11
Born 1650. |
Began to Reign Jan 22, 1689. | |
Died March 8, 1702. |
Reigned 13 Years. |
After the abdication of James, it was agreed that William, Prince of Orange, nephew and son-in-law of James, who landed in England on the fifth of November, 1688, and Mary, his wife, should reign jointly; the administration of government being placed in the hands of the prince. At the beginning of his reign, William, who was averse to religious persecution, made an attempt to alter the laws regarding uniformity of worship. Although he did not succeed to the extent of his wishes, yet a toleration was granted to dissenters on certain conditions. Whilst he was thus engaged, James, the abdicated monarch, whose authority was still extensively acknowledged in Ireland, landed in that kingdom on the twenty-second of May, 1690, where he found Tyrconnell, the lord lieutenant, and an army amounting to nearly forty thousand men, de-