For: ESLG 3150 course
Topic: The history of England can be defined as the gradual process of
Parliament asserting its authority over the monarchy.
Term: Spring I, 2000
The political history of British Isles over the past 800 years hasbeen largely one of reducing the power of the monarchy and transferringauthority to a London-based Parliament as the sovereign legislative bodyfor all of Britain. This development has resulted in political, social andreligious conflicts, as well as evolving governmental and constitutionalinstitutions.
The early political history of the British Isles is the story of fourindependent countries (England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland), but adominant English political and military expansionism over the centuriesresulted in a united country (United Kingdom).
The last England's invader Duke William promptly set out to establishfirm control over his English kingdom. He reorganized the government bymaking the old Saxon witan into a "Great Council", which included the greatlords of the realm and met regularly under William's direction, and byestablishing Curia Regis, a permanent council of royal advisers.
William's youngest son Henry I ruled the country for 35 years andduring his reign he won the support of barons by singing a "Charter of
Liberties ", which listed and guarantees their rights (individualliberties).
Early English monarchs had considerable power, but generally acceptedadvice and some limitations on their authority. Powerful French-Normanbarons opposed King John's dictatorial rule by forcing him to sign Magna
Carta in 1215. This document protected the feudal aristocracy rather thenthe ordinary citizen, but it came to be regarded as a cornerstone of
British liberties. It restricted the monarch's powers; forced him to takeadvice; increased the influence of the aristocracy; and stipulated that nocitizen could be punished or kept in prison without a fair trail.
Such developments encouraged the establishment of parliamentarystructures. In 1265, Simon de Montfort called nobles and non-aristocrats toform a Council or Parliament to win the support of people. To it wereinvited not only the great barons and clergy, but also representatives ofthe knights of shires and from the towns. This initiative was followed in
1295 by the Model Parliament (because it served a model for later
Parliaments) of Edward I, which was the first representative English
Parliament. Its two sections consisted of the bishops, barons, tworepresentatives of the knights of each shire and two representatives fromeach important town. In this way Parliament won the "power of the purse":by refusing to agree to new taxes, it could force kings to do as it wished.
As Parliament became more influential it won other rights, such as thepower of impeach and try royal officials for misbehavior. From here we canconclude that by the end of Edward's reign the peculiarly English conceptof government, in which a strong king with powerful royal officials isstill limited by the common law and by Parliament, was complete.
However, the Parliament was too large to rule the country effectively.
A Privy Council, comprising the monarch and court advisers, developed. Thiswas the royal government outside Parliament, until it lost power toparliamentary structures in the late eighteenth and early nineteenthcenturies.
Although parliament now had some limited powers against the monarch,there was a return to royal dominance in Tudor England in 1485. Monarchscontrolled Parliament and summoned it when they needed to raise money.
Parliament showed more resistance to royal rule under the Stuartmonarchy from 1603 by using its weapon of financial control. Parliamentbegan to refuse royal requests for money. It forced Charles I to sign the
Petition of Rights in 1628, which further restricted the monarch's powersand prevented him from raising taxes without Parliament's consent. Charlesattempted to arrest parliamentary leaders in the House of Commons itself.
His failure to do meant that the monarch was in future prohibited fromentering the Commons. As the result of it civil war broke out in 1642. The
Protestant Parliamentarians under O. Cromwell won the military struggleagainst the Catholic Royalists. Charles was beheaded in 1649 and theemonarchy was abolished. But it didn't last long in 1660 they restored the
Stuart Charles II to the throne. Parliament ended his expansive wars andimposed further restrictions, such as Habeas Corpus Act in 1679, whichstipulated that no citizen could be imprisoned without a fair and speedytrail.
In the early and mid sixteenth century country was ruled by King Henry
VIII (king 1509-1547) who had made Parliament his willing tool and hadreplaced Catholicism with the Church of England. Henry was succeeded bythree of his children (Edward VI, Mary I, Elizabeth I) in succession. Butonly Elizabeth made a great contribution during her reign (1558-1603). Sheallowed any form of worship that fit into the rather loose framework ofideas that Parliament had established for the Church of England. But shewould accept none that conflicted with her authority as the head of thatchurch. After the pope excommunicated her in 1570, she had Parliamentdeclare that Catholicism was treason. Parliament lost power during herreign. It did not meet often, as she needed to ask it levy taxes for her.
In theory Parliament continued to have all of the powers it had won duringthe Middle Ages.
The Elizabethan reign later was called "The English Renaissance". Andthis is right. She did a lot to her Kingdom. On of it was the opening ofthe trade routs to Russia, trade companies like the East India Company, the
Muscovy Company and the Virginia Company.
The Stuart monarchs who succeeded Elizabeth try to impose absolutismand to rule by "divine right". But the English Parliament, asserting itsancient rights and privileges, challenged them. The result was a strugglethat lasted through the better part of the seventeenth century, culminatingin the victory of Parliament over the kings. In the age when absolutismtriumphed almost everywhere, England was the striking exception of therule. Growing opposition to the Stuarts centered in Parliament. The Stuartsdisliked Parliament, but were dependent upon it because only the House of
Commons had the right to levy taxes. The Stuarts insisted they had absoluteauthority to follow whatever policies they chose. The conflict between
Parliament and the king came to a climax under Charles I (king 1625-1649).
In 1626 Charles found himself at war with both France and Spain. Parliamentrefused to grant new taxes until it had had "redress of grievances". Led by
Sir John Eliot, the members of Commons finally forced Charles to sign the
"Petition of Right" in 1628. This pact guaranteed certain rights of
Parliament and of individual Englishmen against their king.
The first Parliament of 1640, the so-called "Short" Parliament, matless then a month. But soon after Charles was forced to call another
Parliament, which came to be called the "Long" Parliament because it metoff and on for twenty years (1640-1660). In 1641 the Long Parliament setout to dominate the government. More important, it passed a series of actsto make absolute monarchy impossible.
From 1642 to 1645 the civil war broke in England. It was between
Supporters of King Charles (Cavaliers) and the supporters of the
Parliament (Roundheads) under the rule of Oliver Cromwell. The
"Roundheads" won in this war and the members who remained from the previous
Parliament come to be called the "Rump" (sitting part of Parliament). In
1649 Charles was beheaded and later Oliver Cromwell became the King of
England. After his death in 1658 his son Richard took control over thecountry. But he was a poor ruler and soon resigned. In 1660 the survivingmembers of the Long Parliament were called back into session to invite
Charles Stuart to become King Charles II of England.
Charles II had his problems with Parliament, but he was usually ableto surmount them, and he always knew when the time had come to back down.
The growing power of Parliament against the monarch in the seventeenthcentury was reflected in the development of more organized politicalparties. Two groups (Whigs and Tories) became dominant, and this featurewas to characterize future British two-party politics, in which politicalpower has shifted between two main parties. The Whigs didn't accept the
Catholic sympathizer James II as successor to Charles II and wantedreligious freedom for al Protestants. The Tories generally supportedroyalist beliefs, and helped Charles II to secure James's right to succeedhim.
He (James) attempted to rule without Parliament and ignored hislaws. His manipulations forced Tories to join Whigs in inviting the
Protestant William of Orange to intervene. William arrived in England in
1688, James fled to France and William succeeded to the throne as England'sfirst constitutional monarch. Since no force was involved, this event iscalled the Bloodless or Glorious Revolution. Royal powers were furtherrestricted under the Declaration of Rights (1689), which strengthened
Parliament and provided some civil liberties.
The Glorious Revolution of 1688 and the Bill of Rights of 1689established Parliament once and for all as the equal partner of the king.
This division of power was soon to prove itself a far more effective meansof government than the absolute monarchies of the continent, and it assuredthat the constitutional development of England would continue.
