William of Orange

This is a wonderful post from Dave Benner about yesterday in history, November 3, 1688, about how the British Glorious Revolution started, resulting in the British Bill of Rights, a precursor to our own. Pictured is William of Orange:Today in 1688, William III of Orange set out from Hellevoetsluis in the Netherlands to seize the crown of England from James II.The event that became known as The Glorious Revolution of 1688 was the culmination of yet another 17th century war between Parliament and the unpopular King of England, James II.The king had engaged in several unpopular measures that raised the ire of his subjects and the Parliament, which eventually organized a clandestine overthrow of James.Most controversially, he imposed the Declarations of Indulgence - a written list of religious pronouncements that each Anglican bishop was forced to read from the pulpit. He raised a standing army of Catholics during peacetime, organizing it in such a way that Protestants were disarmed, replaced, or displaced to lower positions in the kingdom. He used his dispensing power to suspend the Test Acts, oaths of allegiance that prevented Catholics from obtaining government positions.When several bishops resisted the Declaration of Indulgence, James had them arrested for seditious libel. Public outcry turned against James, and the threat of a new Catholic dynasty swept throughout the land. When the king produced a Catholic heir, tensions exploded among the majority Anglican populace.In an unprecedented maneuver, Parliament lobbied William III, the Prince of Orange, to invade the country and take the throne – an offer that was accepted.With all factions aligning against him, James rejected the gesture of support from his cousin, Louis XIV of France – believing that acceptance of French support would inspire mass defections and destroy royal support. With all factions aligned against him nonetheless, James declined to attack the invading army, abdicated the throne, and fled to France.The key political ramification of the Glorious Revolution was Parliamentary Sovereignty – the predominant English constitutional concept that remains today.Upon their crowning, the new monarchs William and Mary had to swear to abide by new governmental structure. Under the framework, Parliament was to be supreme over the king’s unilateral authority and possessed a general legislative power.In addition, English Parliament adopted the 1689 Bill of Rights, a set of limitations against the government that serve today as a forerunner to bills or rights all over the world – including those in the United States.----------------------------------------------Dave Benner is the author of Compact of the Republic, which covers of genesis of the decentralized US political system and the extent to which government has violated its original boundaries and orientation: https://amzn.to/2LIPFWDDave’s American History Podcast: www.soundcloud.com/dave-bennerDave’s Patreon: www.patreon.com/dbennerDave's website: www.davebenner.com