Chapter 1 Revolution and its
Repercussions
The historical importance of the Revolution of 1688 the Glorious Revolution has inevitably fluctuated in the process of constant reinterpretation by successive generations. It fared partio,lrly badly at the hands of the twentieth century, and threatens to disappar altogether under the demands of modern historical scholarship. The decisive triumph of the liberal and democratic spirit, beloved of Thomas Macaulay and the Victorian Whigs, has dwindled into the conservative reaction of a selfish oligarchy. Especially when compared with modern revolutions, it seems rather to resemble a palace coup than a genuine shift of social or political power. Yet it had important and enduring consequences, not less significant than those of more spectacular convulsions. Even the relative absence of physical violence can be exaggerated. In Scotland, the supporters of the deposed king had to be crushed by force of arms, a process which was completed in 1689. In Ireland there was positively a blood-bath, one which still holds a prominent place in Irish myths and memories. When the siege of Londonderry was lifted, and James II decisively defeated at the battle of the Boyne, Ulster Protestants certainly considered their salvation to be glorious, but they can hardly have thought of it as bloodless.
