Editing Glorious Revolution (section)

===Impact===
As a coup, albeit largely bloodless, its legitimacy rests in the will expressed separately by the Scottish and English Parliaments according to their respective legal processes.{{Sfn|Lynch|1992|p=302}} On this point, the [[Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury|Earl of Shaftesbury]] declared in 1689, "The Parliament of England is that supreme and absolute power, which gives life and motion to the English government".{{Sfn|Bradley|2007|p=28}} The Revolution established the primacy of [[parliamentary sovereignty]], a principle still relevant in consultation with the 15 [[Commonwealth realm]]s regarding [[Succession to the British throne|succession]] issues.{{Clarify|date=August 2022}} The [[Bill of Rights 1689]] formally established a system of [[constitutional monarchy]] and ended moves towards [[absolute monarchy]] by restricting the power of the monarch, who could no longer suspend laws, levy taxes, make royal appointments or maintain a standing army during peacetime without Parliament's consent. The [[British Army]] remains the military arm of Parliament, not the monarch, although the Crown is the source of all military executive authority.{{Sfn|Windeyer|1938|loc=}}{{Page needed|date=August 2010}}

Unlike the 1639 to 1653 [[Wars of the Three Kingdoms]], most ordinary people in England and Scotland were relatively untouched by the "Glorious Revolution", the majority of the bloodshed taking place in Ireland. As a consequence, some historians suggest that in England at least it more closely resembles a coup d'état, rather than a social upheaval such as the [[French Revolution]].{{Sfn|Webb|1995|p=166}}{{Efn|The importance of the event has divided historians ever since Friedrich Engels judged it "a relatively puny event".{{Sfn|Engels|1997|p=269}}}} This view is consistent with the original meaning of "revolution" as a circular process under which an old system of values is restored to its original position, with England's supposed "ancient constitution" being reasserted, rather than formed anew.{{Sfn|Mitchell|2009|pp=xvi, xviii, xix}} Contemporary English political thought, as expressed in [[John Locke]]'s then popular [[social contract]] theory,{{Sfn|Mason|Smith|2004}} linked to [[George Buchanan]]'s view of the contractual agreement between the monarch and their subjects,{{Sfn|''De Jure Regni apud Scotos''|2015}} an argument used by the Scottish Parliament as justification for the Claim of Right.

Under the [[Coronation Oath Act 1688]], William had sworn to maintain the primacy of the Church of England, which both his native [[Dutch Reformed Church]] and the Church of Scotland viewed as ideologically suspect in both doctrine and use of bishops. This required a certain degree of religious flexibility on his part, especially as he needed to placate his Catholic allies, Spain and Emperor Leopold.{{Sfn|Israel|2003|pp=137–138}} Despite promising legal toleration for Catholics in his ''Declaration'' of October 1688, William failed due to domestic opposition.{{Sfn|Israel|2003|p=20}} The [[Act of Toleration 1689]] granted relief to Nonconformists but [[Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829|Catholic emancipation]] would be delayed until 1829.{{Sfn|Holmes|2007|p=3}}

News of the Glorious Revolution reached the English colonies in North America in 1689, leading to [[1689 Boston revolt|a revolt in Boston]] and the dissolution of the [[Dominion of New England]].{{Sfn|Barnes|1960|pp=234–257}} Notably, the Glorious Revolution's principles influenced later human rights frameworks, including the [[United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights]] and the [[European Convention on Human Rights]]."<ref>{{cite web |title=Bill of Rights 1689 |publisher=UK Parliament |url=https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/evolutionofparliament/parliamentaryauthority/revolution/collections1/collections-glorious-revolution/billofrights/ |access-date=8 April 2025}}</ref>