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The origins of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
The origins of the English Parliament can be traced to the Anglo-Saxon era. In 1066, William of Normandy brought a feudal system, which forced him to seek advice of a council of landlords and the clergy before making new laws. The Magna Carta, introduced in 1215, established that the king may not impose any taxes without the consent of his council, an advisory body which slowly developed into a parliament.The first elected Parliament was summoned in 1265 by Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester and included both ecclesiastics and the representatives of the knighthood. During the reign of Edward II, Parliament was separated into two Houses: one including the nobility and higher clergy, with the other one including the knighthood. No law could be made, nor any tax levied, without the consent of both Houses.
Welsh representatives were brought to Parliament on the strength of the Laws in Wales Acts in the first half of the 16th century. On the other hand, when the Scottish King James VI became James I of England in 1603, both England and Scotland retained their own Parliaments. The dispute between James I's successor, Charles I, and the English Parliament provoked the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, which later developed into the English Civil War. King Charles was executed in 1649 and under the rule of Oliver Cromwell the House of Lords was abolished, whilst the House of Commons was made subordinate to Cromwell himself. After his death, the Restoration of 1660 restored the monarchic system together with the House of Lords. The Glorious Revolution of 1688 resulted in the dethronement of James II in favor of the joint rule of Mary II and William III. The agreement of both rulers to the English Bill of Rights introduced a constitutional monarchy although the supremacy of the Crown was maintained.
Following the Treaty of Union in 1707, Acts of Union were passed in both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland and a new Kingdom of Great Britain was created. On the strength of the acts both parliaments were dissolved and replaced with a new Parliament of the Kingdom of Great Britain. All the traditions and procedures of the English parliament were retained with English members constituting the overwhelming majority of the new body. Towards the end of the 18th century, the crown still had considerable impact on Parliament, which was dominated by the English aristocracy, but no longer had any direct power. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was created in 1801 by joining the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland. The House of Lords remained superior to the House of Commons until the early 20th century when the supremacy of the House of Commons was established.
Vocabulary:
origins - pochodzenie
to trace - wyśledzić
the Anglo-Saxon era - czasy anglosaskie, epoka anglosaska
a feudal system - system feudalny
to seek - zabiegać o, szukać
a council - rada
a landlord - właściciel ziemski
clergy - duchowieństwo
to establish - ustalić, ustanowić
to impose - narzucić
consent - zgoda
an advisory body - ciało doradcze
to summon - zwołać
ecclesiastics - duchowni
knighthood - rycerstwo
reign - rządy, panowanie
nobility - arystokracja
to levy a tax - nałożyć podatek
on the strength of - na mocy
to retain - zachować
a civil war - wojna domowa
to execute - stracić (skazańca)
under the rule of - pod panowaniem
to abolish - znieść
subordinate to - podrzędny w stosunku do
to restore - przywrócić
a monarchic system - system monarchiczny
dethronement - detronizacja
in favor of - na rzecz kogoś, na korzyść kogoś
joint - wspólny
a constitutional monarchy - monarchia konstytucyjna
supremacy - wyższość, supremacja
to pass - przegłosować
to dissolve - rozwiązać
to constitute - stanowić
the overwhelming majority - przytłaczająca większość
to have an impact on - mieć wpływ na
superior to - zwierzchni
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