150 Glorious Revolution between the British and French colonies in North America in 1754 The war soon spread to encompass much of the world, although the decisive battles would be fought in Europe and America Britain’s greatest ally was Frederick the Great of Prussia, an admirer of the French field marshal Maurice de Saxe The use of English money as a subsidy, an inheritance from Walpole’s passionate pursuit of mercantilism, enabled Frederick to field an army that, along with his undisputed military genius, would keep at bay the combined forces of France, the Austrian Empire, and Russia William Pitt was an accomplished and reliable wartime prime minister for England He strategical ly strengthened the British navy, sent fleets where they would be most effective, and oversaw supply exchanges with allies After several years of reverses, British arms in 1758 scored several victories against France, earning both the king and Pitt great popularity among the people In 1760, at the height of his power, George tragically succumbed to a stroke Since his son Frederic Louis had died in 1751, his grandson succeeded him on the throne as George III From his grandfather, George III inherited a monarchy—and an empire—at the height of its power and prestige See also Counter-Reformation (Catholic Reformation) in Europe; Stuart, house of; Reformation, the Further reading: Plumb, John Howard The First Four Georges Boston: Little Brown & Company, 1975; Van der Kiste, John George II and Queen Caroline Thrupp, Stroud, Gloucestershire, UK: Alan Sutton Publishing, 1998; White, John Manchip The Life and Times of Maurice, Comte de Saxe, 1696– 1750 Skokie, IL: Rand McNally, 1962 John Murphy Glorious Revolution The 1688 Glorious Revolution, sometimes known as the “Bloodless Revolution,” represented a culminating stage in Britain’s tumultuous 17th century history, a history characterised by the struggle between king and Parliament, and most notably, between Catholic and Protestant The crisis of 1688 came about following the succession of James II to the throne following the death of his brother, Charles II, in 1685 James was a committed Catholic; he hoped to strengthen the Catholic position if not restore it and return lost powers to the monarchy James also wanted to transform and expand the army, which was dominated by a Protestant officer corps of aristocrats and gentlemen James desired more Catholic officers whose loyalty was to the Crown A more Catholic army might help him pursue his political agenda This agenda brought him into conflict with the Test Act, passed under Charles II, which required all those seeking military or civil posts to accept the Anglican Church and its teachings Following the earlier suppression of the Monmouth and Argyll rebellions, James was emboldened and started his campaign to reject the Test Act, and appointed Catholic loyalists to key state and university positions He issued a Declaration of Indulgence in 1687, which ended penal laws against Catholics, and followed this with a Second Declaration of Indulgence in 1688, which furthered the pro-Catholic policy and led to unrest among his bishops, and the alienation of both the Tories and Whigs in Parliament James increased the political divides within the country, and when his wife, Mary of Modena, gave birth to a son on June 10, 1688, there was now the prospect of a Catholic succession The conspiracy to overthrow James began in earnest, and a mixed Tory and Whig parliamentary group approached the Dutch prince, William of Orange, and his wife, Mary, the Protestant daughter of James, to go to England to assume the throne William agreed to accept the Crown in order to gain English resources for his war against Louis Xiv of France William landed at Brixham, near Torbay in Devon, on November 5, 1688, with an army of some 14,000 composed mainly of Dutch, Brandenburger, Finnish, Swedish, and French troops Although James’s army stationed on Salisbury Plain had double the manpower, his confidence failed, and on November 23, he withdrew toward London His meddling with the army now took its toll and many of his men deserted, including Lord Churchill (later duke of Marlborough), so that by December 10, his force was reduced to approximately 4,000 men Lord Feversham, James’s leading commander, interpreted the situation as hopeless and disbanded his army without a fight On December 17, Dutch Guards took over Whitehall, the seat of government, and James attempted to flee the country He was captured in Kent, but eventually was allowed to leave England The taste for further regicide had passed In 1689, a Convention of Parliament decided that James’s departure was an abdication William and Mary could now accept the throne on February 13, 1689, as legitimate joint rulers To prevent future disruptions of this sort, Parliament passed a Declaration of Rights and a Bill of Rights in 1689 These acts redefined the monarch’s position and authority in regard to