Parliamentary Growth of Uk (former Great Britain)

Parliamentary Growth in Great Britain

influenced the people to be seafaring-mariners, explorers, and colonizers develop a strong navy island apart from continental Europe has fostered English conservatism and independent thinking distance: only about 33.5 kilometers – 21 miles – from

Dover, England to Calais France England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

Celts

first inhabitants

practiced a religion called Druidism

Romans invasion

Britons

build army camps-Lancaster , Winchester & Manchester Christianity was introduced

Angles and Saxons

attacked pushed their way to the English Channel & raided Southeast coast

end of 6th century, much of Britain are conquered except Wales and Scotland

the part where the Germanic tribes settled became known as England

believed to built the Stonehenge Anglo-Saxon tribes

came a new people – the English

during 9th century, the Angles and Saxons were threatened by the Danes from Scandinavia

Alfred the Great, a Saxon king of Wessex, in the South, fought off the Danes and kept them in the north and east, he divided his kingdom into shires,

he reviewed the traditional laws of the land and retained only those that seemed just (his laws became the basis of later English Laws)

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle – history of England King Canute of the Danes defeated the English and he

became the king of England after King Canute’s death, the English rebelled and made

Edward the Confessor their king

Alfred the Great

King Canute of the Danes

Edward the Confessor

William the Conqueror, a Norman duke being claimed the English throne after the latter’s death

the English chose Harold II Godwinson their king over the objections of William

in 1066 William gathered his vassals and warriors, cross the English Channel and engaged Harold in a fierce battle – the Battle of Hastings

William the Conqueror

Harold II Godwinson

Battle of Hastings

Toward the

Growth of Justice and Self-

Government

Trial by Jury and the English Common Law

Trial by Jury and the English Common Law

Beginnings of Parliament

Beginnings of Parliament

The Magna Carta The Magna Carta

Parliament Gains Control of England’s Government

Parliament Gains Control of England’s Government

Trial by Jury and the English Common Law

Henry II ascended to the British throne in 1154 in the midst of feudal war face

He set out to restore peace in England by subduing the barons and establishing a fair justice system.

Before his reign, trials were by ordeal. He established shire courts with the jury. The job of the

jury was to find out under oath whether a crime had been committed.

The decisions of the circuit judges – judges who heard cases in a number of shire courts – were the beginnings of the English Common Law.

Henry II

The Magna Carta King John heavily taxed the barons and this made the latter

angered and they determined to resist. In June 1215, with the help of Churchmen and middle-class

traders, they forced King John to sign the Magna Carta or the Great Charter, which contained a list of their demands on the King.

2 most important demands 1. Article 12 stated: “No scutage or aid save the customary

feudal ones shall be levied except by common consent of our kingdom.”

2. Article 39 stated: “No freeman shall be arrested or imprisoned unless by common judgment of his peers and by the law of the land.”

King John

Beginnings of Parliament Henry III, ignored the Magna Carta. Under the leadership of

Simon de Montfort, the nobles and their followers revolted and made Henry their prisoner.

Simon called a meeting of the Great Council to which he invited not only the barons and churchmen but also two knights and burghers (townsmen) from every shire.

The meetings began to take the name “parliament” a word derived from the French word parler which means to talk.

Edward I needed more money to run his government. He called groups of men from various parts of the country, and these representatives are aware of their bargaining power.

In 1295 Edward I called the Great Council, that body was referred to as the Model Parliament, in which various classes of people were represented.

Henry III

Simon de Montfort

Edward I

The knights and townsmen became the House of Commons, while the gathering of barons and churchmen became the House of Lords.

during the 16th and 17th centuries, there were popular monarchs who made the English crown strong, they are Henry VIII and his daughter, the famous Queen Elizabeth I

Henry VIII separated the church of England from the Roman Catholic Church during the reformation.

Under Elizabeth I, England became a powerful country. During her reign England entered her Golden Age.

House of Commons

House of Lords

Henry VIII

Queen Elizabeth I

Parliament Gains Control of England’s Government

after Queen Elizabeth I died, the throne went to James I, of the Stuart line and a son of Mary, the Queen of Scotland

James I came in conflict with Parliament over the divine right theory

Charles I, son of James I, continued to ignore the Parliament

in 1628 Parliament presented to the king the Petition of Rights listing down their rights and Charles I agreed to the document

James I

Queen Mary of Scots

Charles I

Petition includes such provisions as: 1. No one can be taxed without the consent of the

Parliament.2. No one can be imprisoned without a jury trial. he summoned the parliament to ask for more money a civil war broke out between the Cavaliers and the

Roundheads after the war Cromwell became the Lord Protector, he

dissolved the Parliament after Cromwell’s death, Parliament restored the rule of

Kings, with Charles II James II succeeded to the throne

Parliament deposed James II in 1688 and elected a new king and queen.

in 1689 Parliament had their new sovereigns, William and Mary sign a document called Bill of Rights

two early political parties emerged, the Tories and of the Whigs

Queen Victoria (from 1837-1901) workers finally earned the right to vote

in 1928 suffrage was extended to women over 21 years old

Tories - Conservative Party while the Whigs - Liberal Party

Cromwell the Lord Protector

James II

King William Queen Mary

Queen Victoria

the Cabinet, the reliance of George I (1660-1727) to the English people

the men who run the affairs of the state became ministers and the leader was called the prime minister

since the 19th century, the Cabinet has taken over most of the executive functions of the king

Today, the real head of the British government is the Prime Minister while the King or Queen is just a ceremonial head.

George I

David Cameron

Queen Elizabeth II