Glorious Revolution in Scotland
[3] The birth of a Catholic heir in June 1688 caused widespread civil disorder in Scotland and England and a coalition of English politicians and soldiers issued an Invitation to William.
They agreed to support Dutch military intervention in order to enforce Mary's rights as heir to the English throne; on 5 November 1688, William landed in South-West England and James fled to France on 23 December.
Many of William's advisors were Protestant exiles like Leven and Melville, while James' closest counsellors were two Scots Catholics, the Earl of Perth and his brother Melfort.
While the Revolution was quick and relatively bloodless in England, a Scottish rising in support of James caused significant casualties and Jacobitism persisted as a political force until the mid-18th century.
Episcopalian meant governance by bishops, appointed by the monarch, while Presbyterian structures were ruled by Elders, nominated by congregations; in Scotland, both sides were doctrinal Calvinists.
[8] The 1681 Scottish Succession Act confirmed his status as the legal heir 'regardless of religion', and stated its aim was to make his exclusion from the English throne impossible without '...the dreadfull consequences of a civil war.
[10] As a result, while south west Scotland was a stronghold for Covenanter dissidents who opposed James on religious grounds, elsewhere there was little support for Argyll's Rising in June 1685, which was easily put down.
The 1681 Scottish Succession and Test Acts made obedience to the monarch a legal obligation, 'regardless of religion' but in return confirmed the primacy of the Church of Scotland, or Kirk.
[16] As events in England rapidly escalated James's chief advisor, the Earl of Sunderland secretly co-ordinated with Henry Sydney to prepare the Invitation to William, assuring him of support from across the English political class for armed intervention.
Anxious to secure English financial and military support against France, William landed in Brixham on 5 November with 14,000 men; as he advanced, much of the Royal Army deserted and James went into exile on 23 December.
[17] While Scotland had remained relatively passive in the events, once the king fled to France, mob riots in Edinburgh removed Jesuits from the Chapel Royal at Holyrood.
While in England a large majority agreed that Mary should replace her father, William demanded he be made joint monarch and sole ruler if she died.
In Scotland, the split within the Kirk made William more important; his Calvinism meant that Presbyterians saw him as a natural ally, while the Episcopalian minority needed his support to retain control.
On 11 April, the Convention ended James' reign and adopted the Articles of Grievances and the Claim of Right Act that made Parliament the primary legislative power in Scotland.
The Glorious Revolution in Scotland resulted in greater independence for Parliament and kirk but the ending of Episcopacy isolated a significant part of the political class; this would be a major factor in debates over the 1707 Act of Union and the Scottish Jacobite movement.
[30] Key figures in the new government were Lord Melville, who joined William in the Netherlands in 1683 after the Rye House Plot and the Earl of Stair, a former member of James VII's administration.
A majority of MPs formed themselves into an anti-government group called the club, led by Sir James Montgomery, previously one of William's chief supporters but angered by Melville being preferred as Secretary of State.
[32] The government compromised by agreeing to remove bishops from the kirk but resisted abolition of the Committee of the Articles before Parliament was suspended on 2 August, following the Battle of Killiecrankie.
[33] Parliament reconvened in April 1690 in an atmosphere of high tension due to the Jacobite war in Ireland, fears of an Irish invasion of Scotland and continuing unrest in the Highlands.
