British colonial policy in the months immediately following the landing of William of Orange was determined less by a change of objectives than by circumstances outside the control of London. The Lords of Trade, a Privy Council committee which had contributed since 1675 more constructive thought towards the political organization of the empire than either Charles II or James II, remained in being. But the loss of vigour occasioned by James's interference was never fully recovered. The king who had helped initially to create a favourable atmosphere for imperial centralization unwittingly did more than any other person to destroy it for ever. In addition, his flight thrust upon the Privy Council the grave task of ensuring that the accession of William and Mary did not precipitate a more radical revolution in the colonies. The speedy onset of war added to the distractions of government. Thus England was unfavourably placed to bargain with her colonies, let alone to impose her will. In particular, the imperial unity which war made imperative would be meaningless if Old and New England pursued sharply diverging paths.

For New England the Glorious Revolution provided the opportunity to overthrow a detested régime: with the imprisonment of General Governor Andros and Edward Randolph the short-lived Dominion of New England collapsed, and men of perceptible imperial sentiment associated with it were discredited. There were revolutionary disturbances also in New York and in Maryland. Protestant hysteria was a feature common to them all, but is not a sufficient explanation of them in itself.