The "Glorious Revolution" that took place in England in 1688 has always been described by the British as promoting the modernization of the country's political system in a "bloodless way", laying the foundation for the hurricane advance of capitalism. Innovative development of politics, economy and culture in all countries of the world. From the perspective of the development process of world history, this revolution is indeed of great significance. It can be said that it is the critical point of human history's transition from feudal society to capitalist society and the initiator of the innovation of human civilization. For a long time, due to the esteem of progressive historians for the theory of historical development trend, people believed that this revolution was the inevitability of historical development. But if we go back through history, we will find that the direction of the wind played a key role in the success of this revolution.
On the eve of the "Glorious Revolution" in Britain, despite the strong domestic dissatisfaction with the ruler James II, if there was no invasion by the Dutch ruler William, James II's rule would not easily collapse. Because everyone knows that no matter how hard the extreme king tries, he will never be able to restore the Catholic dominance he is passionate about. The whole society still operates according to the original order and rules, and there is no ideological atmosphere in the country that clearly calls for the abolition of those in power in the country. . After all, the English Civil War has just ended. People generally hate war and are afraid of riots and conflicts, and the principle of the British belief that "the king can be resisted but not abolished" also determines that they do not dare to dismiss the king rashly.
However, the reality that the Dutch ruler William invaded England eventually changed the social atmosphere in the UK, which directly led to the abdication of King James II. William, who believed in Protestantism and was keen on business, officially entered the UK, and because of his unfamiliarity with British affairs, he The increasing decentralization of power to the parliament gave birth to the formation of the "Constitutional Monarchy" and completed the "Glorious Revolution". Therefore, historians now generally believe: "If there was no intervention of William of Orange, there would be no 'Glorious Revolution'." In this way, the occurrence of the Glorious Revolution is largely due to the invasion of the British by William of the Netherlands, Due to the geographical relationship between Holland and England, the direction of the wind was what William had to focus on when he invaded England.
William's official invasion of England began in late September 1688, when he led some 45 ships laden with cannons, soldiers and thousands of horses. After his crew was ready, William hoped to take advantage of the east wind to go to sea. However, from September to October, the east wind he had been waiting for never came. The cold northwest wind blew his scalp like a knife. Had to keep waiting. For the next 18 days or so, the winds remained unfavorable westerly winds and escalated into storms, making the situation even worse. One of the soldiers accompanying the voyage wrote: "One night, the wind was high and the waves were rough. The house and the people lying in the bed were violently shaken by the wind, and the entire fleet at anchor was in extreme danger.
" , that is, God continued to blow the strange and unpredictable northwest wind most of the time in late October. But around October 24, the winds started to turn to the southeast and finally to the east. William was ecstatic. On October 30, he finally took the wind and led his men into the sea. Unfortunately, they encountered another rare storm. The sky became extremely dark, the ship shook violently, and almost everyone suffered from seasickness. Moreover, the horses on the boat were not properly tied, and some stood upright with their hoofs raised, and some fled in all directions. The scene was chaotic. In the end, although the ships did not sink, many were severely damaged, and 400 horses jumped into the sea, leaving no bones.
After the rumor that William's fleet was attacked by a storm spread to the United Kingdom, it has undergone processing and rendering again and again, and the loss of the fleet has become more and more serious in the process of repeating it over and over again. any threat. The English priests were complacent, thinking that the gale had completely destroyed William's daring attempt to invade England, that William's invasion of England had been defeated, and King James II was assured that he would not be threatened by William, so he relaxed his vigilance. At the same time, he arrogantly refused to admit that he had to make a last resort in the emergency situation of William's invasion that he would hold parliamentary elections in November, which made him deeply hated by the public. So, before William's official invasion, that wind had already made James smug, making it all the more unpopular.
However, William's navy was not destroyed by the high winds and was actively looking forward to a comeback. They repaired ships in Holland, and cavalry kept replenishing their warhorses. William and his Dutch soldiers didn't think the attack was serious, relative to the British's exaggerated description of the storm, they thought the storm would trap them in port even if they didn't go to sea, a situation that might have been for them. Worse.
After William's ships and horses were ready, he saw that the wind direction at that time would blow them to the north of England, so he prepared to land in the north of England, and asked the representatives of the British nobles who supported his succession to the throne to join him in the north of England, but due to The wind was not stable at the time, and his fleet was constantly being blown back. But luckily, a later easterly wind brought his fleet across the Strait of Dover with ease, but the wind direction was not what he had expected, which did not send him to the north of England, but sent them on 5 November. It blew to Tor Bay in Devon, southwest England. At this time, due to the headwind, the British ships on the coast had to moor in the port and could not sail out, so William's fleet could easily and effortlessly board the British mainland. Although the British navy later began to pursue, but due to the high wind and waves, they could only pursue Portsmouth and could not pose any threat to William. And on November 17, when the British Navy's ships tried to enter the English Channel for a decisive battle with William's fleet, strong southwesterly winds prevented them from entering, so they had to take shelter elsewhere. Under the protection of this wind direction, William's troops invaded England smoothly and without hindrance. King James II of England was so frightened by William's successful invasion that he had a nervous breakdown, and his nose bleeds. He hurriedly fled into the court of Louis XIV with his wife, children, and children. In less than two months, the Dutch ruler William and Princess Mary were crowned as the king and queen of the United Kingdom, respectively, and the "Glorious Revolution" was successfully completed.
In William's adventure to invade England, it was the unpredictable wind direction that allowed them to invade England smoothly, and also helped them stop the British army, make him king, and cast the "Glorious Revolution".
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