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The French Revolution
The Glorious Revolution was a brief conflict between the British monarchy and Parliament in 1688. Parliament was victorious—it replaced King James II and, more importantly, took over all real authority from the monarchy. Acemoglu and Robinson view the Glorious Revolution as the turning point that built inclusive institutions in Britain and enabled the Industrial Revolution to take off there.
The Glorious Revolution Quotes in Why Nations Fail
The Why Nations Fail quotes below are all either spoken by The Glorious Revolution or refer to The Glorious Revolution. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 4
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England was unique among nations when it made the breakthrough to sustained economic growth in the seventeenth century. Major economic changes were preceded by a political revolution that brought a distinct set of economic and political institutions, much more inclusive than those of any previous society. […] The Glorious Revolution limited the power of the king and the executive, and relocated to Parliament the power to determine economic institutions. At the same time, it opened up the political system to a broad cross section of society, who were able to exert considerable influence over the way the state functioned. The Glorious Revolution was the foundation for creating a pluralistic society, and it built on and accelerated a process of political centralization. It created the world’s first set of inclusive political institutions.
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Chapter 15
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What is common among the political revolutions that successfully paved the way for more inclusive institutions and the gradual institutional changes in North America, in England in the nineteenth century, and in Botswana after independence—which also led to significant strengthening of inclusive political institutions—is that they succeeded in empowering a fairly broad cross-section of society. Pluralism, the cornerstone of inclusive political institutions, requires political power to be widely held in society, and starting from extractive institutions that vest power in a narrow elite, this requires a process of empowerment. This, as we emphasized in chapter 7, is what sets apart the Glorious Revolution from the overthrow of one elite by another.
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The Glorious Revolution Term Timeline in Why Nations Fail
The timeline below shows where the term The Glorious Revolution appears in Why Nations Fail. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Preface
...government. For instance, in 1688, the English people seized broader political and economic rights through the Glorious Revolution . In contrast, Egypt has been ruled by one repressive elite after another. Patterns of...
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Chapter 4: Small Differences and Critical Junctures: The Weight of History
...political institutions, which were a result of the English Civil War (1642-1651) and, in particular, the Glorious Revolution of 1688. The Glorious Revolution gave Parliament the power to set economic policy and allowed...
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...which coalition manages to take and exercise power in any given historical moment. For instance, the Glorious Revolution was in part contingent on Britain’s powerful merchant class, whose wealth was contingent on the...
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Chapter 7: The Turning Point
...But eventually (after several generations of Charles I’s bloodline ruled) the Parliamentarians regained power in the Glorious Revolution of 1688, installing William III and Mary II on the throne as king and queen.
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In the section “The Glorious Revolution ,” Acemoglu and Robinson explain how Parliament took power over the English state after 1688....
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The Glorious Revolution also gave the public much more political sway. It could elect Parliament—although less than two...
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Finally, during the Glorious Revolution , Parliament continued to centralize and expand the state. Its budget became about ten percent...
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...example, Parliament helped reduce the cost of transporting goods by protecting private infrastructure investments. Before the Glorious Revolution , the Crown technically owned England’s land, and laws prevented most of this land from...
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...its political and economic institutions were more inclusive than anywhere else in the world. Specifically, the Glorious Revolution made its political system inclusive, and then the political system created inclusive economic institutions that...
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The Glorious Revolution was possible because of a longstanding conflict between absolutists and pluralists—who wanted to transform institutions,...
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Chapter 9: Reversing Development
...inclusive institutions. The Dutch did this in Indonesia, and the British did this in India—after the Glorious Revolution ended its monopoly on the textile trade, the East India Company dismantled India’s prosperous textile...
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Chapter 10: The Diffusion of Prosperity
...But other nations built inclusive institutions in other ways. For instance, Britain did so through the Glorious Revolution . Similarly, the French Revolution brought inclusive institutions to France, while its aftermath did so...
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Chapter 11: The Virtuous Circle
...the 1700s, bandits went “blacking”—they painted their faces black, destroyed property, and killed animals. After the Glorious Revolution , the Stuart monarchs tried and failed to take back power for a century. Meanwhile,...
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The Glorious Revolution built the rule of law in England. It meant the Whigs couldn’t pass laws that...
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Chapter 12: The Vicious Circle
Acemoglu and Robinson ask why radical change sometimes works—like in the Glorious Revolution and French Revolution. These revolutions were unique. During both, businessmen pushed for inclusive economic institutions...
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...huge financial incentive to abuse it. Some societies have broken the iron law. For instance, the Glorious Revolution and the Meiji Restoration were led by broad coalitions that wanted inclusive institutions. But revolutions...
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Chapter 13: Why Nations Fail Today
...of extractive ones. This is extremely difficult, but it’s possible. For instance, it happened during the Glorious Revolution .
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Chapter 14: Breaking the Mold
Acemoglu and Robinson suggest that Botswana, the US South, and China (as well as the Glorious Revolution , French Revolution, and Meiji Restoration) prove “that history is not destiny.” It’s possible to...
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Chapter 15: Understanding Prosperity and Poverty
...particular, the media can help citizens coordinate and demand reform. For instance, pamphlets helped drive the Glorious Revolution and French Revolution, while social media and the Internet drive political change today. This is...
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