Seven Bishops

The Seven Bishops were members of the Church of England tried and acquitted for seditious libel in the Court of Kings Bench in June 1688. The very unpopular prosecution and the acquittal of the bishops is viewed as a significant element in the events that led to the November 1688 Glorious Revolution and deposition of James II.

In November 1685, James II dismissed the Parliament of England for refusing to pass measures removing legal restrictions on Catholics and Protestant Nonconformists. In August 1686, the Parliament of Scotland suffered the same fate and neither body met again until 1689. The measures were imposed in April 1687 by issuing a Declaration of Indulgence which was widely opposed by the majority in both countries, including Nonconformists who feared this would jeopardise their hopes of being readmitted to the Church of England.

The Declaration was reissued in April 1688 and James ordered the bishops to have it read in every church in England. The seven 'petitioned' to be excused, arguing it relied on an interpretation of Royal authority declared illegal by Parliament. After the petition was printed and publicly distributed, the bishops were charged with seditious libel and held in the Tower of London. They were tried and found not guilty on 30 June.

Most Protestants had been willing to tolerate James' personal Catholicism, since he seemed unlikely to produce more children and the heir was his Protestant daughter Mary II of England. The unexpected birth of his son James Francis on 10 June meant the prospect of a Catholic dynasty, with the trial of the bishops seen as part of a wider attack on the Church of England. Their acquittal led to anti-Catholic riots throughout England and Scotland and ultimately the deposition of James in November 1688, although five of the seven were subsequently removed from office for refusing to swear allegiance to his successors.