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Article: Regime change; Britain's Glorious Revolution.("The Glorious Revolution: 1688-Britain's Fight for Liberty")("Revolution: The Great Crisis of the British Monarchy, 1685-1720")(Book Review)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- February 4, 2006
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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EDMUND BURKE'S "Reflections on the Revolution in France" expressed a widespread horror at the violence of 1789 that the British monarchy adeptly used as propaganda. But it was also a contribution to a debate that was by then already a century old: what was the meaning of Britain's own revolution in 1688? Partly thanks to Burke's brilliance, the idea that 1688 was essentially British history bumbling on, as it had for centuries, took hold. Yet the dethroning of James II, and his replacement with an invading foreign king and his queen, was in fact a rare example of successful regime change in an early modern Europe. 1789 may have got more headlines, but 1688 endured.
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