 1688-1701- Glorious Revolution Flashcards
Accession of William and Mary and divisions within parliament
After he had suspended parliament in November 1685, James ruled by decree, which was not disputed, but its widening scope caused concern, particularly when judges who disagreed with its application were dismissed. James alienated many by suspending Henry Compton, the Bishop of London for refusing to ban John Sharp from preaching after he gave an anti-Catholic sermon.
The birth of the Prince of Wales and the prospect of a Catholic successor ended the approach of waiting. An Invitation was produced, signed by seven representatives from the key constituencies, including land magnates, one Whig, one Tory, the Bishop of London, army and navy leaders.
Elections were held for a Convention Parliament, in which the Whigs had a slight majority in the Commons but the Lords was dominated by Tories, nonetheless, both were led by moderates. Archbishop Sancroft and other Stuart loyalists wanted to preserve the line of succession; although they recognised keeping James on the throne was no longer possible. They preferred Mary either be appointed his regent or sole monarch. William met with Danby and Halifax and announced his intention to return home if he was not appointed joint monarch, while Mary let it be known that she would only rule jointly with her husband. Faced with the ultimatum, Parliament declared that in deserting his people, James had abdicated and vacated the crown, which was offered jointly to May and William.
Bill of Rights and the Act of Settlement
P1-Decloration of right
P2-Coronation oath act
P3-Act Of Settlement
Declaration of Right set out where James had failed, which was incorporated into the December 1689 Bill of Rights. Declaration of Right made keeping a standing army without Parliamentary consent illegal.
The Coronation Oath Act of 1688 established obligations owed by the monarch to the people. At their coronation, William and Mary swore to govern the people of the kingdom according to the statutes in parliament. They were also to maintain the Protestant Reformed faith and preserve the settlement of the Church of England. The significance of the Bill of Rights, 1689. Most of its clauses referred to specific abuses of the royal prerogative under Charles II and James II, and a clause that called for the election of free and regular parliaments reflected resentment from MPs towards attempts by the crown to intimidate them and tamper with elections.
Act of Settlement 1701 stated that in order to bypass potential Catholic heirs to the throne the succession would begin in the House of Hanover after the reign of Queen Anne. Ever since the acts, Catholics and those married for Catholics have been banned from the throne- all future monarchs were required to be members of the church of England. The Settlement act also meant that judges could no longer be dismissed without consent of parliament, and there was a clause that prevented the monarch from leaving the country without the consent of parliament. No future monarch was allowed to enter England into a war in order to defend their home country without the consent of parliament. Clause on movement was repealed in 1716 when William was no longer monarch. The clause on the use of an army to defend ‘home country’ was a direct response to William.
Toleration Act and the Ending of Anglican Supremacy
P1-toleration act
P2-Test act 1678
In early 1689, William urged the removal of the sacramental test for public offices which would mean repealing the test act that stated all holders of public office had to take Anglican communion. As a compromise, William suggested that a toleration act be passed with a promise for Tory and Anglican demands for uniformity to be referred to convocation later in the year.
The act was passed by reluctant Tories who were fearful that William would want to impose Dutch Calvinism. Under the terms of the Act, dissenters were exempt from punishments if they took the Oath of Allegiance to the crown and accepted the 1678 Test Act meaning they could not enter public employment without swearing loyalty to the Anglican church. The act even made special dispensations for certain dissenting groups: as the Quakers refused to take oaths, they were allowed to declare rather than swear that they denied the Pope’s authority. The act made it easier for dissenters to worship freely, and by 1714 there were around 400,000 dissenters in England.
Toleration Act and the Ending of Anglican Supremacy 1 - problems
The toleration act served to humiliate the Anglican clergy and Tories in the Commons. The Whig majority in parliament had been keen for the act to be passed and insisted that the clergy take an oath of allegiance to William and Mary. However, many of them had already taken an oath of allegiance to James, so this troubled them, and over 400 parish priests refused and were deprived of their livings. This gave the Whigs the perfect opportunity to attack the Tories and high church clergy, accusing them of being more loyal to James than William- the clergy that were removed from office were replaced with more moderate men who were sympathetic to the Whig cause.
The statutes enforcing uniformity that had been passed under the Stuart monarchs were not repealed which meant that public officials were duty-bound to swear allegiance to the church. To gain public employment or join parliament there was no choice but to swear allegiance to the crown and take Anglican communion.
Toleration Act and the Ending of Anglican Supremacy 2-Problems
The act excluded Catholics, non-Trinitarians and Jews. Those who did not swear allegiance to the Anglican church could not attend university, work in the legal profession or practice medicine. Even the dissenting groups that were tolerated under the act were not fully equal to Anglicans, and still had to pay tithes to a church to which they did not belong.
William used his royal authority to influence judges and curb Church interference in the lives of Catholics and dissenting sects not covered by the act. The power of church courts, which had been crucial in upholding the authority of the confessional state earlier in the century were severely restricted by the Toleration Act.
Parliament and the Triennial Act 1694
P1-Triennial act
P2-Rage of party
A group of rebels known as the Whig Junto became influential between 1692 and 93. They favoured a strong executive and supported William’s war. There was an attempt to push through a triennial bill to ensure regular parliaments.
This was passed by both houses and William was forced to use his royal veto to deny the bill becoming law. The significance of the triennial act, 1694. The Whig Junto began to dominate government in 1694, and the triennial bill was debated again. This time, it was given the royal assent in January.
Under the terms of the act, a parliament could last no longer than 3 years, which meant that general elections would be held more regularly. This meant that it was difficult for William to secure a party in the commons, meaning that he was more reliant of support of MPs. The act was repealed in 1716 and replaced with the septennial act.
The period from 1690 to 1715 has been referred to by historians as the Rage of Party, characterised by the instability caused by frequent elections. With more regular elections came a renewed interest in politics from those outside the immediate political nation, and the electorate were better informed than they had ever been as the licensing act of 1695 was repealed, reducing the censorship of the press.
Parliament and the Triennial act 3
P1-Civil list act
P2-Lord privy seal
1697 Civil List Act: parliament decides to give a grant of 700,000 a year to William for life, to cover expenses of the royal household. The king had to recall parliament each year to review the grant, giving parliament more control over his expenditure.
The role of parliament, 1688-93. William used his prerogative powers immediately after becoming king to form a privy council of his own choosing. He chose Lord Halifax as Lord Privy Seal, as he had led the house of Lords in their discussions over the political settlement during the Convention Parliament, and he was also not loyal to either of the Whig or Tory parties.
The first session of the 1690 parliament saw a strengthening in the position of the Privy Council over parliament and an opposition attempt to establish a parliamentary commission to investigate government accounts was rejected. Use of the veto. Control over foreign policy.
William’s Wars and the Financial Revolution-9 year war
The Nine Years’ War and the restructuring of government finances. The Nine Years’ War (1688-97) was fought by Holland, England, Spain and the Holy Roman Empire against France.
William spent six years on campaign making his own strategic decisions concerned with restoring balance to European politics. This marked a complete transformation in British foreign policy, and William committed millions of pounds and thousands of troops to the war effort causing a strain with parliament as he was demanding sums larger than any that had ever been approved by a parliament before.
William’s Wars and the Financial Revolution
P1-Involvement in war reduction
P2-William raises army without parliament
P3- parliament loans
P4-Williams use of Tonnage act+ bank of England
After 1691, the opposition in parliament favoured a reduction in William’s involvement in the war, and only voted him funding for 10,000 troops. Merchants were also unhappy with the hostilities over trade routes in the North Sea, Africa and the Mediterranean as these became unsafe after 1693.
William succeeded in raising 68,000 men without the consent of parliament at cost of £2.8 million in the form of a loan from the Bank of England in 1695. The Bank of England was established by Whig politician Charles Montagu and was supported by the Whigs but opposed by the Tories.
From 1692 onwards, parliament had been increasingly interested in schemes for long-term borrowing, and a tontine loan to the crown had been levied in 1693- the interest received by the investors were taken from a number of excise duties for 99 years, although it yielded only £108,000.
The Tonnage Act of 1694 provided a loan of £1.2 million at an interest rate of eight percent. The investors in the bank were given the power to deal in Bills of Exchange. The Bills were given by the Bank as £100 bills, and in return the investors were promised their money back from excise duties. From William’s point of view, the bank was an essential way to attract large amounts of investors who would deposit small amounts to be lent to the government. Other loans were levied in the forms of lotteries. William also raised £2 million at a rate of eight percent, promising the investors a stake in the East India company.
William’s Wars and the Financial Revolution -
P1-end of 9 year war
P2- post war concequences
Both sides were bankrupt by 1697 and William was facing opposition in parliament who argued that the army should be reduced in size again, and the taxes being paid to fund the war should be reduced. Peace talks were resumed, and a settlement was eventually reached in September 1697.
The average annual expenditure in the Nine Years’ War was just over £5.4 million, but annual tax revenue was only £3.6 million. A third of this came from land taxes which were collected with such efficiency that it can be concluded that the landed elite who had to pay this were in full support of the war. It raised £1 million in 1692, the year it was introduced. Levels of taxation meant that royal income doubled from 1688, and a new system of public credit was published in order to pay the short-fall for the war. The crown took out long term loans from merchants and city traders, and repaid them with interest, leading to the creation of the National Debt. The National Debt stood at £16.7 million by 1698, and repayments took up approximately 30% of the crown’s annual revenue.
