Glorious Revolution in America (Essay Sample)

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Glorious Revolution in America
Before King James II
There were steps taken in the early 1680s in the attempt to restructure the New England colonies. England’s King Charles II was the one in charge of the exercise. Among the steps that were undertaken by Charles II, there was the revocation of the charter leading to the development of Massachusetts Bay Colony and other colonies. The undertaking of the revocation was in 1684 following the rulers’ failure to act in accordance with the demands of the King. The King had authorized the governors to ensure that by streamlining the small colonies administration. It would have brought the colonies closer to the crown rule. However, in the year 1865, King Charles II passed on and was replaced by King James II, who got the consideration from many people as a Roman Catholic. King James II continued the legacy of his predecessor of unifying the colonies. It is at this stage that the Dominion of New England came into being.
Formation of the Dominion in America
The Dominion was put under a new governor, Sir Edmund Andros, who had been the governor of New York. The new governor took office in 1686 (). The Dominion consisted of Rhodes Island, Rhode Island, Connecticut and New Hampshire at the time but in 1688, New Jersey, and New York were incorporated into the Dominion. The new governor was not popular with the local people as he was disrespectful to the people and did not honor meetings among other issues. There were allegations of mistreating those that were non-Catholics especially the royal troops in Boston. Religious leaders of the Dominion opposed the rule of the governor and even went a step further to air their grievances in the court of London. Nevertheless, the issue of religion was sorted by James II after the signing into law the Declaration of Indulgence that gave the people the freedom to religion.
Revolution in England and America
The popularity of James II in England became similar to that of the governor. Among the issues that made him unpopular with the people included the relaxation of penal laws and the opposition of Protestants from rising up the hierarchy. James ensured that Catholics rose to high military positions and increased the power of the army. It was until the birth of James III that the people decided to ask William of Orange to intervene so that he could take over as the king. With military strength as an advantage, William was able to take over the nation and as a result James II went into exile in France.
Similarly in America, there were impacts of the revolution in England. Before the revolution, the governor had written to colonial Governor Simon Bradstreet stating that the Massachusetts charter was not legitimate but illegal. After the revolution, there was the dissolution of the Dominion. It was the greatest challenge that the governments of Plymouth, Massachusetts, and other colonies had to face as they not gotten a legal foundation for their formation. Massachusetts started facing Italian and Indian raids. However, agents of the two colonies left for England to discuss with the crown to ensure that the two colonies got charters. There was the combination of the two into one and received a charter in 1691.
After the Glorious Revolution in America
The revolution is attributable to the joining of two colonies: Massachusetts and Plymouth. The two had existed as small colonies that with their charters coming from England under the King’s rule. However, after the revolution, the two received a charter after their combination becoming Massachusetts province. Colonial governments had greater control over the colonies. Previously, most of the colonies’ governments were under King James. However, after the revolution things changed including the colonial government gained more control.
The king’s control over the colonies was great because of the failure of the king to recognize colonial charters, which had been handed to the colonists. He did not allow the colonists to have a say in the tax systems and laws imposed on the colonies. However, that changed immediately after the revolution as laws, and tax systems were built to suit the colonists. Most of the colonialists were Protestants. There is the estimation that Catholic colonialists were just a small portion, about1.6% of the total population (). After the revolution, most Catholics lived i...