Revolutionary Settlement - Term Paper Example

Revolutionary Settlement (Term Paper) The revolution of 1688, also known as the Glorious Revolution, marked the end of the rule of James II and led to the advent of William III and Mary II as the new rulers of England. The revolution was triggered as a result of the decision of James II to reinstall Roman Catholicism as the religion of the country. The king had established his personal rule by dissolving the Parliament and had decided to assume the power to elect the future members of the Parliament. The authority of the Church was overthrown and the clerics who resisted were severely oppressed. The magistrates were replaced by placemen as the rulers of the provinces. And an army was assigned the task of keeping an eye on the people. All these steps taken by the king eventually led to the buildup of discontent and rage in the subjects. Finally in 1688 this pent up dissatisfaction reached its pinnacle, leading to a massive revolution, though a bloodless one. This happened towards the end of his regime when the memories of the English Civil War were still afresh in the minds of the people of England and they were yearning for a realm of stability as they had enjoyed during the rule of Charles II (pp. 229-32). They were averse to the idea of any more uncertainty and lived in the dread of another probable military crisis in the country. The policies adopted by James II had greatly disappointed and enraged the Whigs and the Tories. They blamed James for jeopardizing the stability of the constitution. Out of utter discontent, the political leaders made up their minds to invite Mary, the daughter of James II, along with her husband William of Orange, who was a Protestant by religion, to claim their right to the throne of England. Upon this invitation William arrived at England in November 1688, following which James escaped to France in December 1688. A month later, William and his parliament passed the requisite laws that ensured the success of the revolution. These legislations took the society back to the desired state of affairs and restored the country to the Protestant faith. The Bill of Rights passed in December 1688 declared that James had stepped down from the throne and this made William and Mary the legal heirs to the throne. (pp. 245-48) But the kind of political concord that was seen at the time of James’ removal from the throne was short-lived. There were soon many disagreements within the group regarding the process of the working of the new ruler, and the previously cohesive group was soon disintegrated. Some people believed that owning to her Stuart lineage, Mary alone had a legal right to ascend the throne. She was the granddaughter of Charles I and the daughter of James II and hence was the sole heir to the crown. Despite being under the rule of William for quite a few years, there was still a faction of subjects who considered Charles as an ideal monarch. Hence on the grounds of legitimacy they demanded that William should not be considered as the king but only as a proxy of Mary who was the real monarch. The idea was supported by some of the Whigs who asserted that the decision of choosing a monarch should rest with the people of the kingdom. Amidst all such obstacles to his reign, William suggested that he would rather go back to Holland if he cannot have access to the full imperial powers. But there were no doubts about this leadership calibre as in his native land Holland he was a highly regarded Protestant leader. To add to that the Bill of Rights had clearly stated that the king can neither be a Catholic himself nor can he marry a Catholic. Moreover the people were not ready to enter another phase of political void that would have resulted from William’s going back. (pp. 254-55) Following the death of Mary and William in 1702, England was again in the need of a new ruler as they had died childless. In keeping with the clauses of the Settlement Act of 1701, the crown of England was passed on to Anne, the younger daughter of James II. Anne was the last Stuart monarch. But Anne was regarded as a very weak and pliable ruler. She easily fell prey to the trap of favouritism and could be easily manipulated by those around her. One of her prime favourites was Sarah Churchill, the duchess of Marlborough, who was a friend and confidante of the queen so much so that Anne could take no imperial decisions without taking Sarah’s opinion. Though she tried her best to preserve her royal entitlement and the consequent freedom of decision, she had to remain dependent on the Parliament for funds for various pressing needs like the Nine Years War (1688-97) and the War of the Spanish Succession (1702-13). Though she made the choice of constituting a parliament made up of the best members from amongst the Whigs and the Tories, the two parties preferred to stick to the “majority rules” system. Hence, after the Whigs won the general election of 1705, they forced Anne to terminate many of the existing Tory officials. This was something she had to do against her will. Thus the over interference of the Parliament in the workings of the monarch was a factor that served as a major obstacle in the path of Anne as a ruler. (pp. 259-60) The revolutionary settlement emerged as a retort to the medieval concept of the Great Chain of Being which stated that all elements in the universe are arranged in a system of absolute hierarchy which was unchallengeable by man. The non-living things of the world lay at the bottom of the hierarchy, superseded by plants, animals and human beings. Within the category of human beings there were further classifications. This concept originated in the traditional European belief and the term was invented by Aristotle. This idea was later espoused by the Christian philosophers in the medieval age to advocate the superiority and ultimate authority of the church as a representative of God on the Earth. This idea was soon taken over and modified by the champions of monarchy to establish the authority of the king as the supreme power and as the human form of God. Though the concept of the Great Chain of Being was widely accepted by the people and widely implemented by the rulers in the medieval age, it soon grew out-dated. The eventual advent of logic and rationality in the life of man compelled him to disagree with such baseless assumptions and strive to create theories that had a rationale behind them. King James II tried to abuse his power as the monarch by dwelling on the idea of the Great Chain of Being, which with time had become obsolete. His subjects, failing to agree with his absurd notions about kingship, overthrew him from the throne of England. The succeeding rulers, William and Mary, took England a step ahead towards the age of modernity with their sound legislations supporting the settlement. The Bill of Rights conferred a great degree of power to the Parliament, a factor that is often viewed by the historians as the beginning of a constitutional monarchy. The Bill also ensured that the Parliament should meet more often and its discussions should not be influenced by external interference. The Mutiny Act of March 1689 legally empowered the king to maintain his army with frequent support from the Parliament. The Toleration Act of May 1689 propagated religious tolerance and the freedom of worship and relaxed the laws enforced on the dissenters. The Triennial Act was passed to ensure that a Parliament should neither be in force nor be dissolved for a period of more than three years. The Civil List introduced in December 1698 made provisions for the king to pay for his livelihood and to finance wars. Finally in June 1701, the legislation of the Act of Settlement clarified all doubts regarding succession to the throne in case the existing monarch leaves behind no legal heirs. The Bill of Rights (1688) of England and Ireland, and the Claim of Right (1689) of Scotland are the two documents that resulted from the revolutionary settlement. These two documents were the symbols of the fundamental beliefs of the British regarding the idea of freedom, and eventually emerged as the foundation stones of the British constitution. (pp. 249-52) Thus, with the settlement and its legal manifestations, England could leave behind the redundant concept of the Great Chain of Being and embrace the modern system of belief on individual freedom. The settlement safeguarded the British kingdom against any probable attack of tyranny in future, by ensuring the freedom of the subjects, the Parliament and the Church. It helped to do away with the medieval provinces of England and Scotland, thereby paving the way for the birth of the modern kingdom of Great Britain. It put an end to the last relics of medieval hierarchy by initiating a secular mode of government which owed its authority to the ordinary subjects and not the divinely appointed king. Read More