Declaration of Indulgence

Royal proclamations by James II suspending laws against Catholics and Dissenters.

The declarations

James issued two Declarations of Indulgence, in 1687 and 1688. They suspended the penal laws that punished Catholics and Protestant Nonconformists for worshipping outside the Church of England. The stated goal was religious tolerance. The real goal was Catholic restoration — removing the legal barriers that kept Catholics out of government, the military, and the universities.

The Seven Bishops

When James ordered the second Declaration read aloud from every pulpit in England, seven bishops — including the Archbishop of Canterbury — refused and petitioned the king. James had them arrested and tried for seditious libel. Their acquittal in June 1688 was met with public celebration and bonfires. It was a humiliation for the crown and proved that James had lost the support of the established church.

The trial accelerated the crisis. Within days of the acquittal, a group of nobles sent their invitation to William of Orange, triggering the Glorious Revolution.

In the novel

The Declarations and the bishops’ trial are part of the political upheaval Daniel Waterhouse lives through in the late 1680s.