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The Glorious Revolution: 1688: Britain's Fight for Liberty

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A detailed account of William of Orange's seizure of the British throne in 1688. Vallance also explains the preceding political context, which caused many Britons to welcome a Protestant Dutchman (William III) over a Catholic Englishman (James II), and covers the subsequent British politics as William consolidated power.

The narrative is centered on William's Dutch invasion of England in 1688, but Vallance also covers preceding events, such as the 1685 Protestant insurrection of the Duke of Monmouth (and the infamous "bloody assizes" that followed) and subsequent events, such as the fighting in Ireland culminating in the Battle of the Boyne in 1690.

These events were set in a European context where it was widely assumed that a state had a right and even an obligation to maintain religious "correctness" and to suppress false religious ideas. Thus for both Protestants and Catholics the stakes were very high. Their faith could easily be suppressed and they themselves exiled or killed. To modern eyes the degree to which leading politicians on both sides opposed simple tolerance is staggering. In fact, Vallance argues that both James II and William III were much more interested in reasonable tolerance than their leading followers were willing to accept.

Even within the Protestant camp, the political battles between Whigs and Tories were extremely vituperative. The Tories were hamstrung by a reluctance to overtly break their oaths of loyalty to James II. The Whigs exploited this by demanding unnecessarily explicit wording in loyalty to William.

This is a highly readable account of a very complex topic. The final sections of the book can sometimes be a little slow moving, with many details of English politics after William takes the throne, but the opening and middle are strong and compelling.

The Glorious Revolution of 1688 is considered a seminal moment in the history of England specifically and more generally for the growth of democracy among the English-speaking peoples, e.g., it played a significant role in this nation's own revolution almost a hundred years later. As with other great historical events, the overthrow of James II and his replacement by the dual monarchy of William and Mary is subject to several historical interpretations with one of the most prevalent being that the events of 1688 were largely marked by nonviolence and the triumph of parliament as the supreme law-making body in the British Isles.

In his new book about 1688, Edward Vallance deals with this conventional understanding and other interpretations of the Glorious Revolution, debunking them to some extent. Contrary to the view that the revolution was primarily peaceful, he notes that the overthrow of James II was marked by significant conflict and loss of life in Scotland and Ireland (even rising to the level of atrocity). Vallance also notes that questions of religious toleration persisted even after James's ouster and carefully describes William's continued and largely successful efforts to control Parliament. The author also clearly illustrates how William, the Prince of Orange, was motivated to oust his father-in-law James II more by the need for additional men and money to continue his wars against Louis XIV than by any desire to protect the religious liberty of Protestant Englishmen.

This is a fairly short history. The liner notes state that Edward Vallance received his PHD in 1999 and the fact that he is still a relatively young man shines forth in the book's energetic, brisk prose. Vallance comprehensively but plainly relates the great events of 1688. He also shows how the common people of the British Isles were affected by these events through the use of written accounts and testimonies from eye witnesses and also by colorful anecdotes that give the flavor of life in 17th-Century England. The aftermath of 1688 is also concisely conveyed, including the long, rather sad history of the Stuart pretenders to the crown, the extinction of the Stuart line with the death of Queen Anne, and the Hanoverian succession.

The author concludes his history with a discussion of how 1688 did indeed mark the beginning of a genuine system of parliamentary government, albeit still one that did not function democratically. He notes that this, along with a revolution in British finance, provided the impetus for Britain's rise to great-power status in the 18th century.

I recommend Glorious Revolution to anyone interested in British or general European history who would like to learn about 1688 without getting bogged down in detail.

James II was a strange king. His military skills, always important in 17th century Europe, were practically non-existent. He came to the throne with considerable popular support but, within four short years, dissipated almost all of this. He was an inept manager and infuriated most of Britain's nobility. He seemed to be in the pocket of the King of France, never a comfortable place for any English king. And, in one of Europe's most Protestant nations, he was a devout Catholic.

The revolution that led to James' abdication and flight to France, never to return to England again, had vast consequences for the country. First, Parliament, an institution almost totally ignored by James, became a powerful force in the governance of the country. James dissolved Parliament shortly after his assumption of the throne but it was Parliament that eventually played the critical role in his removal. The Declaration of Rights, the marvelous document that foreshadowed the first shots of the American Revolution almost one hundred years later, was Parliament's statement to the nation that the absolute rule of English kings had ended. Second, the power of the landed gentry, the ancient rulers of the country, faded as ambitious merchants and tradesmen shouldered their way into positions of increasing importance. Third, England finally became not just a witness to European affairs but began to play a far more involved role in determining the political shape of the Continent.

James left England in the dark winter of 1688, defeated a month earlier by an invasion force led by William, the Stadtholder of Holland,. He and his wife, Mary, the daughter of James' brother and predecessor on the throne, Charles II, acted as co-regents until Mary's death in December 1694, at only 32 years of age. William died eight years later. During this time, the Anglican religion was reestablished as the state religion, although toleration of all religions was encouraged; the Bank of England was founded; political parties - Whigs and Tories - evolved into powerful factions; and England began its long march in assembling the most extensive empire in history.

This is a wonderful story, marvelously told by Edward Vallance. The book moves almost effortlessly from one major event to the next. Complicated situations are carefully explained and are consistently related to the major themes of the book. European royalty, always a bit of a genealogical nightmare, is simplified and becomes easy to grasp. But it is in Vallance's explanation of the meaning of the revolution that is the essence of the book. It is the emergence of the power of the people that is the theme of the book. As an American, it is this story that absorbs the most interest, since it is from the Glorious Revolution that our revolution took its enormous energy.