British History the Majority of Term Paper

Total Length: 2182 words ( 7 double-spaced pages)

Total Sources: 5

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" (Rise of the Commons)

The 14th century was a time when the aristocracy (the Commons in particular) acted on account of their personal interests in addition to acting in accordance with the King's wishes. These individuals gradually started to consider that it was only natural for them to have a word in governing the country and that it was irrational for them to simply accept the King's decisions with regard to taxes. The Parliament thus emerged as a result of people's reluctance to follow the King's laws blindly. The aristocracy played an active role in reestablishing its influence in the country throughout the fourteenth century.

Edward III's last years were less impressive when considering his leadership abilities and the fact that he was largely inactive due to his age and sickness materialized in the masses becoming stronger. The people named Sir Peter de la Mare as a spokesman on behalf of the Parliament of 1376. The speaker did not hesitate to condemn the monarchy on account of its irrational expenditure and because it was unable to effectively organize the country's military. This respective Parliament later came to be known as the Good Parliament as a consequence of the fact that the nobles were sick with a series of corrupt ministers and wanted to remove their authority. Impeachment was then established as a powerful tool in the hands of the Parliament as it provided the people with the power to deal with corruption more effectively and as it prevented the king from being able to show a great deal of favoritism toward certain individuals.
A good example concerning this is the moment when the Parliament forced Richard II to renounce his Lord Chancellor.

The English Parliament was designed to limit the authority of the English monarchy and it successfully did so across several centuries consequent to its establishment. Although it was not until Edward III's last days that the Parliament actually started to demonstrate its power in the country, the fact that Simon de Montfort and early attitudes directed at securing a community of the realm preceded it demonstrate that it was inevitable for England to avoid being ruled by a Parliament. Montfort is largely considered to be the main person responsible for summoning the first Parliament in the history of England. A series of individuals from across England came together with the purpose of providing their opinion with regard to Montfort's position and to the king's authority (Bond 3).

The Middle Ages practically cemented the position of the Parliament in the English society and consequent to this time period this institution gradually became stronger. While the Tudor Dynasty saw a more powerful Parliament developing as people supported the community's actions, the power of the monarchy was not significantly altered. It is only safe to say that the Tudor monarchs played an important role in designing the Parliament one can presently see in England.

The English Parliament largely came into being as a result of the masses acknowledging their power in the state. The monarchy needed powerful individuals to support it and the only way for it to consolidate its authority was to accept a Parliament......

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