The Glorious Revolution

The Glorious Revolution plunged Britain into prolonged warfare with the French Empire, which sought to restore James II to power. To compete with mighty France, the English built a larger military managed by an expanded bureaucracy and funded by heavy new taxes. Prior to 1688, Parliament had held taxes down to keep the Crown weak. After casting its lot with William and Mary, however, Parliament had to fund their military survival. In return Parliament won control over expenditures, which provided new leverage over foreign and military policy, previously Crown prerogatives.

--Alan Taylor, American Revolutions: A Continental History, 1750-1804 (New York: W. W. Norton, 2017), 12.