Orange Order History And Origins Glorious Revolution

The Orange Order was founded in Loughgall in Ireland in 1795 after the so-called "Battle of the Diamond" (a pitched battle between rival guilds based along sectarian lines over trading rights). It was named to commemorate the victory of the Protestant William of Orange over his father-in-law the Catholic King James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690 during the Glorious Revolution. However its establishment was more of a reaction to anti-British groups of the late 18th century such as the United Irishmen, also dominated by Belfast Protestants.

2 Glorious Revolution

Some consider William of Orange's victory to have laid the foundation for the evolution of constitutional democracy in what later became the United Kingdom, by strengthening the power of Parliament against the Crown and by finally confining to history the concept of the Divine Right of KingsThis article is about the doctrine; The Divine Right of Kings is also the title of a short poem by Edgar Allan Poe. The Divine Right of Kings is a European political and religious doctrine of political absolutism. Such doctrines are largely, though not ex. Others see it as an unconstitutional coup d'etat that produced centuries of constitutional and legal discrimination against Roman Catholics, undoing James II's policy of religious tolerance.

2.1 Change in order of succession

The victory of William over James, which led to the events known as the Glorious Revolution was significant both inside and outside the Kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland, over which the controversial James II had ruled. Within all three kingdoms it led to a change in the order of succession that replaced the Catholic King James and his Catholic baby son by James's Protestant daughter Mary IIMary II ( 30 April 1662 28 December 1694) was Queen of England and Ireland from 13 February 1689 until her death, and Queen of Scotland from 11 April 1689 until her death. Mary, a Protestant, came to the Throne following the Glorious Revolution, during wh and her husband, the Prince of Orange, now King William III. No Catholic would ever be allowed to become monarch and within a short time members of the Royal Family were legally barred from succeeding to the throne if they became Catholic or married a Catholic, by the Act of Settlement 1701The Act of Settlement is a piece of English legislation governing the succession to the English Crown. It was passed in 1701 as an amendment to the English Bill of Rights, following the death of the last heir of the then Princess Anne. It provides that on.

2.2 Increase in power of parliament

Politically, it led to a substantial increase in the power of the English (later British) parliament over the monarchy, since William and Mary owed their succession not to primogeniture or to inheritance (the normal means of inheriting the throne) but to Parliament's decision to declare the throne vacant and offer the throne conditionally to the co-monarchs. The Bill of Rights enshrined the principles of the supremacy of Parliament and of Protestantism over Catholicism. Its latter effect has led it to be seen as a step along the road towards parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchyA constitutional monarchy is a form of government established under a constitutional system which acknowledges a hereditary or elected monarch as head of state. Modern constitutional monarchies usually implement the concept of trias politica, and have the in the later United Kingdom.

2.3 International effects

Internationally William's victory over James had major political repercussions. It was seen as the first proper victory in battle for the League of Augsburg, the first ever alliance between Catholic & Protestant countries. William's victory was celebrated in Rome by Pope Innocent XI who ordered the singing of Te Deums in the city's major Catholic churches. James's defeat was seen internationally as a defeat for James's major supporter, Europe's then major figure, the King of France.

3 The effects of the 'Glorious Revolution' on the Orange Order

For the Orange Order, the Glorious Revolution remains central to its appeal. It stresses the importance of the 'Protestant succession' to the throne and of the triumph of Parliament and its Bill of Rights and Act of Settlement as the embodiment of that triumph. It celebrates the victory of William over James every year on 12 July.

3.1 The Twelfth

The Twelfth however remains a deeply divisive issue, not least because of allegations of "triumphalism" and "anti-Catholicism" against the Orange Order in the conduct of its marches and criticism of its behaviour towards Roman Catholicism. Yet ironically most Orange Order marches in Ireland are uncontroversial; marches in the Republic of Ireland, notably in County Donegal, require minimal policing and attract non-Orange Order members, almost all Roman Catholic, to watch. However at a few flashpoints, marches have become highly controversial. To Orange Order members, the right to march anywhere on the "Queen's highway" is of fundamental importance in upholding the principles of the "Glorious Revolution". To critics, their demand to walk anywhere, even through Catholic areas, is seen as "provocative", "triumphalist" and "supremacist". In addition changing geographic and religious boundaries compound problems. A classic example occurred throughout the 1990s at Garvaghy Road on the outskirts of Portadown. The Orange Order had marched the same route through open countryside for nearly two centuries. In a religiously divided Portadown, Catholics came to reside in large working class housing estates built on fields along the Orange Order marching route. Each side demanded that their community's "rights" get priority. To the Order, that meant upholding their "right" to follow their traditional route along that roadway. To Nationalists and Republicans, that meant the "right" to insist that, having been forced to live on the outskirts of the largely Protestant town, they should not have the anti-Catholic Orange Order parading down the main roadway through the new Catholic area.

4 Ban on Catholics

Roman Catholics are barred from membership of the Orange Order and members of the order face the threat of expulsion for attending any Catholic religious ceremonies. When in the late 1990s Ulster Unionist Party leader and Northern Ireland First Minister-designate, David Trimble representing Northern Ireland attended the funeral Mass for a child murdered in a Real IRA bombing, there were demands that he be expelled by the Orange Order for attending a " Papist ceremony".

5 Political links

The Orange Order has strong ties with the Ulster Unionist Party, although changes in the party's membership structure mean it is fast losing its grip: for example, a former Grandmaster of the Orange Order, the Reverend Martin Smyth, and the current deputy Grandmaster, Jeffrey Donaldson, faced the threat of expulsion from the UUP. Donaldson resigned from the UUP to join the Democratic Unionist Party. However the Order still has a large block vote on the UUP's governing Ulster Unionist Council .

There are two related organisations, the Apprentice Boys of Derry (named after Protestant guild apprentices who refused entry to and prevented a besieging French army from entering Derry), whose foundations lie in urban working-class Protestant communities, and the Royal Black Preceptory. The latter has been the most willing of the marching groups not to enter so-called "Catholic" areas. Instead they march to the start of any contentious road, the lodge master shake hands with a waiting representative of the local community - usually the Chair of the local Residents Association. There is some dispute as to the RBP's origins, some suggesting that they are descended from the remnants of the Knights of the Order of St John.

6 The Orange Order in Canada

The Orange Order played an important role in the history of Canada, where it was established in 1830. Most early members were from Ireland, but later many English, Scots, and other Protestant Europeans joined the Order. There were also Mohawk Lodges in Ontario.

It was the chief social institution in Upper Canada (today's southern Ontario) and organized many community and benevolent activities. It also helped Protestant immigrants settle. The Order remained a predominant political force in southern Ontario well into the twentieth century. A notable exception to Orange predominance occurred in London, Ontario, where Catholic and Protestant Irish formed a non-sectarian Irish society in 1877.

The Orange Order played an important role in the crisis over the 1885 trial of Louis Riel for treason. The Canadian prime minister of the day, Sir John A. Macdonald is believed to have refused to commute Riel's death sentence because he calculated that there were more Orange votes to be got by hanging Riel than there were Quebec votes to be got by sparing him. He is famously quoted as saying "Riel must die though every dog in Quebec bark in his favour." This and similar interventions of the Orange Order in Canadian politics helped create the bitter divisions between French and English which characterize Canadian politics to this day.

The Orange Order became a central facet of life in Ontario, especially in the business centre of Toronto where many deals and relationships were forged at the lodge. This also served to limit the participations of Catholics, Jews, and women in the workings of Canadian capitalism. The Orange Order faded from its central role in the 1960s and today has completely lost its former importance.

Autonomous Grand Lodges are found in Ireland, Scotland, England, the United States, West Africa, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

7 External links

Fraternal and Service Organizations

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1 History and origins