Donne to Dryden — Introduction (Part 2 of 2)

kingdom. The Revolution of 1688 that James II's replacements William III and Mary acceded to transformed the position of Parliament. However, this became so not because of any written guarantee or legislation that directly stated the new position of Parliament - it worked because of the settlement of the financial problem the Stuart kings had struggled against, the subtle and unwritten guarantee that MPs formulated to ensure parliaments would be needed by the Crown.