How to recognize the position and role of Parliament in the English bourgeois revolution

①The Formation of the British Parliament

The British Parliament is the ancestor of the bourgeois parliament, which originated in the Middle Ages. Around the middle of the 13th century, the nobles won the struggle with King Henry III, and set up the parliament, and the parliamentary system was formed. after the end of the 13th century, the parliament was convened frequently, and the members consisted of the nobles, the citizens and the knights, and because of the different interests of the various strata, they often did not meet together. After the 14th century, the Parliament was gradually divided into two chambers: the Upper House, also known as the House of Peers, was composed of representatives of the nobility and the Church; the Lower House, also known as the House of Commoners, was composed of representatives of the burghers and citizens. The King was the convener of Parliament. That is, by the King of England, the House of Lords and the House of Commons three parts **** with the composition of the British parliamentary system of government. Since then, the power of the House of Commons continues to expand, the end of the 15th century, the House of Commons already has the power to propose financial bills and legal bills. However, this period of parliament is still feudal nature of the hierarchical representative institutions. Before and after the British bourgeois revolution. Parliament became the political center of the struggle between the bourgeoisie and the Stuart dynasty, which represented the feudal forces.

The British parliament arose in the decline of the king's power, and it had a restrictive effect on the king's power. It later developed into a representative parliament in modern history.

② The English bourgeois revolution and the Glorious Revolution

In the course of the development of the capitalist economy, the power of the bourgeoisie and the new aristocracy continued to strengthen, and the contradiction between them and the feudal autocracy, which represented the old relations of production, became more and more acute. Since 1603, the Stuart dynasty began to rule England. Before the British bourgeois revolution, both James I and Charles I preached the "divine right of kings" and claimed that the king was above the law, believing that "the king is not accountable to anyone except God". Therefore, during the autocratic rule of the Stuart dynasty, economically, the king could impose taxes without passing through the parliament, could monopolize the sale of some commodities, and could appoint his cronies to control most of the domestic trade and almost all of the foreign trade. All these seriously hampered the development of the capitalist economy and offended the interests of the bourgeoisie. On the question of religion, the "non-nationals" were treated harshly and religious dictatorship was practiced, especially the brutal persecution of the "Puritans" who advocated the abolition of Catholicism in the state religion. These policies sharpened the contradictions between the bourgeoisie and the monarchy, and eventually led to the outbreak of the bourgeois revolution in England.

The Scottish Revolt of 1638 was a serious threat to Charles I's rule. In order to raise military funds to crusade against the Scots, Charles I was forced to convene Parliament in November 1640 in an attempt to raise funds in a legal form. The English Parliament had the power to approve or reject new and special taxes, and it became a tradition that the government had to obtain authorization from Parliament to levy taxes. Therefore, the representatives of the bourgeoisie and the new nobility in the Parliament formed an opposition and used this power to fight against the king. They denounced the policies and arbitrary behavior of the king, not only refused to pass the taxation bill, but also demanded to limit the power of the king. Their struggle was supported by the masses and became more and more powerful. The convening of this Parliament opened the prelude to the bourgeois revolution in England.

In the course of the English bourgeois revolution, the bourgeoisie and the new nobility constantly struggled and fought against the king. After the outbreak of the civil war, the parliamentary army organized by Cromwell won some battles, and the result of the civil war was that the parliamentary army defeated the king's army. Charles I became a prisoner of the Parliament, and the king was executed for treason after a trial by the Parliament. It meant the denial of the idea of "divine right of kings" and was a historical progress. After that, England was declared a **** and state, and the reign of Cromwell began. Cromwell took some measures to consolidate his rule, which played a certain role in the development of British capitalism. However, he gradually became arbitrary and dissolved the parliament several times. 1660, the Stuart dynasty was restored, which showed the twists and turns and complexity of the British bourgeois revolution. As the political struggle became more acute, the British political scene was divided and political parties began to be formed, with the emergence of the Whigs and Tories, which represented different interest groups, and were the origin of modern political parties in Britain. James II not only vigorously suppressed the opposition, but also attempted to restore Catholicism in England, which aroused the opposition of the Whigs and was also opposed by some Tories. As a result, a coup d'état, the "Glorious Revolution", which is so popular in English history, took place - in 1688, the Protestant Dutch consul William and his wife Mary were invited to succeed to the English throne and **** together ruled England. After nearly half a century of struggle, the British bourgeois revolution was finally completed in the form of the Glorious Revolution.