Rum Rebellion his actions because he was the legitimate authority. However, imprisoning people and threatening to do the same to the court when they failed to yield to the will of said authority would seem to be legally problematic. Duffy states that had Johnston arrived when summoned on 25 January the Rum Rebellion probably would never have happened. Rum Rebellion The Rum Rebellion of 1808 was the only successful armed takeover of government in Australian history. During the 19th century, it was widely referred to as "the Great Rebellion". On 26 January 1808, 20 years to the day after Arthur Phillip founded
A History of the Early Part of the Reign of James II portion of that spirit of liberty which he & he alone preserved in this country for years". Reviewing the book in the "Edinburgh Review", Francis Jeffrey praised it as "the only appeal to the old principles of English constitutional freedom, and the only expression of those firm and temperate sentiments of independence, which are the peculiar produce, and natural protection of our mixed government, which we recollect to ave met with for very many years". According to Lord John Russell the book was "a work which contains more sound constitutional opinions than any other history which I am acquainted". The