Parliament of United Kingdom
PARLIAMENT OF THE UNITED KINGDOM
Nobody set out to create Parliament. It developed naturally out of the daily political needs of the English King and his government. The modern British Parliament is one of the oldest continuous representative assemblies in the world.
The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in 1707 following the ratification of the Acts of Union by both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. The Acts created a new unified Kingdom of Great Britain and dissolved the separate English and Scottish parliaments in favour of a single parliament, located in the former home of the English parliament in the Palace of Westminster, near the City of London. This lasted nearly a century, until the Acts of Union 1800 merged the separate British and Irish Parliaments into a single Parliament of the United Kingdom with effect from 1 January 1801.
The first Parliaments
The first known official use of the term Parliament was in 1236. The word Parliament means an event arranged to talk and discuss things, from the French word "parler".
For the first few centuries of its existence Parliament was only an occasion and not an institution. It was called at the whim of the monarch, consisted of whoever he wanted to speak with, met wherever he happened to be, could last as long as he wanted, and had no independent officials of its own. During the 13th century the barons were frequently in revolt against the kings whom they thought were governing the realm badly, that is, against the barons' own wishes.
Magna Carta
In 1215 King John was forced to agree to Magna Carta, the "great charter" of legal rights which insisted that he listen to and follow the advice of the barons.
Magna Carta contained clauses which in theory noticeably reduced the power of the king, such as clause 61. This “security clause” allowed a group of 25 barons to override the will of the king at any time by way of force if he defied the provisions of the Charter, seizing
Nobody set out to create Parliament. It developed naturally out of the daily political needs of the English King and his government. The modern British Parliament is one of the oldest continuous representative assemblies in the world.
The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in 1707 following the ratification of the Acts of Union by both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. The Acts created a new unified Kingdom of Great Britain and dissolved the separate English and Scottish parliaments in favour of a single parliament, located in the former home of the English parliament in the Palace of Westminster, near the City of London. This lasted nearly a century, until the Acts of Union 1800 merged the separate British and Irish Parliaments into a single Parliament of the United Kingdom with effect from 1 January 1801.
The first Parliaments
The first known official use of the term Parliament was in 1236. The word Parliament means an event arranged to talk and discuss things, from the French word "parler".
For the first few centuries of its existence Parliament was only an occasion and not an institution. It was called at the whim of the monarch, consisted of whoever he wanted to speak with, met wherever he happened to be, could last as long as he wanted, and had no independent officials of its own. During the 13th century the barons were frequently in revolt against the kings whom they thought were governing the realm badly, that is, against the barons' own wishes.
Magna Carta
In 1215 King John was forced to agree to Magna Carta, the "great charter" of legal rights which insisted that he listen to and follow the advice of the barons.
Magna Carta contained clauses which in theory noticeably reduced the power of the king, such as clause 61. This “security clause” allowed a group of 25 barons to override the will of the king at any time by way of force if he defied the provisions of the Charter, seizing