Glorious Revolution Impacted Mother Country Colonies. What

Glorious Revolution impacted mother country colonies. What Glorious Revolution, political impact

Glorious

The Glorious Revolution was a political movement largely initiated by Parliament in England that eventually helped shape the politics and ideologies of its royal colonies -- particularly those in the United States. The Revolution was fomented due to the tyrannical and unpopular practices of King James II, who was only in power for the better part of four years but who induced a number of measures that consolidate political power among Catholic appointees of the King's choice. Therefore, in 1688, Parliament removed James from the country and replaced him with a pair of monarchs in the form of his daughter Mary and her husband, the Netherlands' William of Orange. Both of these rulers were Protestant, which underscored a degree of toleration for religion and other aspects of government that were decidedly lacking when James was in power.

The news of James' replacement with more liberal monarchs and with such a form of government directly impacted the lives of colonists in the U.S. Previous to his deportation, James had done away with the right of Colonial assemblies in certain colonies in the North Eastern portion of the country. These assemblies promptly resumed following the appointment of Mary and William to the throne, and in more than one instance colonists directly challenged (and in some instances attacked) the representatives and governors who were appointed by James to consolidate colonial rule in the hands of the few instead of in the many.

However, one of the most significant impacts of the Glorious Revolution was the stipulations that Mary and her husband agreed to upon taking the throne. There were three formal concessions that had to be met -- the pair had to agree to meet with Parliament regularly, institute its ideas for government, and to respect traditional liberties. James had been systematically taking away these traditional civil liberties (restricting the right to practice religion and to conduct formal assemblies for the purpose of government. The government of England would be a lot more democratic due to these changes, and it was this proclivity towards democracy that would actually produce the most profound impact on the colonies.

It is fairly noteworthy to mention that the changes that took place with the form of government in England when Mary and her husband came to power were formalized by a Bill of Rights. These rights would remain in the minds of colonists both in the 17th and in the 18th centuries, when they would form their own Bill or Rights while declaring emancipation from the rule of England. It also imbued them with the sense that they, just like the residents and forms of government in England, had certain privileges that should not be transgressed by any form of Royal power. Moreover, the tyranny that James produced that led to these fundamental changes in government also helped to set the stage for the intolerance that the colonialists would have for such future acts of aggression by other British monarchs.