UK Legal History
Magna Carta: The Great Charter of English Liberty
The Historical Context: King John and the Baronial Rebellion Magna Carta was born from a crisis of royal misgovernment. King John’s reign (1199–1216) was marked by military catastrophe, fiscal …
The Development of the Common Law System
The Origins of the Common Law: Henry II and the Assize of Clarendon The common law of England — the system of judge-made law that would eventually spread to much of the English-speaking world — …
The Glorious Revolution and the Constitutional Settlement of 1688–1701
The Overthrow of James II The Glorious Revolution of 1688–1689 was the decisive constitutional event in English history, establishing the framework of the modern British state. James II, who succeeded …
The Reform Acts and Parliamentary Sovereignty
The Unreformed Parliament Before the reforms of the nineteenth century, the British Parliament was a profoundly unrepresentative institution. The House of Commons, in theory the representative …