English Revolution of 1688 James II, having reached the climax
of his power after the successful suppression of Monmouth's
rebellion in 1685, then had the Tory reaction in his favour,
complete control over Parliament and the town corporations, a
regular army in England, a thoroughly Catholic army in process
of formation in Ireland, and a large revenue granted by
Parliament for life. His policy was to govern England as
absolute monarch and to restore Catholics to their full civil
and religious rights. Unfortunately, both prudence and
statesmanship were lacking, with the result that in three years
the king lost his throne. The history of the Revolution resolves
itself into a catalogue of various ill-judged measures which
alienated the support of the Established Church, the Tory party,
and the nation as a whole. The execution of Monmouth (July,
1685) made the Revolution possible, for it led to the Whig party
accepting William of Orange as the natural champion of
Protestantism against the attempts of James. Thus