Lecture 1: Historical Background (PDF)

Lecture 1 Dr. Asmaa Ismail Historical Background Despite his Catholicism, James II became king of England, Scotland and Ireland in February 1685 with widespread support because many feared excluding him would lead to a recurrence of t...

Lecture 1 Dr. Asmaa Ismail Historical Background Despite his Catholicism, James II became king of England, Scotland and Ireland in February 1685 with widespread support because many feared excluding him would lead to a recurrence of the civil war. His religion was seen as a short-term issue because his Protestant daughter Mary was his future heir and crown princess. The birth of his son, James Francis Edward, on 10th June 1688 changed this succession by the male-preference, automatic change of that heir presumptive, thus raising the prospect of a Catholic dynasty. The catholic heir annoyed the protestant majority of England. James suspended the Scottish and English Parliaments when they refused to repeal the anti-Catholic Test Acts, and tried to rule without Parliament. The anti-Catholic Test Acts deprived Catholics of many rights including public occupations. James tried to restore the rights and privileges of the Catholics, so he clashed with the Parliament. Consequently, the Parliament decided to summon James II’s daughter, Mary, and his Dutch nephew and Mary's cousin-husband, William III of Orange to replace the king in the Glorious Revolution. The Glorious Revolution or Revolution of 1688, was the deposition and replacement of James II, the King of 1 Lecture 1 Dr. Asmaa Ismail England, Scotland and Ireland by his daughter Mary II and his Dutch nephew and Mary's cousin-husband, William III of Orange. It took place between November 1688 and May 1689. The Revolution was quick and relatively bloodless though establishing the new regime took much longer and led to significant casualties. After years of struggle, the Whig and the Tory leaders were at last united against James II. As the head of state of Holland, William was a ruler of the Dutch Republic. With political support from allies in England, Scotland and Europe, a fleet of 463 ships landed William and 14,000 men in Torbay on 5th November 1688. As William advanced on London, the majority of James’s army deserted him, so he ordered the remaining soldiers to disband and (the king) went into exile in France in December. The Parliament met in April 1689, making William and Mary joint monarchs of England; a separate but similar Scottish settlement was made in June. The king and parliament were no longer rivals as they worked together in the country management, but now parliament was the stronger power. William's reputation as a faithful Protestant enabled him and his wife to seize power and gain the support of English people. During the early years of his reign, William 2 Lecture 1 Dr. Asmaa Ismail was occupied abroad with the Nine Years' War (1688–97), leaving Mary to govern the kingdom alone. She died in 1694. In 1696, the Jacobites plotted unsuccessfully to assassinate William and return his father-in-law, the deposed King James II, to the throne. [The supporters of James II were called Jacobites]. William's lack of children and his death in 1700 threatened the Protestant succession. The danger was avoided by placing distant Protestant relatives according to the Act of Settlement. Thus, the Act led to the succession of the Protestant Hanoverians, in line. The Hanoverians are a German Royal family who intermarried with the English Royal Family. Nine Years War: (1688 - 1697) After taking power in the Glorious Revolution of 1688, Britain’s new king, William III (1689–1702), planned to use England’s resources against Europe’s most powerful ruler, Louis XIV of France (r. 1643–1715). William was more concerned with external affairs and the reinforcement of the British hegemony overseas. The War of the League of Augsburg, or Nine Years’ War, was fought from 1688 to 1697 between France and William’s alliance, which included Spain, the Holy Roman Empire, and the Dutch Republic. It was fought in Europe and the 3 Lecture 1 Dr. Asmaa Ismail surrounding seas, in North America, and in India. It is sometimes considered the first global war. The war itself was inconclusive or indecisive as it did not put an end for the conflict, but it marked Britain’s arrival as a great power. British society became increasingly militarized, as both the army and the navy grew in the 18th century. The Problem of Ireland: The history of Ireland from 1691 to the end of 18th century was marked by the dominance of the Protestant Ascendancy which exclusively granted a minority of Protestant landowners all privileges and leading positions in Ireland. These were Anglo-Irish families of the Anglican Church of Ireland, whose English ancestors had settled in Ireland in the wake of its conquest by England and colonization in the Plantations of Ireland. They had taken control of most of the land. Many were absentee landlords staying in England, but others lived full-time in Ireland and increasingly identified as Irish. During this time, Ireland was nominally an autonomous Kingdom with its own Parliament; in actuality it was a client state controlled by the King of Great Britain and supervised by his cabinet in London. The great majority of its population, Roman Catholics, were excluded from power and land ownership under the penal laws. The penal laws were a series of laws 4 Lecture 1 Dr. Asmaa Ismail imposed in an attempt to force Irish Catholics to accept the established Church of Ireland which followed the doctrine of the Anglican Church in England. The lands of the Catholics were confiscated and given to Protestant landlords. Thus, most of the Irish people were deprived from the ownership of the land and disenfranchised. They could not vote and had no political power. According to the terms of Acts of Union 1800, the Parliament of Great Britain annexed Ireland in the United Kingdom from January 1801 and dissolved the Irish Parliament. As a result of these harsh procedures, the majority of the Irish people were impoverished and oppressed under the English domination. 5