End.

English Civil War

The Glorious Revolution

The English call the rebellion of 1688 the Glorious Revolution because there was a major change of government effected without bloodshed. James fled England without a fight. Parliament called in William, the ruler of Holland, and made him king.

Parliament was now firmly in command of English politics. William agreed to religious toleration and to Parliament's claims to authority. In exchange, he got the title of king and the resources of England.

The Glorious Revolution marks the real end of the English Civil War because only in 1688, and not in 1660, were the issues raised by the war -- religious toleration and the role of Parliament -- finally settled.

Writers like John Locke lived and worked in this political environment, and it shaped their ideas. Their writings in turn profoundly affected the political thought of the American Revolutionaries of the 1770s.

History of Western Civilization

E.L. Skip Knox
Boise State University

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