| What Caused King James II to abandon his Throne and
Country? The Glorious Revolution 1688 all started when James II said, " I am a Catholic and I will make life in England easier for Catholics!" This is when the Parliament disagreed and argued back, "We are Protestants, and do not want our country to be Catholic!" Then James II announced back, "I will reduce the power of Parliament. I will only do what I want, not what they tell me!" This caused anger to the Protestants. " We have fought hard for our share of power. We will not give up this power!" James II got extremely frustrated and demanded back, "If judges and magistrates disagree with me, I will sack them." The Parliament were not happy and agreed they all needed to do something. They had a plan to get rid of him. This was to invite William of Orange and his wife Mary (who was James' eldest daughter) over to England from the Netherlands. William and Mary were Protestants. They could make a deal with them: "Help us get rid of James, and you can become our King and Queen." William and Mary wanted England to be Protestant, so were willing to agree with all the demands of the Parliament. James II fled to France. Parliament made William and Mary sign a Bill of Rights. This was an agreement between Parliament and the new King and Queen about how the country should be run. Parliament was able to gain enormous power and William and Mary were able to become King and Queen. A 'glorious revolution' for Parliament and the Protestants, but not for James and his supporters. This is why James II abandoned his throne and country. Gemma 2a/2p1 |