ENGLAND AND IRELAND, 1660-1701

1660        Charles Stuart (Charles II) returns to the throne (tolerant; converted to Catholicism on his deathbed)
1668        James, Charles' brother and heir to the throne, converts to Catholicism
1673        Test Act (requires all Crown officeholders, including the king, to take the sacraments in the Anglican church,
                swear the oath of supremacy, and deny transubstantiation)
1678        Popish plot; Irish Catholics disarmed, priests banishes, and Catholic worship suppressed
1679        Exclusion Crisis (parliament attempts to exclude James from the throne)
1685        death of Charles II and accession of James II (tries to re-establish Catholicism)
1686        James continues to pursue "Catholicizing" aims
1688        birth of a male heir to James' Catholic queen
               six English nobles and one bishop invite William of Orange (stadholder of Holland, whose lifelong ambition is to block the
                    expansion of Louis XIV's power) to come to England
                James imports 3000 Catholic troops from Ireland
                William sails for England
                James, the queen, and the prince of Wales flee for France
                Ulster Protestants raise troops for William and seize several walled towns including Londonderry
1689        outbreak of the War of the League of Augsburg (William et al vs. Louis)
                Revolution Settlement and Declaration of Rights negotiated between the Convention Parliament and William and Mary
                leading to the establishment of the Bill of Rights
                James arrives in Ireland from France and lays seige to Londonderry
                Patriot Parliament (Catholic)
1690        William lands with a large Protestant army in June
                Battle of the Boyne
                Battle at Aughrim Hill
1691        Treaty of Limerick (11,000 Irish troops leave for service in French army)
                further confiscations of rebels' lands
1701        Act of Settlement (ensures the succession remains in Protestant hands)