William of Orange was born in The Hague, Holland, and was the son of William II. He went on to be king of England and stadtholder of the Netherlands. He married the English princess Mary, eldest daughter of his uncle, James, duke of York, which would later become King James II. Opponents of James II would later invite William to take over England. William, holding many positions as a leader, passed the English Bill of Rights, also known as the Declaration of Rights, a Toleration Act which lead to the glorious revolution, condemned all of James" abuses and changed a great deal of English society for many years.
William of Orange took the throne of the Netherlands after the death of his father. He then married Mary, eldest daughter of the English king Charles I. In 1672, after the invasion of the Netherlands by the French king Louis XIV, the leadership of Jan De Witt, grand pensionary of Holland, was repudiated, and Having close ties with Louis XIV, William was elected stadtholder, captain-general, and admiral. William fought the French with great resolution, even killing dikes around Amsterdam to flood the surrounding countryside and stop the advancing French armies. As a result of William's superior diplomacy, which also included the strengthening of ties with England by his marriage to the English princess Mary, Louis XIV agreed to terminate the war on terms favorable to the Dutch. A time after this, James II ascended to the throne of England. During his first years as ruler, James showed many signs of planning to restore England to the power of the Roman Catholic Church. James" leading opponents certainly did not wish anything of the sort, so they took a bold decision. They secretly called William for help.
William, who was Europe's leading Protestant statesman, was asked to bring an army of liberation to England in order to overthrow James" government. William and a force totaling about 15,000 men landed at Torbay on November 5, 1688.
