glorious revolution and the restoration
When William and Mary of Orange came to England after James II fled to England along with his supporters, parliament gave them the throne. Mary was James' daughter who was asked to come to England. This event is known as The Glorious Revolution because it was the first time that parliament actually chosen the monarchy vs. bloodline or relations to the monarchy. The new monarchy, Mary and William, agreed to a new Bill of Rights with the parliament. The Bill of Rights stated that parliament was the actual government of the country. Before this when Charles II was in rule after Cromwell he got rid of the Calvinist Blue Laws. Two groups were organized: the Tories, first political party in England, and The Whigs, opposition to Catholic Monarchs. So the Test Act was formed, forbidding anyone except for members of The Church of England to have political power.