Treaty of Limerick. 1692. fighting to put down the uprising. Peace was finally secured by the treaty of Limerick, which promised the Irish Catholics the same freedom in religious matters that they had enjoyed in the time of Charles II, when the recusancy laws were not enforced. But the treaty was never carried out. The Protestants in the Irish parliament annulled its provisions, and to the peasants of Ireland the "Glorious Revolution" brought nothing but misery. The rising in Boston. 387. The Revolution in the Colonies. The revolutionary movement also extended to the American colonies. When the news came of the change of rulers in the mother country, the colonists promptly took action and deposed the governors that James II had given them. The men of Boston seized their viceroy, Sir Edmund Andros, and threw him into prison. William Penn, as a Stuart partisan, had some difficulties with the new rulers, but he was ultimately restored to his rights. Although the new government favored a closer union and a more effective royal control of the colonies, it was thought best to reëstablish conditions as they were just before Charles II had begun his attack on the colonial charters. William III decided, however, that inasmuch as Massachusetts had lost her charter by due process of law, it should not be restored. A new document was drawn up in 1691, which was less liberal in its provisions than the earlier one, as it reserved to the English government the right to appoint the governor and to veto legislation by A new charter for Massachusetts. the colonial assembly. Toleration. 388. The Results of the Revolution. The Revolution of 1688 was one of the most important events in English history. It closed two mighty conflicts that for several generations had hindered the English nation from developing into a first-class power: the struggle over religion and the fight for political freedom. The Puritan did not win suEnd of theory premacy, but he found toleration and with this he of divine right. was reasonably satisfied. The theory of divine right disappeared from English politics, for the facts were against THE RESULTS OF THE REVOLUTION 415 it: it was impossible to hold that William III ruled by any other title than that given by parliament, and the same was true of the Hanoverian dynasty that ascended the throne some years later in accordance with the Act of Settlement. While parliament thus became the supreme power in the Supremacy of state, the king remained a mighty factor in the parliament. government, for as yet parliament had no effective organs through which to control the administration: but such an organ was developed in the next century, when circumstances threw the executive power into the hands of the king's cabinet. Further expansion of the British Empire was also made possible by the consequences of the revolution. The foreign policy of Cromwell and the Stuarts was now definitely reversed; a close alliance was entered into with the Dutch Republic against Louis XIV and France. So long as there had been alliance or friendly understanding between Eng- New foreign land and France, the British Empire was hindered policy. in its growth in the two most promising regions of the colonial world: India and America. In America the French claims north and west of the Alleghany Mountains limited English settlements to a narrow strip along the Atlantic between Canada and Florida. But after 1688 the West was no longer the territory of a friendly power, and in due time the English crossed the mountain barriers and carried their flag to the Mississippi River. REFERENCES THE REVOLUTION OF 1688. — Beard, Introduction to the English Historians, 404-416 (Macaulay); Fletcher, Introductory History of England, II, i, 62–76; Innes, History of England, 495-504; Jenks, Parliamentary England, c. ii; Oman, History of England, 445-447; Ransome, Advanced History of England, 649–665; Tout, Advanced History of Great Britain, 490-495. THE REVOLUTION SETTLEMENT. Andrews, History of England, 404-412; Beard, 417-422 (Macaulay); Fletcher, II, i, 77-86; Innes, 505-509; Ransome, 667-672; Tout, 496-498. THE REVOLUTION IN SCOTLAND AND IRELAND. - Fletcher, II, i, 240-247; Innes, 509-517; Oman, 448-453; Ransome, 672-681; Tout, 498–502. CHAPTER XIX THE LONG DUEL WITH FRANCE 389. William III. William III was the last great king of England. Since his day England has had rulers of moderate. Personality of ability only; in one or two instances the royal capacity for government has been of a very limited nature. William of Orange was a dark, sad-faced man with William III. WILLIAM III striking though not handsome features: "his eyes are fire; his nose aquiline, his cheeks hollow, the mouth large with irregular and extraordinarily long teeth and a pointed chin. . . the length of the face is out of proportion with his stature." His personality suggested the eagle and there was much of the eagle's nature in his make-up. Physically he was weak he was almost an invalid; but he possessed a powerful intellect and a strong, stern, and pa tient will. He was a fair general and a remarkable diplomat: all the forces that were opposed to the ambitions of France looked to William III as their leader. 1 Tuell and Hatch, No. 58 (Macaulay). Unpopularity 390. The Jacobites. A ruler of such a type could not be popular with Englishmen. That he was lacking in flesh and blood was bad enough; what was worse, he was a foreigner who looked at the world from the Dutch point of view; he brought Dutchmen to England and placed them in desirable offices; and his policy of foreign warfare was very expensive. Very soon a party grew up that of the new régime. favored a restoration of the Stuarts, James II if that was unavoidable, but preferably the young prince James of whom excellent reports were being circulated. The Stuart following was known as the Jacobite party and was quite strong, especially among the Scotch Highlanders, who looked upon William as the representative of the English influence which was very hateful to them. For a time Jacobitism was a real danger, though in the end it accomplished nothing. The difficulty was that while the Stuart partisans in England were willing to send money to the exiled family and to drink Jacobitism. The "King over the Water." toasts to the "King over the Water," they were chiefly country gentlemen who shrank from the thought of rebellion and contented themselves with passive resistance. Many of the leading men of the time, even high government officials, were in correspondence with James and his son, but very few cared to come out openly for another Stuart restoration. 391. The War of the Palatinate. 1689-1697. King William lived for a single purpose, to secure the independence of Policy of his native Netherlands by crippling France. For William III. thirty years he served as the head of the Dutch Republic, and these years were almost one continuous conflict with Louis XIV, now on the battle field, now on the field of diplomacy. It was the ambition of Louis to extend France eastward, at least as far as the Rhine, which the French were in the habit of regarding as their "natural boundary." Along the upper course of the Rhine, King Louis was making considerable progress; and if the plan were to be completely realized, it would deprive the Dutch of much territory, as the Rhine ran through the United Netherlands. In opposition to Louis William organized a great league comprising England, Holland, Spain, the Empire, and several lesser powers. The war of the Palatinate, or of the league of Augsburg, as it is sometimes 1689 and continued eight years. French aggressions. The league against Louis XIV. The War of the Palatinate. called, began in There was fight ing all along the eastern border of France; but England was chiefly interested in the warfare in the Channel and in the Spanish Netherlands (modern Belgium). Louis had built up a strong navy, stronger than the combined fleets of England and Holland. The French were planning to invade England; but in 1692 Admiral Russell met the French in the Bay of La Hogue and won a decisive victory. For six days the English fought or pursued the French, taking many ships and destroying them. This was the greatest naval victory that England had won since the destruction of the Invincible 1692. |