The overthrow of King James II was the focus of England's Glorious Revolution in the fall of 1688. It was termed a bloodless revolution, which may in fact, not be accurate. When James II knew that he was defeated, he fled the country and went to France in December of 1688.
Some in the alternative media see evidence linking Oliver Cromwell's English Rebellion to the subsequent Glorious Revolution. The idea here is that the banking elites of the day funded various political movements within England in order to create the first English central bank. Our view would be that the movements that convulsed Britain at the time can also be seen within the context of information-technology. In fact, from this standpoint it was the Gutenberg Press that helped create the Glorious Revolution.
This is not merely an assertion. There was an enormous religious ferment in England at the time thanks to various biblical translations spawned by the Gutenberg Press. Certainly, it can be argued that there would have been certain social changes no matter how they came about.
Were they entirely the work of a certain transnational power elite? In fact, the Gutenberg Press, by allowing people to print and read the Bible for themselves, helped spawn first the Renaissance and then the Protestant Reformation that in turn gave rise to Protestantism. The Glorious Revolution in this context was the result of much larger forces put in play decades before its inception.
Historically, this was a very disruptive period for the British. Political, economic and social policies were under stress and about to be changed. Parliament believed that James II looked to gain absolute power over all aspects of the country. James II was considered a problem to the opposition party and both the Tories and the Whigs fought against what they felt were his absurd policies.
He outwardly supported the Catholic Church, undermining the Protestant religions. He deemed protesting as an act against the government and suspended the legal rights of all dissenters. Once James had vacated the throne, it was necessary to appoint new leadership. The appointment went to Mary II, the daughter of James II and to William III as Mary's husband.
In 1689, the American colonialists felt that restrictions on the colonies would be relaxed as a result of the accession of William and Mary. This was not the case, as William and Mary did not concern themselves with colonial issues and the restrictions that James II put into place continued for the American colonies. William and Mary were instead concerned about the unrest in England itself. Change primarily took place in the mother country in an effort to bring the dissenters under a modicum of control.
Mary agreed to marry William because she did not want to reign over England alone. William was much more interested in politics and this tended to create differences between the two. It was a marriage of convenience and William retained his mistresses even after his marriage.
There was a debate over Mary's position. It was felt by many that she should reign sovereign, even after her marriage. William said he would not become subservient to the queen. He threatened to leave the country and return to Holland. Thus, the dual reign began on February 13, 1689 and continued until 1702 when William III died from pneumonia.