Orange Revolution

I finished a book, something to celebrate these days. It's a history of the Glorious Revolution, when the Catholic King James II was replaced with the Dutch stadtholder William and his wife Mary in 1688. It's a fascinating story and one not really covered by my history lessons at school.

Worried about a Catholic royal line, influential Protestants in England grew increasingly concerned about the pro-Catholic actions of James II. In Holland, the stadholder (head of state) William III was worried about the growing French threat and the potential loss of a Protestant ally. His wife was the daughter of James II and therefore was in the line of succession. Cutting a long story short, William invaded and was subsequently pronounced joint-monarch with his wife.

I've always found the history of the Monarchy fascinating, I did a big project on it in junior school and won a prize. I think. I spent hours on it. This particular episode is interesting for several reasons. In being handed the throne, William accepted an increase in the power of Parliament, which paved the way for the constitutional monarchy we have to this day. It could have prevented a Catholic royal line, but could also have prevented an English or British Republic. There was a Republican movement in England, not long after Cromwell, that could have used James II's unpopularity to overthrow the monarchy altogether.

Very interesting. Which is why this book didn't join the number of unfinished (or unread) books that occupy my bookshelf.