An Enquiry into the Reasons for abrogating the Test imposed on all Members of Parliament. together with; A Discourse Concerning Transubstantiation and Idolatry·

An Enquiry into the Reasons for abrogating the Test

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A Discourse Concerning Transubstantiation and Idolatry

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Upon the succession of the Roman Catholic King James II in 1685, Burnet requested permission to go abroad, which James heartily consented to. He left on 11 May and reached Paris at the end of that month. He travelled through Switzerland to Italy, where Pope Innocent XI offered him an audience, which Burnet declined on account of his poor knowledge of the Italian language. We cannot know whether a personal meeting with the Pope would have altered Burnet’s low opinion of him (in his History he describes Innocent as “jealous, fearful and extremely ignorant”, a view not shared by later historians). After more months of travelling across France, Switzerland and Germany he arrived at Utrecht, Netherlands in May 1686. He was sent letters from the court of William, Prince of Orange and his wife Princess Mary inviting him to take up residence at The Hague. This courting of Burnet infuriated James and under his pressure he was formally dismissed from court, but still kept in contact with William and Mary. It was Burnet who pointed out that William’s marriage to Mary did not in itself entitle him to reign jointly with her if she became Queen, and that further steps would be necessary to ensure his right to the throne.

In 1687, in light of James’ policy of wanting to receive William and Mary’s support for the repeal of the Test Act, Burnet wrote, among many other pamphlets, a severe and acrimonious reply to Parker’s book on the ‘Reasons for abrogating the Test Act.’ (1688) He says of it: ‘It was thought that it helped to put an end to the life of the worst-tempered man I ever knew.’ William and Mary declined to support repeal, apparently on Burnet’s advice.

James prosecuted Burnet for high treason in Scotland, accusing him of corresponding with Archibald Campbell, 9th Earl of Argyll and others convicted of high treason. To safeguard Burnet, the States General of the Netherlands naturalised him without opposition, and James’s request for Burnet’s extradition was declined.