The Glorious Revolution of 1688 demonstrated that Parliament had
The Correct Answer and Explanation is:
The correct answer is: “Parliament had the power to limit or remove the monarch’s authority.”
Explanation:
The Glorious Revolution of 1688 was a pivotal event in British history, which demonstrated the shift in the balance of power from the monarchy to Parliament. Prior to this revolution, England had been governed under a system where the monarch held significant power, often overriding or bypassing Parliamentary control. However, this revolution marked the point at which Parliament’s authority was firmly established over the monarchy.
The immediate cause of the Glorious Revolution was the conflict between King James II and Parliament. James II, a Catholic monarch in a predominantly Protestant England, had attempted to assert royal prerogative, bypassing Parliament and granting religious tolerance to Catholics, which alarmed many in the political establishment. His policies, which also included appointing Catholics to high government positions and the military, were seen as an attempt to reintroduce Catholicism as the state religion and reduce the power of Parliament.
In 1688, the situation escalated when Parliament invited William of Orange, a Protestant and the husband of James’s Protestant daughter Mary, to invade England. James II fled to France in the face of William’s army, leading to a relatively bloodless transition of power. This event, known as the Glorious Revolution, was crucial because it demonstrated that Parliament had the authority to depose a monarch, which had never before been accomplished in such a peaceful manner.
The Revolution culminated in the Bill of Rights in 1689, which set out the principles of parliamentary sovereignty and limited the powers of the crown. This document required the monarch to govern in conjunction with Parliament, further ensuring that the monarchy could not unilaterally wield power over the government. The Glorious Revolution thus marked a turning point in the development of constitutional monarchy in Britain, affirming that Parliament had the ultimate authority to limit or even remove a monarch’s power if necessary.