The end of the era of misrule under the Stuart kings and of religious oppression by the government came with the ‘Glorious Revolution’ of 1688. William, Prince of Orange, the ruler of the Netherlands whose wife was Mary (the eldest daughter of Charles II), was invited to replace James II. When William landed on the south coast of England in November 1688, James started out with an army to meet him, but was deserted by almost all of his followers. William allowed James to make his escape to France and immediately took over the reigns of government. He was the first king to be placed in office by Parliament.
Soon after offering the crown to William and Mary as joint sovereigns, Parliament passed a law known to history as the ‘English Bill of Rights’. This was followed by a Toleration Act, which allowed Protestant Dissenters to form congregations and worship publicly in their own way. Quakers were allowed to affirm instead of having to take an oath. The Roman Catholics still had to worship in private, but they were not persecuted and, in time, became unofficially recognized.
Queen Mary, who was very popular, died six years after receiving the crown. William carried on as king until his death resulting from a fall from a horse in 1702. He was succeeded by Mary’s sister Anne. As William and Mary had no children and Anne’s family had all died, Parliament feared that a Roman Catholic might again come to the throne. To keep this from happening an ‘Act of Settlement’ was passed determining that Sophia, a granddaughter of James I and a Protestant, should succeed Anne. Also included in this act was a provision that every future ruler of England must be a member of the Church of England and not marry a Catholic. As Sophia was married to George, elector of Hanover in Germany, the dynasty upon Anne’s death in 1714 passed from the Stuarts to the house of Hanover.