United Kingdom

For some time it looked as if Scotland might go its own way. Whereas in England the centre held and compromises were reached, in Scotland James’s supporters first held their ground and then crumbled, and a vindictive Parliament not only decreed a proscription of his supporters but set out to place much greater limits on the crown. James was formally deposed. Moreover, measures were taken to ensure that Westminster could not dictate what was done in Edinburgh. And there was to be religious toleration in Scotland. Episcopacy was abolished, and all those who had taken part in the persecution of covenanting conventicles in previous years were expelled from a vengeful kirk (church). There was spasmodic resistance from Jacobites, and it took several years and some atrocities—most notoriously, the slaughter of the MacDonalds, instigated by their ancient enemies the Campbells, in the Massacre of Glencoe in 1692—for William to secure complete control.

Year by year the financial costs mounted. Between 1688 and 1702 England accumulated more than £14 million of debt, which was financed through the creation of the Bank of England (1694). The bank was a joint-stock company empowered to discount bills and issue notes. It lent to the government at a fixed rate of interest—initially 8 percent—and this interest was secured by a specific customs grant. Investors scrambled for the bank’s notes, which were considered gilt-edged securities, and more than £1.2 million was raised on the initial offering. Not surprisingly, a growing funded debt created inflation and led to a financial crisis in 1696. But the underlying English economy was sound, and military expenditures fueled production.

The establishment of a funded national debt and the Bank of England was the work of the Whigs in alliance with the London mercantile establishment. The Tories and the country party were alternately suspicious and jealous of Whig success. In order to secure funds for his campaigns, William had been forced to allow the Whigs to dominate government, much against his inclination. An attempted assassination of the king in 1696 gave the Whigs an opportunity to impose an oath on the political nation that William was the “rightful and lawful king.” This directly challenged Tory consciences, which had been tender since the death of Queen Mary in 1694. Many resigned office rather than affirm what they did not believe. The ascendancy of the so-called Junto Whigs might have been secured had not European events once again intruded into English affairs. In 1697 the War of the Grand Alliance ended with the Treaty of Rijswijk, in which Louis XIV formally recognized William III as king of England.

A great revulsion and war weariness now took hold of the country. Parliament voted to disband most of the military establishment, including William’s own Dutch guards, and a vigorous public debate against the existence of a standing army ensued. Taxes were slashed, accounts were audited, and irregularities were exposed. The Junto Whigs, who were associated with war and war profiteers, fell. A new coalition of country and Tory MPs, led by Robert Harley, earl of Oxford, launched a vigorous campaign of retrenchment. It had not progressed very far by 1700, when the deaths of the duke of Gloucester and Charles II of Spain redefined English and European priorities.

Oxford, Robert Harley, 1st earl ofRobert Harley, 1st earl of Oxford.From Robert Harley Earl of Oxford; Prime Minister 1710—1714, A Study of Politics and Letters in the age of Anne, by E.S. Roscoe, 1902

The duke of Gloucester was the only surviving child of Queen Mary’s sister, Princess Anne, despite her 18 pregnancies. Because William and Mary were childless, the duke was the long-term Protestant heir to the throne. His death created a complicated problem that was resolved in the Act of Settlement (1701), which bypassed 48 legitimate but Catholic heirs and devolved the throne upon a granddaughter of James I, that is, on Sophia of Hanover and her son George (later George I). In clauses that read like a criticism of the policies of William III, the act stipulated that the sovereign must be—and could only be—married to a member of the Anglican church and that his foreign policy was to be directed by Parliament and his domestic policy by the Privy Council. It also limited the right of the king to dismiss judges at pleasure. Although many of the more restrictive clauses of the act were repealed in 1706, the Act of Settlement asserted a greater degree of parliamentary control over the monarchy than had been obtained since 1649.

George I, detail of an oil painting after Sir Godfrey Kneller, 1714; in the National Portrait Gallery, London.Courtesy of The National Portrait Gallery, London