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William III
William III
Author: A. M. Claydon
  • Offers interpretation of long-term instability of Stuart Britain - key for students of 17th-century Britain.
  • Undergraduate courses on Stuart Britain numerous and popular.
  • Makes important contribution to current debates about why chronic instability ended so suddenly - of wide interest.
  • General interest in English ...  more »
  • Role of William as icon of Ulster protestantism - full chapter on Irish problem.
William III, William of Orange (1650-1702), is a key figure, and yet a strangely neglected one, in British history. Although parliament established its right to rule in the aftermath of the Glorious Revolution, William III remained one of the architects of the European resistance to France. And while we tend to think of William-and-Mary as a kind of joined-at-the-hip unit, Mary in fact died in 1694, leaving William as sole monarch for the last, and most crucial, eight years of his reign. It was an awkward period since William was personally unpopular, his continental ties the source of suspicion and resentment, and his claim to the throne had only been through his wife. However, the resultant tensions between king and parliament, inevitable given the constitutional uncertainties in the aftermath of the Glorious Revolution, were in fact productive and in many ways one can see this period as the crucible of the modern parliamentary state. Great developments were set in motion during the reign. The establishment of The Bank of England and modern notions of finance and a National Debt were among these changes. Ministerial responsibility was recognized, the liberty of the press secured, and the standing army transferred to the control of Parliament. Also, the status of the Church of England was reinforced, though some measure of toleration was provided for in matters of personal conscience. Claydon will investigate all these aspects of the reign in their wider context. Anthony Claydon is head of the Department of History at the University of Wales, Bangor. He is author of William III and the Godly Revolution (CUP, 1996).
ISBN-13: 9780582405233
ISBN-10: 0582405238
Publication Date: 11/20/2002
Pages: 224
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Publisher: Longman
Book Type: Paperback
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