The Glorious Revolution was the overthrow of James II of England in 1688 by a union of Parliamentarians and the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau (William of Orange).

James II of England and William of Orange
 

It is sometimes called the Bloodless Revolution, although there was plenty of fighting and loss of life in Ireland and Scotland; many modern historians prefer the more neutral alternative Revolution of 1688. The Revolution is closely tied in with the events of the Nine Years War on the continent of Europe, and may be seen as the last successful invasion of England. It can also be argued that James' overthrow began modern English parliamentary democracy; never again would the monarch hold absolute power.

James's greatest political problem was his Catholicism, which left him alienated from both parties in Parliament. When James inherited the throne in 1685, he had much support in the 'Loyal Parliament', which was composed mostly of Tories (High Church Anglicans). James's attempt to relax the penal laws alienated his natural supporters, however, because the Tories viewed this as tantamount to disestablishment of the Church of England. James also created a large standing army and employed Catholics in positions of power in the army. To his opponents in Parliament this seemed like a prelude to arbitrary rule, so James prorogued Parliament without gaining Parliament's consent. Matters came to a head in 1688, when James fathered a son; until then, the throne would have passed to his daughter, Mary, a Protestant. The prospect of a Catholic dynasty in the British Isles was now likely. Some leaders of the Tory Party united with members of the opposition Whigs and set out to 'solve' the crisis.
A conspiracy was launched to depose James and replace him with his daughter Mary and her husband, William of Orange — both Protestants and both grandchildren of Charles I of England. William was the stadtholder of the Netherlands, then in the early stages of the War of the Grand Alliance against France. Jumping at the chance to ally with England, William and Mary laid careful plans over a number of months for an invasion. Landing with a large Dutch army at Brixham, Devon on November 5, 1688, William was greeted with much popular support, and local men joined his army. Amid anti-Catholic rioting in London, it rapidly became apparent that James's troops were not eager to fight, and the loyalty of many of James's commanders was doubtful.  On November 23, John Baron Churchill, one of James's chief commanders, deserted to William. A few days later, James's own daughter, Princess Anne, did the same. Both were serious losses. Convinced that his army was unreliable, he sent orders to disband it. James then escaped to France on December 23.
In 1689, the Convention Parliament convened and declared that James's flight amounted to abdication. William and Mary were offered the throne as joint rulers, an arrangement which they accepted (William demanded the title of king and disdained the office of regent). On February 13, 1689, Mary II and William III jointly acceded to the throne of England. Although their succession to the English throne was relatively peaceful, much blood would be shed before William's authority was accepted in Ireland and Scotland.

 

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