1688 - Political Events

Political Events

A "Glorious Revolution" ends nearly 4 years of Roman Catholic rule in England, and the War of the League of Augsburg pits Protestant Europe and much of Catholic Europe against France's Louis XIV.

England's James II issues a proclamation in April ordering clergymen to read from their pulpits the king's Declaration of Indulgence of last year, exempting Catholics and Dissenters from penal statutes. The birth of a son June 10 to James's queen, Mary, suggests the likelihood of a Roman Catholic succession, although it is widely, if falsely, believed that the infant was slipped into the queen's bed in a warming pan in order to ensure a Catholic successor. Thomas Osborne, earl of Danby, returns to politics in June (he was released from the Tower of London 4 years ago) and raises support in the north of England for the Dutch stadholder Willem of Orange (the king's son-in-law), Whig leaders send an invitation to Willem June 30. Willem issues a declaration to the English people September 21, lands at Tor Bay November 5, and moves to assume the throne with his wife, Mary. Whig leader John Somers, 37, has presided as counsel for the Seven Bishops in drafting a Declaration of Rights and will be Willem's (William's) most trusted minister. James II retreats from Salisbury without giving battle; plagued by a nosebleed that cannot be stanched, he throws the Great Seal of England into the Thames, escapes to France December 23, and begins efforts to regain the throne. His infant son James Edward is removed to the French court set up by James in exile (see 1689; James Edward, 1701).

The Great Elector Friedrich Wilhelm dies at Potsdam May 9 at age 68, having centralized Brandenburg's political administration in his capacity of Der Grosse Kurfürst, reorganized her state finances, rebuilt her towns and cities in the wake of the Thirty Years' War, developed a strong army, and gained Hohenzollern sovereignty over Prussia.

A French army invades the Palatinate and lays waste the countryside on orders from the minister of war, François Michel Le Tellier, 47, marquis de Louvois. Captain Abraham Duquesne, marquis du Quesne, has died at Paris on the night of February 1 at age 77.

Venice elects Francesco Morosini doge.

Ottoman forces surrender Belgrade to the Austrians August 20 after 21 days' bombardment.

Siam's king Narai falls seriously ill in March, an anti-French clique led by the king's foster brother Phetracha, 54, ousts the king's Greek-born friend (and virtual prime minister) Constantine Phaulkon and executes him at the inland capital Ayutthaya June 5 at age 40, the king dies at Lop Buri July 11 at age 55 after a 32-year reign, and Phetracha makes himself king, beginning a reign that will continue until his death in 1703. Narai has engaged Chinese, English, and Persian officers to help him break the Dutch East India Company's domination of his country's foreign trade by developing relations with the English East India Company and, more notably, with the French (see 1687); he has encouraged writers but has accepted French occupation of Bangkok, but the Siamese now expel the French from Ayutthaya and will have little contact with the West for the next 150 years (see 1703).

Sir John Narborough, Royal Navy, dies at Chelsea Naval Hospital at age 52, having served as a commissioner of the Admiralty since 1680. He was made a rear admiral and knighted in 1673 after serving under the duke of York at the Battle of Solebay, and an island in the Pacific bears his name.