= British Democratization = A history of '''democratization in England, Wales, and Scotland''', plus recent history of Northern Ireland. Note that there is a separate page for [[Ireland/Democratization|Ireland]]. <> ---- == Constitutional Monarchy == There is no formal constitutionality to the English monarchy. The current state was achieved through centuries of minor constitutional adjustments. See also the [[UnitedKingdom/Monarchs|monarchic history]] of how the separate kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland were bound together into a single United Kingdom. In 1215, English nobility forced '''John''' to agree to the terms of the '''Magna Carta'''. This proto-constitution limited royal powers. (Note that this is technically just the kingdom of England.) The '''Statute of Monopolies''' in 1624 disallowed domestic royal monopolies, although royal charters for international companies continued. A chief example being the Royal African Company (RAC), to which [[UnitedKingdom/CharlesII|Charles II]] chartered a monopoly on slave trade, with [[UnitedKingdom/JamesII|James, Prince of Wales]] as the governor and primary shareholder. In 1689, RAC seized the cargo belonging to Jeffrey Nightingale, an 'interloper' who attempted to trade monopolized goods. He sued for illegal seizure in the court of king’s bench. In the case of '''Nightingale v. Bridges''', chief justice John Holt ruled in favor of the plaintiff, that the monopoly was created by royal prerogative rather than Parliamentary statute, so the monopoly and the seizure were illegal. This established precedent that royal monopolies were also disallowed for international commerce. When the [[UnitedKingdom/Parliament|Parliament]] enthroned [[UnitedKingdom/WilliamIII|William]] and [[UnitedKingdom/MaryII|Mary]] in 1689, it institutionally assumed the power to depose and raise English kings. (Note that this is technically just a personal union of the kingdoms of England and Ireland.) Civilian government effectively emerged through the [[UnitedKingdom/GeorgeI|Hanoverian succession]]. First, [[UnitedKingdom/RobertWalpole|Walpole]] rose to be [[EighteenthCenturyBritishPremiers|considered]] the first [[UnitedKingdom/PrimeMinisters|prime minister]]. He and his chosen successor [[UnitedKingdom/HenryPelham|Pelham]] demonstrated power over [[UnitedKingdom/GeorgeII|George II]] in both policy-making and appointments to government. Following the loss of the [[UnitedStates/Democratization#American_Revolutionary_War|American Revolutionary War]], the [[UnitedKingdom/CharlesWatsonWentworth|Watson-Wentworth]] government saw a complete shuffle of government members. Shortly after, the [[UnitedKingdom/CharlesJamesFox|Fox]]-[[UnitedKingdom/FrederickNorth|North]] coalition formed a government ''against'' the will of [[UnitedKingdom/GeorgeIII|George III]]. Note that civilian here does not imply democratically elected. The [[UnitedKingdom/Parliament|Parliament]] is composed of an elected '''House of Commons''' and an ennobled '''House of Lords'''. There is only a norm, established in [[UnitedKingdom/AlecDouglasHome|1963]], barring a lord from being prime minister. Furthermore, many 'elected' seats were [[EnglandInTheAgeOfTheAmericanRevolution|pocket boroughs]] in which there was factually no election. This continued until the '''Representation of the People Act''' in 1867 (a.k.a. the '''Reform Act'''). ---- CategoryRicottone