Expert: Mark Smith - 11/9/2009

Question
Hey,

I just had a discussion with a friend who said that William of Orange invaded England in order to have better success in a war against France.  

I wasn`t sure about that so I was wondering what motivated William of Orange to invade England? Was it purely a military strategy?

Answer
Hello Jon.
There's certainly some truth in your friend's theory. William had spent almost his entire reign as Stadtholder of the Netherlands at war with France, if he was King of England he would have the necessary wealth, men and ships to take on the French on equal terms. Furthermore he had a very good claim to the English throne, after James II and his children he, William, was next in line, his mother was James II's elder sister. He was also urged on by many of the Protestant rulers of Europe, so much so that his invasion, when it came, was almost a crusade against Popery. It's pretty clear that he'd made up his mind in the winter 1687/88 that if invited he would invade England and the invitation came in the summer of 1688.
Mark