James II was the second king on the throne of England after the English Civil War had resulted in the execution of King Charles I and the establishment of the English Commonwealth under Oliver Cromwell. After Cromwell's era, the monarchy was restored when Charles II was brought back to the throne that had been held by his father (Charles I). After the death of Charles II, a second surviving son, James, who had been ruling as James VI in Scotland, became King James II in England. But he tried to take too much power to himself away from Parliament, and his support for Catholicism was not popular. The so-called "Glorious Revolution" of 1688 removed James II from power and brought in William and Mary as king and queen. Mary was a daughter of James II, but was Protestant, like her husband, William of Orange (in the Dutch Republic).
Although Athens had a "direct democracy" instead of a representative one like in the US, the main similarity was that the citizens were in control of the "direction" and policies of the state, since they could control what legislation was passed.
