The precursors of the British Parliament can be traced back to the 5th to 7th centuries AD. Saxon period.

In the middle of the 5th century, the Anglos, Saxons, and Jutes invaded Britain.

Taking advantage of the power vacuum that arose after the Romans withdrew from Britain, they conquered Britain one after another and established seven kingdoms, large and small.

British historians refer to the period from the end of the 6th century to 870 as the "Age of the Seven Kingdoms". In these kingdoms, the "Council of the Wise" was formed by representatives of the king and the nobility. The main function of the Council of the Magi was to assist the king in the affairs of the state and to determine the heirs of the kingdom according to the principle of hereditary.

By the time of the Norman Dynasty, William I, the Norman Duke who had conquered England, created an institution similar to the Council of the Magi called the Great Council.

It was mainly composed of two great feudal lords and direct vassals of the king, both monks and laymen, and met every three years to decide important matters of state.

Due to the large and complex institutions of the conference and the fact that it is often impossible to convene, just like our people's congress congress, there are too many people.

So a small meeting (similar to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress) was built under the big meeting. The small council is the core body of the big council, which is composed of senior court ministers such as the head of royal affairs and the chief of security, and integrates the legislative, executive, and judicial functions. It is also called the "Imperial Council". It is seen as the precursor to the British Parliament.

In 1215, in order to revolt against the king's excessive taxes, the nobles revolted and forced the king to sign the Magna Carta, which is famous in English history. Its main purpose was to clarify the feudal rights of the king's nobility and to prevent the king from infringing on those rights.

From the 5th century to the 15th century, it appeared that power had been shifting in the direction of the parliament that constrained the king's power, but the king still had the practical power to make decisions. Parliament was convened only when the king needed it.

For example, during the 24 years of Henry VII's reign, Parliament was convened only seven times, and during the 45 years of Elizabeth I's life, Parliament was convened only 10 times.

Therefore, the parliament in the feudal era was generally a subsidiary body of the feudal royal power, and it was only when the capitalist mode of production excluded the feudal mode of production that it could be truly transformed into a representative body of capital.

Since the "collective suicide" of the nobles during the Wars of the Roses, the Council of Checks and Balances, consisting of the king, the upper house, and the lower house, has almost completely become a council of master and servant with the king as the main body. Of course, it is a joke to expect such a council to limit the power of the crown.

The Tudor dynasty did not abolish Parliament, on the contrary, it did a good job of supporting Parliament, and saw its support as a symbol of public opinion for the Tudor royal family to rule England. Being able to get the support of Parliament gave the legitimacy of the Tudor royal rule a cloak of public opinion, and greatly strengthened the Tudor dynasty's dominance over England.

Like Edward's title of Lord of Wales and the title of King of Ireland, they were all titles added to himself by Henry VIII under the guise of Parliament, and even the reason for Henry VIII's divorce was found by Parliament, which really became a loyal and obedient institution. It was also evidence that later generations agreed that the Tudor monarchy was unprecedentedly powerful in the history of England.

As for why the council was like a tame dog in the hands of the Tudor monarchs, it became a wild wolf in the hands of the Stuart monarchs, working against the Stuart monarchs everywhere.

Some would say that this was the result of Charles I's indiscriminate tax increases, but in fact it was Henry VIII who went even further.

After the Reformation, Henry VIII used troops with France for many years, even if the foundation of Catholicism was thick, he couldn't help but spend it. So he convened five councils in a row to collect taxes to make up for the financial losses!

The main reason is that Chari I is too independent, and he usually does not consult with the parliament when he habitually raises taxes, and only goes to the parliament when the money is not enough, and the parliament certainly does not want to listen to him. At that time, the House of Commons had the power to collect taxes nationwide, and neither the king nor the House of Lords had this right, which was a rule established in the Middle Ages.

Again, there is no comparison, there is no harm. In the case of taxation, although the Tudors sometimes instructed the local authorities to compel loans to the inhabitants, and those who refused and did not take sufficient loans were even summoned by the Privy Council, and sometimes levies taxes on ships on the coast under the pretext of national defence, these non-parliamentary taxes were only occasionally used in cases of special need.

On the whole, the Tudor dynasty never imposed a single national tax on parliament.

It is recorded that in 1496 the Council (then a government body) decided to levy a tax of £120,000 on its own initiative, but at the same time it declared that the decision would only take effect if it was approved by the next Parliament; In 1529, the First Chancellor, Wolsey, tried to levy a chattel tax on the clergy and the laity without going through Parliament, but received nothing but a rebuke for "breaking law and liberty."

The Tudor monarchs often played with the council, giving them the opportunity to participate, and although they had little power to decide and had to agree to any bill, the councillors were willingly abused and happy.

Moreover, the Tudor monarchs kept the councillors as dogs, not only blindly knowing how to ask for them, but also giving them a little sweetness.

Because the members of the House of Commons are knights and burghers at the grassroots level, and do not have the same privileges as nobles. So the kings gave the parliamentarians some privileges to satisfy their desires.

The king happily granted them the right of free speech, the immunity of the councillors, and the right to dispose of them at their own discretion. And without these privileges, at least half of the members of the House of Commons would have to leave.

The Duke of Somerset left the House of Lords parched and was slowly making his way to the House of Commons.

"Your Excellency the Duke, welcome to the House of Commons!" A chubby gentleman in his fifties in Edward. Seymour was greeted the moment he walked into the House of Commons, and he was very enthusiastic.

The Duke of Somerset glanced at Richard in front of him. Mr. Stroud, with a cheerful smile on his face, made people unconsciously have a good impression of him.

"Your Excellency the Duke, our Lord Speaker is ill and is recuperating at home, please don't blame him!" Gentleman Richard was very polite to the newly baked Duke standing in front of him.

"Sir Moore's dedication to the public really makes me feel ashamed! There is still a reason to blame there! ”

"Your Excellency's forgiving heart, that's really a sunshine!"

"Haha! Mr. Gentleman's personable gift also made me admire! With that, the two flattered each other.

Edward. Seymour was in his attitude towards Richard. Strauer is still very friendly because at Thomas. During Sir Moore's illness, he was almost the head of the House of Commons, and had great prestige among some of the Parliamentarians.

For example, the right to freedom of speech of parliamentarians was created by him. Richard. In the 1512 Parliament, Strauer was detained by the judges of the tin mining court because he was young and ignorant, and recklessly wanted to introduce a bill on tin mines, so that the House of Commons insisted that the court acquit him, and the court could not agree, and the two were deadlocked.

In the end, it was Henry VIII who made the decision to release Richard, which set a precedent for free speech in parliamentarians.