Glorious Revolution

1688/1689. See William III.

Sensing the prospect of a Catholic succession to the English throne by the birth of James's son in June 1688, five Whig and two Tory politicians (the "immortal seven") asked William of Orange, James's son-in-law and Stadholder of Holland for intervention in order to restore England's "ancient rights and liberties".

William assembled a fleet four times the size of the Spanish Armada and landed in Brixham/England on 5 November 1688. Immediately he began marching towards London. William's advance and the fading support among the English forced James to flee to France, leaving the English, Scottish and Irish thrones vacant. In April 1689, the Convention Parliament decided to offer both thrones to William and Mary, who were instantly crowned.

But already in March 1689, the exiled James took preparations to regain his power. Together with a small French force, James landed in Kinsale. After proceeding to Dublin, he called the Patriot Parliament as base support for his re-conquest.

William reacted by sending a large army of continental soldiers that entered a series of battles, which was subsequently ended by the treaty of Limerick after William's decisive victories at the Boyne (July 1690) and Aughrim (September 1691). The defeat of the Jacobites rendered the Glorious Revolution successful.

Sources

Hall, Simon, Haywood, John, The Penguin Atlas of British and Irish History. London [et al.]: Penguin Books, 2001.