THE "glorious revolution of 1688" created William III and
Mary II joint sovereigns of England, Scotland, Ireland,
and the colonies, but the administration was lodged in Wil-
liam's hands. His expedition to England had saved consti-
tutional liberties and protestant ascendancy, both endan-
gered by his father-in-law, James II. Yet he had another
interest which engrossed him more than these--to join
England to the enemies of France. He had been, and con-
tinued to be, the mainstay of every coalition to stop Louis
XIV from reducing his neighbors to a state of vassalage. As
one of the most astute of his ministers noted, he was so in-
tent upon an invasion of France that he seemed to have
taken England only in his way. ¹

William had to overcome Scottish Jacobites and Irish
nationalists before he could throw the whole weight of
England into the scales against France and thus restore the
balance of power in Europe. Both tasks were accomplished

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