The emergence of the English Parliament


Henry III did not fulfill the obligations, therefore in 1263 a civil war broke out in England. The army of Simon de Montfort defeated the royal army, captured Henry III and Crown Prince. In the beginning of 1265 Simon de Montfort actually became the dictator of England. To strengthen his power, he convened the Supreme Council of representatives of the main strata of the population. This council was eventually called the Parliament.

Strengthening chivalry, townspeople and free peasants worried the barons. They began to move to the side of the king. Abandoned by all Simon de Montfort died in a skirmish with the royal troops. With his death, the civil war died down, in which the supporters of the king came out victorious.

The new King Edward I did not liquidate the parliament, but used it for his own purposes. He willingly convened parliamentary sessions for the approval or cancellation of taxes, so as not to alienate from himself the chivalry and the city elite. So, at the end of the XIII century. Parliament finally established itself in the political life of England.

Parliament consisted of two chambers – the upper and lower. In the upper house were the major feudal lords and the higher clergy. The lower house included knights from counties and deputies from cities. In the parliament, unlike the French General States, knights and well-to-do townspeople rallied and stood together, so they were considered. The urban lower classes and peasants did not have their representatives in the parliament.

Gradually, the parliament strengthened its positions. Without its resolution, no tax was levied in the country. In the XI century. he began to legislate, he became the highest organ of the judiciary. Parliament played an important role in the political life of England XIV-XV centuries. He greatly contributed to the centralization of the state, turned it into a class monarchy.


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The emergence of the English Parliament