Trial of the Seven Bishops, 1688 (litho)

Trial of the Seven Bishops, 1688. In 1687 James II issued a Declaration of Indulgence granting religious liberty to all subjects, and ordered the clergy to read it in all pulpits. The measure aroused strong opposition, for it was believed to pave the way for the re-establishment of Roman Catholicism. Seven of the Bishops presented a petition to James asking him to relieve them from the responsibility of proclaiming what they believed to be illegal. James committed them to the Tower, to await their trial for seditious libel. They were acquitted amid scenes of extraordinary enthusiasm, and on the day of their acquittal William of Orange was invited to the throne of England. Illustration for one a set of cards on Historical London, issued by Hignett's Cigarettes in 1926.