1-648-443 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

The Seven Bishops, c1902. When King James II issued his second Declaration of Indulgence in 1688 - the Seven Bishops petitioned the King against it. James ordered them imprisoned in the Tower of London for seditious libel. They were brought to trial before the Court of King's Bench, and found not guilty. Shortly thereafter, James was deposed by his nephew, William III in the Glorious Revolution. The right to petition the king and the illegality of commitments and prosecutions for such petitioning were enshrined in the Bill of Rights 1689.