Reluctant Revolutionaries: Englishmen and the Revolution of 1688

292 Pages·1990·14.958 MB·English

by  W. A. Speck

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RELUCTANT
REVOLUTIONARIES
Englishmen and the Revolution
of 1688
CWT Oo
W. A. SPECK
Oxford New York
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
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Oxford is a trade mark of Oxford University Press
© W. A. Speck 1988
First published 1988 by Oxford University Press
First issued as an Oxford University Press paperback 1989
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Data available
ISBN 0-19-285120-9
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Speck, W. A. (William Arthur), 1938-
Reluctant revolutionaries: Englishmen and the revolution of 1688
| W. A. Speck.
Dp. cm, |
Bibliography: p. Includes index.
1. Great Britain—History— Revolution of 1688. 2. Great Britain—
History—fames II, 1685-1688. I. Title.
941.06'7—dc19 DA452.S69 1989 88-34887
ISBN 0-19-285120-9 (pbk.)
357 9°10) 8364
Printed in Great Britain by
Biddles Ltd
Guildford and King’s Lynn

Preface
CWT od
In this, my first serious venture into late seventeenth-century
English history, I have received tremendous help to find my feet
in unfamiliar territory. Above all I am indebted to John
Kenyon, who generously lent me transcripts and photocopies of
materials which he has accumulated over many years of
studying late Stuart politics. These were a boon which saved me
incalculable time and trouble, for which my gratitude cannot be
adequately expressed. John Childs too helped considerably with
the loan of documentary evidence which he has gathered during
the research for his trilogy on the military history of the period.
I also wish to thank Pat Murrell for her generosity in making
available transcripts of documents relating to East Anglian
elections.
Professor Kenyon suggested that an examination of the
dispatches of the comte d’Avaux at the Quai d’Orsay might
reap dividends. In following up this lead I was awarded a grant
from the British Academy to finance two trips to Paris, whereI
benefited from the hospitality of the Institut Britannique and the
Institut Francophone while engaged on research there. Professor
Peter King and Mr Roel Vismans assisted my efforts to acquire
enough Dutch to consult correspondence at the Hague, and the
Twenty Seven Foundation provided financial assistance for a
visit to the Rijksarchief.
As usual when commencing an investigation into an episode
in English history I wrote to county archivists and other
curators of manuscripts, and as usual was impressed by the care
which they took to respond to my requests. Our network of
local archives offers a superb professional service to historians
and other enquirers. The scattered nature of the evidence
involved travels throughout England and a foray into Scotland,
incurring expenses which could not have been met without
assistance from the research funds of Hull and Leeds Universities.
#
viii Preface
Wherever I went I was given every help. My old acquaintances
Bruce Jones at Carlisle and Sheila Macpherson at Kendal made
me especially welcome. I also enjoyed working again in the
Bodleian and British Libraries, and for the first time in Dr
Williams Library, whose Trustees I thank for allowing access to
the manuscripts of Roger Morrice. One memorable visit was
made to Sothebys, where, thanks to Sir Charles Graham, I was
able to consult the papers of Viscount Preston before they came
under the hammer.
I have benefited from opportunities to rehearse some of
the conclusions of my research in lectures. The University of
Newcastle upon Tyne kindly invited me to give three on the
Revolution in March 1985, which greatly helped to clarify my
thinking at a crucial time. In May 1987 I presented a version of
the Introduction to the International Symposium on British
History held in Nanjing, China.
I have profited greatly from the views of others on aspects of
late-Stuart history. Discussions with Mark Goldie, who in-
formed me of John Gother, and John Styles, who introduced me
to the work of Theda Skocpol, were particularly stimulating on
the subjects of religion and the state. The graduate students who ~
attended the seminars on English history 1660-1760 at Brighton
in 1984, Hull in 1985, and Exeter in 1987, and the under-
graduates in my Special Subject class at Leeds 1986-7, taught -
me a lot.
Above all, one who has shared with me the excitement of
~ exploring the reigns of Charles II and James II is Mary Geiter,
who is working on the political career of Sir John Reresby, a
man whose traces are frequently to be encountered in this study.
Mary has involved herself so much in the writing of this book,
reading every version of each chapter and suggesting improve-
ments, that it would have been appropriate to have called it
‘1688 and All That’, and to have signed it ‘Williamanmary’, save
that any faults in it are all mine.
Knaresborough W.A.S.
September 1987