S8 Ep697: 8. The Glorious Revolution and the Protestant Succession Guest Author: Jonathan Healey The century concluded with the reign of James II, whose open Catholicism and attempts to bypass Parliament sparked the Exclusion Crisis and the birth of the Whig a

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🗓️ 5 April 2026

⏱️ 7 minutes

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Summary

8. The Glorious Revolution and the Protestant Succession Guest Author: Jonathan Healey The century concluded with the reign of James II, whose open Catholicism and attempts to bypass Parliament sparked the Exclusion Crisis and the birth of the Whig and Tory parties. When James produced a Catholic heir in 1688, fearful Protestant leaders invited William of Orange to intervene. William landed on November 5th, leading James to flee to France. The resulting Glorious Revolution established William and Mary as joint monarchs, finalizing a century of upheaval. Healey argues these events provided the constitutional arguments—such as representation and the rights of the governed—that would later inspire the American founders. (8)
1655 J. VAN DER AEK

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0:00.0	Call my wife.
0:01.5	Calling UK Wildlife.
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0:19.8	I'm John Bachelorette with Professor Jonathan Healy, whose wonderful new book is filled with stories and imaginary moments that we now can visit from the 21st century and say, so that's where John Locke came from.
0:34.7	That's where an understanding of government representing the people came from.
0:39.3	And that's where trouble comes from when a man, James II, the younger brother of Charles II,
0:47.3	decide somewhere in the 1660s to convert to Catholicism, perhaps surrounded by Catholics on the mainland, knowing that if he was ever to ascend to the throne,
0:58.2	this would introduce contretemps again into his native land. Well, here it is. The moment that we can anticipate,
1:07.1	there is rumors that James has converted, but with the death of his brother, this is in the
1:12.5	1680s, the death of his brother, James I becomes the king of England, and he's been
1:18.5	leader of the fleet. He's had charge, he's a very good warrior, very good combat leader,
1:24.8	but he resigns from the Navy because he won't swear, it won't take an oath that would reveal that, that would violate his Catholicism.
1:33.3	And Jonathan, I come to this because James II is a less well-known figure, Charles II, the Restoration.
1:42.3	James II had to know he was introducing trouble. Did he believe,
1:47.6	knowing all of that, knowing how few Catholics there were in the country, that he could be
1:52.3	successful? He wasn't preaching tolerance. He was switching out Protestants for Catholics in important
1:58.6	roles. It's a very good question and I don't think we'll ever know the answer to that.
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