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Glorious Revolution Timeline
(1688–1689)Constitutional settlement
The revolution’s constitutional consequences were defined
1688
The political crisis of 1688 laid the foundation for a constitutional monarchy in which parliamentary consent would limit royal power. Its consequences included restrictions on royal authority over laws, taxation, appointments, and the military.
The revolution challenged divine-right monarchy
1688
The events of 1688 advanced the idea of a contract between ruler and people. This challenged the Stuart ideology that monarchs possessed authority independent of political consent.
Image source: Glorious Revolution
Scotland’s support for James narrowed
Nov 1688
By November 1688, only a tiny minority in Scotland supported James. The Scottish political settlement therefore developed separately from the English landing while reaching a similar conclusion.
Image source: Glorious Revolution in Scotland
William and Mary’s constitutional settlement began
Dec 1688
The post-flight negotiations began establishing a political contract between the monarch and the people. The settlement rejected the Stuart conception of unrestricted divine-right monarchy.
Image source: Convention Parliament (1689)
The English Convention was summoned
Dec 1688
Following James's departure, representatives moved toward a Convention to determine the government of England. The process led to the offer of the crown to William and Mary.
William became England’s effective ruler
Dec 1688
After James's flight, William assumed control of the government while negotiations determined the formal succession. His position rested on military intervention, parliamentary action, and the rights of his wife Mary.
Image source: William III of England
William sought negotiations with the States General
Dec 9, 1688
William asked the States General to send a delegation of three to negotiate conditions on 9 December. The request reflected the need to determine the political settlement after James's authority collapsed.
The revolution reached the English colonies
1689
News of the Glorious Revolution reached the English colonies in North America in 1689, producing a revolt in Boston and the dissolution of the Dominion of New England.
Dutch intervention
The English succession crisis became European
1688
The intervention connected England's constitutional crisis with the European contest against Louis XIV. William's dual position as Dutch stadtholder and prospective English monarch made the English succession strategically important across Europe.
Image source: Nine Years' War
William prepared to respond to the invitation
1688
After receiving reports from England and the invitation from James's opponents, William prepared an intervention intended to secure his wife Mary's inheritance and oppose French expansion.
Key Facts
- James II’s Catholicism and attempts to expand royal authority created opposition among English political and religious leaders.
- A group of influential English figures invited William of Orange, James II’s Protestant son-in-law, to intervene.
- William landed in England in November 1688, and James II fled to France, leaving William and Mary to take the throne.
- The English Bill of Rights of 1689 limited royal power and affirmed Parliament’s role and certain individual liberties.
- The revolution helped establish constitutional monarchy and contributed to conflicts in Ireland and Scotland, including the Williamite War.
Source
This Glorious Revolution timeline was generated with the help of AI, using information found on the internet.
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