Which event in English history is known as the Glorious Revolution?

• A. The 1688 overthrow of James II by William III and Mary II
• B. The Signing of the Magna Carta
• C. The Battle of Hastings
• D. The Act of Union 1707

Answer: (A)

The Glorious Revolution refers to the peaceful overthrow of James II in 1688, when William of Orange and Mary II took the English throne. Parliament invited William to intervene to prevent a Catholic absolutist succession, William landed in England, and James II fled to France. The outcome established a constitutional settlement that limited the powers of the monarchy and confirmed parliamentary sovereignty, with the Bill of Rights in 1689 solidifying these changes. This event is often called the Bloodless Revolution because it involved little fighting and led to a long-term shift toward constitutional government. By contrast, the Magna Carta is an earlier 13th-century document that began limiting royal power, the Battle of Hastings marks the Norman Conquest of 1066, and the Act of Union 1707 joined England and Scotland without constituting the revolution in question. The overthrow of James II by William III and Mary II is the Glorious Revolution.