The 17th century was a tumultuous time for England, as for the rest of Europe. Political squabbles, economic depravity, and social strife were rampant, made all the worse by the ongoing battle for power between the Roman Catholic church and the fledgling Protestant sects. Or was it the other way around? Did the clash between the Protestants and Catholics fuel the already dilapidated socioeconomic climate, or was the religious row the catalyst of the whole situation?
England's
Glorious Revolution ended the absolute monarchy in place, and instead replaced
it with a "constitutional monarchy", handing over much of the control
of England
to Parliament. Driven by the fear of what a Catholic monarch may attempt, James
II was cast out, being replaced by his Protestant daughter Mary and her
husband, William of Orange. Despite the Revolution being relatively bloodless,
with only Scotland and Ireland
putting up resistance, it's impact on British society was considerable,
gradually bringing long lasting changes. Even after William and Mary died with
no heir, Parliament was able to place Anne – another of James II's Protestant
daughters – on the throne. But this fear of a resurgence of "popery"
was not held by Parliament alone: it was widespread throughout the kingdom. This
fear went beyond hatred and ventured into the realm of paranoia, as the
majority of the people of England,
many of whom were Protestant since birth, believed that Catholics were systematically
plotting the downfall of both the Anglican Church and English state. This
intricate conspiracy theory claimed that the Pope would then establish Catholic-led
tyranny, not unlike the absolute monarchy in France,
reducing England
to a mere puppet state. It is interesting to note, however, that this
conspiracy theory was given some measure of credibility, due to the fact that
there actually was some real Catholic subterfuge, the most notable of which was
Guy Fawkes' 1605 Gunpowder Plot. (Vallance, 2011)
Thus, despite James' Catholic descendents attempting to
stir a rebellion that would carry them out of exile in France and back
to the English throne, it would never happen, as public support was suppressed
by the paranoia about Catholics. In fact, the people and Parliament thought it
better to give the crown to the Germans than to the French. That is when King
George I entered the scene: a Stuart by blood, German by culture, and ruler of
Hanover, but the next Protestant with claim to the English Crown. However,
neither George I or his son, George II, were fluent in English, understood or
cared much about England,
and they never presided over the Cabinet meetings. (Damerow, 2011) Because of
this, Sir Robert Walpole, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, became the first Prime
Minister, holding this position from 1721 to 1742. Answering both to the king
and to a majority in the House of Commons, Walpole became the de facto leader
of the nation, and the Crown began its descent into being a mere figurehead;
however, when Sir Robert's parliamentary majority was lost, he proceeded to
resign from his post, despite still having the support of the king. By doing
so, he provided a model for all Prime Ministers after him, and set a precedent
for all future leaders of this fundamentally different England.
(Damerow, 2011)
During all of this, mass exploration was going on as well.
The ever present threat of France
was multiplied when they sent Jacques Cartier to the New
World, followed by René-Robert-Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, among
others. To the English mind, the Catholic French could not go unopposed, so in
1585, the English established an ultimately unsuccessful settlement on Roanoke Island. However, they made more attempts shortly
thereafter, with settlements at Jamestown and Plymouth. Finally, in
March of 1630, roughly 900 Puritans sailed to the New
World and established the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Other colonies
were rapidly founded in succession: Maryland, Connecticut, New Hampshire,
and Pennsylvania.
(Kreis, 2009) These colonies were well established, with governments
approved and placed by the Crown when the Glorious Revolution rattled the home
country. One of the governors in Colonies was a man by the name of Sir Edmund
Andros, a heavily pro-Anglican authoritarian man, and one despised by most of
the largely Puritan population. Tensions were high in the colonies, between
Indian raids and Andros' own harsh policies and crackdowns, when word of the
Glorious Revolution spread to America.
(Alchin, 2012) In April of 1698, the Boston
colonists revolted against the tyranny of Andros,
descending on the city and arresting government officials and other Anglicans.
Former colonial governor Simon Bradstreet led what the British called a
"mob", but was closer to an organized militia, to the steps of Fort Mary,
where Andros had barricaded himself.
Bradstreet served up the terms of surrender, which Andros refused, and instead attempted
to flee to the Rose, the last of the
Royal Navy presence near Boston
at the time. However, the boat sent from the Rose was intercepted by militia,
and Andros was forced back to negotiations. He
was taken into captivity, and meanwhile, in New York,
Lieutenant Governor Francis Nicholson was toppled by Jacob Leisler's New York militia, something
that has come to be called Leisler's Rebellion. New York would be governed by Leisler until
1691, when he was arrested and put to death by an army led by the provincial
governor, newly-appointed by the Crown. Andros was ultimately permitted to leave
to England,
but by then, his Dominion of New England had practically come to an end, and
the colonies making up the Dominion reverting back to their prior styles of government.
As Linda Alchin wrote that the "rebellion the American colonies, which
although were short lived, can be seen as precursors to the American
Revolution." (2012)
Overall, the Glorious Revolution was a nearly bloodless
insurrection that this author would assert was caused by the tensions between
Protestants and Catholics. It was supplemented by the socioeconomic and
political strife rampant at the time, and was felt all throughout the farthest
reaches of the fledgling empire. The impact in the American Colonies was both a
symbol and a forerunner of what was to come, but staved off the inevitable
revolution for 88 more years.
References
Alchin, L. (2012, March 1). Land of the Brave: Glorious
Revolution of 1688. Retrieved from http://www.landofthebrave.info/glorious-revolution.htm
Damerow, H. (2011, July 12). Glorious Revolution. Retrieved
from http://faculty.ucc.edu/egh-damerow/glorious_revolution.htm
Kreis, S. (2009, August 4). Lecture 6: Europe
in the Age of Religious Wars, 1560-1715. Retrieved from
http://www.historyguide.org/earlymod/lecture6c.html
Vallance, E. (2011, February 17). BBC - History - British
History in depth: The Glorious Revolution. Retrieved from
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/civil_war_revolution/glorious_revolution_01.shtml
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