Parliament

Examples of Parliament in the following topics:

• Cromwell and the Roundheads

  • First and foremost, to avoid Parliament, the King needed to avoid war.
  • Charles finally bowed to pressure and summoned another English Parliament in November 1640.
  • Known as the Long Parliament, it proved even more hostile to Charles than its predecessor and passed a law which stated that a new Parliament should convene at least once every three years—without the King's summons, if necessary.
  • Other laws passed by the Parliament made it illegal for the king to impose taxes without Parliamentary consent and later gave Parliament control over the king's ministers.
  • Further negotiations by frequent correspondence between the King and the Long Parliament proved fruitless.

• The First Stuarts and Catholicism

  • James developed his political philosophy of the relationship between monarch and parliament in Scotland and never reconciled himself to the independent stance of the English Parliament and its unwillingness to bow readily to his policies.
  • James flatly told them not to interfere in matters of royal prerogative and dissolved Parliament.
  • In January 1629, Charles opened the second session of the English Parliament. 
  • The provocation was too much for Charles, who dissolved Parliament.
  • Describe the tensions between the Stuart kings and Parliament over religion.

• Government in the English Colonies

  • The British Parliament believed that it had the right to impose taxes on the colonists.
  • While it did have virtual representation over the entire empire, the colonists believed Parliament had no such right as the colonists had no direct representation in Parliament .
  • In addition Parliament required a duty to be paid on court documents and other legal documents, along with playing cards, pamphlets and books.
  • The Parliament also provided for special courts in which British judges, rather than American juries, would try colonists.
  • Lionel Nathan de Rothschild (1808–1879) being introduced in the House of Commons, the lower house of Parliament, on 26 July 1858.

• British Taxes and Colonial Grievances

  • With persuasion from Grenville, Parliament also began to impose several new taxes on the colonists in 1764.
  • The soldiers' main purpose was to enforce the previous acts passed by Parliament.
  • Following the Quartering Act, Parliament passed one of the most infamous pieces of legislation: the Stamp Act.
  • Prior to the Stamp Act, Parliament imposed only external taxes on imports.
  • Parliament repealed the Stamp Act but passed the Declaratory Act in its wake.

• The Stamp Act

  • The Stamp Act of 1765 was a direct tax imposed by the British Parliament on the colonies of British America.
  • The Stamp Act reflected the first significant joint colonial response to any British measure by petitioning Parliament and the King.
  • The Grenville ministry therefore decided that Parliament would raise this revenue by taxing the American colonists without their consent.
  • Parliament announced in April 1764 when the Sugar Act was passed that they would also consider a stamp tax in the colonies.
  • Since members of Parliament were bound to represent the interests of all British citizens and subjects, colonists, like those disenfranchised subjects in the British Isles, were the recipients of virtual representation in Parliament.

• The Sugar and Stamp Acts

  • When passed by Parliament, the new Sugar Act of 1764 halved the previous tax on molasses.
  • Parliament announced with the passage of the Sugar Act in 1764 that they would also consider a stamp tax in the colonies.
  • The Stamp Act, passed in 1765, was a direct tax imposed by the British Parliament on the colonies of British America.
  • The counter to this argument, held by members of Parliament, was the theory of virtual representation.
  • Since members of Parliament were bound to represent the interests of all British citizens and subjects, colonists—like those disenfranchised subjects in Great Britain—were the recipients of virtual representation in Parliament.

• Restoration of the Stuarts

  • Richard proved to be unable to manage the Parliament and control the army.
  • However, his leadership was undermined in Parliament.
  • Fleetwood was deprived of his command and ordered to appear before Parliament to answer for his conduct.
  • Monck organised the Convention Parliament.
  • The Cavalier Parliament convened for the first time in May 1661 and it would endure for over 17 years.

• The Calm Before the Storm

  • The Tea Act of 1773 arose from the financial problems of the British East India Company and the dispute of the Parliament's authority over the colonies.
  • In England, Parliament gave the East India Company a monopoly on the importation of tea in 1698.
  • Parliament laid additional taxes on tea sold for consumption in Britain.
  • In response to the colonial protests over the Townshend Acts, Parliament repealed the majority of the Townshend taxes in 1770.
  • Parliament passed a new act in 1772 that reduced this refund, effectively leaving a 10% duty on tea imported into Britain.

• Charles I and the Power to Tax

  • Charles I's attempt to impose taxes not authorized by Parliament contributed to the ongoing conflict between the King and Parliament and eventually resulted in passing the 1628 Petition of Right.
  • After he summoned a new Parliament to meet in April 1625, it became clear that he was not.
  • By 1627, with England still at war, Charles decided to raise "forced loans" or taxes not authorized by Parliament.
  • However, Charles decided that the only way to prosecute the war was to again ask Parliament for money and Parliament assembled in 1628.
  • The conflict between the King and Parliament escalated.

• The English Protectorate

  • The republic's existence was declared by the Rump Parliament on May 19, 1649.
  • Power in the early Commonwealth was vested primarily in the Parliament and a Council of State.
  • Rather than opposing Parliament’s bill, Cromwell dissolved them in January 1655.
  • He summoned a Parliament in 1659.
  • Richard was unable to manage the Parliament and control the army.