William III had to do much to secure his hold, not only upon England but upon Scotland and Ireland. In 1689 James II landed in Ireland, where he had an army ready to hand, and was easily able to stir up a national rising of the native Catholics against the Protestant “garrison”. In July 1690 […]
The king could appoint any person he wished to his government. George I found it convenient to select influential members of Parliament to it. Such was the case of Robert Walpole.
The first years of George I’s reign were marked by the Jacobite Rebellion of 1715 raised by followers of Queen Anne’s half-brother, James Edward Stuart. This prince is known as the Old Pretender because of his pretence to the throne.
The earliest political parties in Britain were informal groups supporting powerful men in Parliament. By the time of the English Civil War (in the 1640′s) there were two parties in the country. The party supporting King Charles I was known as the Cavaliers, while their political opponents, the supporters of Parliament, were called the Roundheads. […]
Mary II and William III had no surviving children, and William was succeeded by Queen Anne, Mary’s younger sister. The major event of Queen Anne’s reign was the formation of the Kingdom of Great Britain.
The connection with Holland brought England into wars with France. These wars were fought under conditions created by two factors, the rising power of France and the rapid decomposition of the Spanish Empire.
