ROOTS OF PARLIAMENTARY
POWER IN ENGLAND
For centuries England had witnessed the
gradual movement towards parliamentary
power which accelerated during the 17th
century and stood in sharp contrast to the
absolutist trends on the continent.
The Evidence
• James I
• Clarendon Code
• Charles I
• Declaration of
• Petition of Right
Indulgence
• Test Act
• James II
• William & Mary
• Glorious Revolution
• Bill of Rights
• Toleration Act
• Act of Settlement
• Short Parliament
• Long Parliament
• Cavaliers
• Roundheads
• Oliver Cromwell
• Rump Parliament
• Charles II
• William the Conqueror: 1066 established centralized feudalism
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in which the King appointed Sheriffs to administer the will of
the king throughout the kingdom.
Henry II: Royal circuit courts were introduced to administer the
king’s justice throughout the realm which necessitated the
gradual acceptance of a “common law”
John I: 1215, the barons of England forced King John to sign
the Magna Carta, which guaranteed their rights and privileges
Edward I: As evidence of the growing power of the nobles in
the 13th century, the Parliament was formed, which met with
the king to discuss affairs of the kingdom
Hundred Year’s War: English Kings, in constant need of
revenue, summoned the great nobles to raise funds. Nobles
demanded rights in return for money and thus the
parliamentary power of the purse was born
• War of the Roses: In addition to decimating nearly every noble
house, this civil war demonstrated the need for a strong
central power and thus the rise of Parliament was curtailed
• The Tudors: Henry VII, Henry VIII, and Elizabeth I followed
popular domestic and foreign policies and outwardly appeared
to consult Parliament but actually dominated it.
• The Stuarts: Ruled claiming divine right, they followed
unpopular foreign and domestic policies. James I avoided
situations that would call for extra revenues thus rarely did he
call Parliament into session. Charles I was more active and
was in need of more money all the time. Confrontation
between Charles I and Parliament led to the English Civil War
• Oliver Cromwell: Cromwell was the leading force in Parliament
and ruled as a dictator. Parliament without a king was short
lived due to Cromwell’s policies
• The Restoration: The bitter civil war of the 1640s and the
unsettled political circumstances demanded a resolution
which was to bring a Stuarts back
• The Glorious Revolution: In 1688 the great aristocrats drove
the King James II into exile and ended the major stage of
parliamentary development by inviting Mary and William to
come as co-rulers.
• The new king and queen were asked to accept a Bill of Rights, which
limited the monarch's arbitrary power and eventually vested authority
in Parliament with kingship held as a revocable trust.
• This partnership between crown and aristocracy was the first major
turning point in ushering in modern parliamentary democracy