Andrea Johnson, age 16, of Greenville, Miss., for her question:
WHO WERE WILLIAM AND MARY?
King William III and Queen Mary II, his wife, became joint rulers of England in 1689. William was known as William of Orange. He was born in The Hague. His mother was Mary, the daughter of Charles I of England, and his father was the Prince of Orange. He later gained fame by his opposition to King LouisXIV of France.
When Louis invaded The Netherlands in 1672, the Dutch chose William of Orange as their leader. Although he was defeated many times, William continued to fight. Once he was forced to open the dikes and flood the land. This stopped the French for a while, and William had time to build up an alliance against them.
In 1677, William married his cousin, Mary. Her father, James, the Duke of York, later became James II of England.
William hoped to gain England's support. He became friendly with those who opposed King James II, his wife's father. When James' son was baptized a Roman Catholic, the Protestants turned to William and Mary. Both were related to the royal family and both were Protestants. The leaders invited them to rule England.
William landed in England with an army of 14,000 men in 1688. No blood was shed in this "Glorious Revolution," and James escaped to France.
Although William and Mary were to rule jointly, William insisted on making the decisions. They became rulers in 1689 after they promised to obey the terms of the Declaration of Rights.
William III turned out to be one of the ablest kings of England, but he was not popular. The people did not understand his ways and he did not understand the English political system. He let Parliament limit his powers in order to gain its support against France.
William and Mary didn't have children. When William died in 1702, his sister in law Anne became Queen.
The Declaration of Rights, later called the Bill of Rights, was signed by both William and Mary before they became rulers of England. This famous document assured the people certain basic civil rights. It also made it illegal for the king to keep a standing army, to levy taxes without Parliament's approval, or to be a Roman Catholic.
William proved to be a good soldier and a clever diplomat in the struggle with France over Louis XIV's attempts to annex the Spanish Empire. He made alliances in 1701 with nearly all Europe against Louis, but he died soon after the War of the Spanish Succession began.
Mary and Anne were the two Protestant daughters of James II. Mary died of smallpox in 1694 and eight years later, when William died, Anne became Queen.
During Anne's reign, literature reached a height similar to that reached in ancient Rome under Emperor Augustus. For this reason, Queen Anne's reign is often called the Augustan Age. Leaders of the times tried to reproduce in England the political stability and classical art of Rome.
In 1707, the Act of Union joined England, Scotland and Wales under one kingdom the United Kingdom of Great Britain. Queen Anne was the first ruler of the joint kingdom.