#english_history 

# The Beginnings
After being forced to sign [[Magna Carta Libertatum]], John I was not eager to actually abide by it. The nobles rebelled but then John died.

## Henry III
John I's son, Henry III (1216-1272), spent his first 16 years under strict control of the nobles. At the age of 25, he wanted to be completely independent, so he spent time with foreign friends and became involved in expensive pro-pope wars in Sicily and France, which the nobles did not like.
Once again they acted as a [[Class system|class]] and under the leadership of **Simon de Monfort**, earl of Leicester, in **1258** took over the government and elected a council of nobles, [[Parliament]], which took control of the treasury and forced Henry to get rid of his foreign advisors.
Some of the nobles did not support the revolutionary new council, and with their help Henry was finally able to defeat and kill Simon de Monfort in **1265**.
Although he restored his royal authority, he had to be cautious about his actions. When he died in 1272, his son Edward I (1272-1307) took the throne.

## Edward I
Edward I brought together the first real parliament mainly because he needed those wealthy enough to agree to be taxed, because taxation constitued the majority of the king's income.
Edward I was the first to create a "representative institution" which could provide the money he needed, containing a mixture of "gentry" and merchants from the towns.
In 1275 the King commanded each shire and each town to send 2 representatives to his parliament. These "commoners" would have stayed away if the could, to avoid giving Edward money, but few dared risk Edward's anger. This was the beginning of the idea that there should be [[American Revolution|"no taxation without representation"]]. ^01a24a

# Late Medieval

^cd7036

When Edward III asked for money from his parliament, they parliamentaries asked to see the royal accounts: for the first time the king **allowed himself to be "accountable" to Parliament**.
During the reign of Edward III, Parliament became organised in 2 pars: the House of Lords, and the House of Commons. Only those commoners with an income of >=40 shilling a year could qualify to be members of Parliament.
The poor, however, had no voice of their own in Parliament until the 1850s. ^f1b885

# Tudors
## Monarchs' opinion
The Tudors did not like governing through Parliament. [[The Tudors|Henry VII]] had used it only for law making, Henry VIII for raising money and for his struggle with Rome. Because of that, *they seldom called it together*.

However, by using Parliament to strengthen their policy, the Tudors **actually increased Parliament's authority**. So all the Tudor monarchs tried to line their pockets in other ways. Elizabeth I and her chief adviser, Lord Burghley, for example, had found ways to raise money that were extremely unwise, like selling official positions.

## Activities
During the Tudors' time power moved from the House of Lords to the House of Commons, because their MPs (Members of Parliament) represented richer and more influential classes than the Lords. So the idea of getting rid of the House of Lords was first suggested in the 16th century.

But Parliament *did not really represent the people*. Few MPs followed the rule of living in the area they represented, and the monarchy used its influence to make sure that many MPs would support royal policies, rather than the wishes of their electors.

In order to control discussion, the Crown appointed a **"Speaker of the House of Commons"**, who still exists today. His job in Tudor times was to make sure that Parliament discussed what the monarch wanted Parliament to discuss, and that it made the decision which they wanted.

The MPs were given important rights: **freedom of speech, freedom from fear of arrest, and freedom to meet and speak to the monarch** in order to let them do their job.

## Troubles
In their old age Elizabeth and Burghley allowed the tax system to fall into dysfunction. A tax reform was required, which could only be carried out with the agreement of Parliament, which wanted to avoid the matter of tax, and so did local government becase the JPs who were responsible for collecting taxes were also landlords who would have to pay them. As JPs were not paid, they saw no reason for collecting unpopular taxes.

Eventually, Parliament naturally began to think it had a *right* to discuss, law-make and advise the Tudors, which eventually resulted in a [[English Civil War|war]].

# Stuarts
## James I
Like the Tudors, James I tried to rule without Parliament as much as possible. 

![[The Stuarts#^220377]]

He was an avowed supporter of these ideas, which led to troubles with Parliament.

### Economy
Elizabeth I left James with a huge debt, so he asked Parliament to raise a tax. Parliament agreed, but in return insisted on the right to discuss James's home and foreign policty. James insisted that he alone had the divine right to do so, so Parliament disagreed.

In **1618**, at the beginning of the Thirty Years War in Europe, Parliament wished to got war against the Catholics, and James would not agree (monetary issues). ^c157dc

### Troubles
James made the mistake of appointing Elizabeth's minister, Sir **Edward Coke**, as Chief Justice. Coke made decisions based on the law which limited the kings power, and the king removed Coke from the position of Chief Justice, but as an MP Coke continuted to make trouble.

## Charles I
Charles I found himself quarrelling even more with Parliament, so he dissolved it, but his need for money forced him to recall it. But each time he did so, he quarrelled with it. ^35e7a1

In **1628** in return for the money he badly needed, Charles promised that he **would only raise money by Act of Parliament**, and that he **would not imprison anyone without lawful reason** - ***Petition of Right***. ^dd3f70

He soon realised that he made nonsense of the king's divine right, so he dissolved Parliament in **1629**. Soon he was ruling successfuly, and it seemed that Parliament might never meet again.

## Charles II
![[The Stuarts#^749e8d]]

In the time of Charles II the first parties emerged:
- "**Whigs**" (from a rude name for cattle drivers), liberal ilk afraid of an absolute monarchy and the Catholic faith, although supporting religious freedom ^266d68
- "**Tories**", (an Irish name for thieves), conservative ilk, just like the Royalists in the Civil War.

### Catholic-Crown struggle
![[The Stuarts#^152656]]

### [[Glorious Revolution|The Glorious Revolution]]'s teachings
![[Glorious Revolution#^62590f]]
![[Glorious Revolution#^1c085b]]

# Hanoverians
### George III
![[The Hanoverians#^09e01b]]
![[The Hanoverians#^9d384c]]
![[The Hanoverians#^0ae77a]]

# Saxe-Coburg and Windsor
![[The end of "England's summer"#^b4a52f]]
![[The end of "England's summer"#^a1d699]]