Abstract

This book provides the first full account of William III's propaganda during his reign in England, 1689-1702. It thus explores the self-presentation of the English monarchy at a particularly difficult moment. In the 1690s the king had both to justify his irregular succession to the throne in the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and to mobilize his country for mass warfare. Unlike most other works on the political language of late Stuart England, this volume does not concentrate on secular arguments, but rather stresses the importance of religious ideas of the period, insisting that the king solved his ideological problems by posing as a providential ruler sent by God to protect and renew the pure Protestant religion.