The transformation of the English monarchy from absolutism to constitutional monarchy, that the king shared power with a representative body called parliament, was a long-term process that encompassed evolutionary change, civil war, and revolution. The Magna Carta, granted by
Used by permission for Bridging World History, 2 The Annenberg Foundation copyright © 2004
King John in 1215, declared that the king was subject to the same laws as those he ruled and could not arbitrarily impose his will. In 1295 Edward I summoned the first or “model parliament,” an assembly of nobles and representatives from the cities, to lend support for his war with France. Over the centuries the summoning of parliaments became regularized, though they remained elite bodies whose role in governing was controlled by strong kings. For example, Tudor monarchs, such as Henry VIII (r. 1509–1547) or Elizabeth I (r. 1558–1603), could not dispense with parliament; but by their use of political pressure and economic favors, they were able to manipulate parliament so that it interfered very little with their absolute power.
While the forms of parliamentary government were being worked out in England, British colonists in the Americas rebelled against English rule in what became known as the American Revolution (1776–1783). The American Revolution occurred soon after the apex of British imperial power in the Americas was reached in the mid-eighteenth century when the British gained control of most of the North American continent by their victory over the French (1763).
