What Was The Glorious Revolution?

James II, brother of Charles II, became king in 1685. Unlike his brother, James was an open and devout Catholic, and made it clear that he wanted to bring Catholicism back to England. In 1867, when he issued a Declaration of Indulgence suspending all anti-Catholic laws, seven bishops refused to read the Declaration aloud in the churches, were tried for sedition and acquitted. The birth of a son and possible heir was the last straw. A group of Parliamentary statesmen sent an invitation to James' daughter Mary and her husband, William of Orange (James's nephew) to come from Holland and take over the throne.
William's forces marched on London in November 1688. They met little resistance – James himself, and especially his religion, were deeply unpopular – and William and Mary ruled jointly Their first act was to exclude Catholics from inheriting the throne. James, having fled to France, did attempt to get his throne back later, but failed. William, who outlived Mary, kept the throne until his death in 1702.

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