The term Convention Parliament has been applied to three different English Parliaments, of 1399, 1660 and 1689. The Parliament of England was the Legislature of the Kingdom of England.
The definition of the term convention parliament is generally taken to be:
A parliament which does not derive its authority or legitimacy from an existing or previously enacted parliamentary action or process.
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Convention Parliament of 1399
The first example of a convention parliament is the parliament of 1399. Formed in September of 1399, this parliament convened consequent to the deposition of King Richard II of England and the dissolution of the previous parliament which accepted Henry Bolingbroke as King Henry IV of England. Richard II (6 January 1367 &ndash ca 14 February 1400 was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399 Henry IV (3 April 1367 &ndash 20 March 1413 was King of England and Lord of Ireland (1399&ndash1413 Henry IV (3 April 1367 &ndash 20 March 1413 was King of England and Lord of Ireland (1399&ndash1413 Although this parliament is not often referred to as a 'convention parliament,' it meets the definition of the term.
Convention Parliament of 1660
The second example is the Convention Parliament also known as the English Convention which was elected in March 1660. [1] It was elected after the Rump of the Long Parliament had finally voted for its own dissolution. The Rump Parliament was the name of the English Parliament after Colonel Pride on December 6 1648 had purged Long Parliament of those The Long Parliament is the name of the English Parliament called by Charles I, on 3 November 1640, following the Bishops' Wars. Elected as a "free parliament",[2] i. e. with no oath of allegiance to the Commonwealth or to the monarchy, it was predominantly Royalist in its membership. Monarchism is the advocacy of the establishment preservation or restoration of a Monarchy as a Form of government in a nation It assembled for the first time on April 25, 1660. Events 1607 - Eighty Years' War: The Dutch fleet destroys the anchored Spanish fleet at Gibraltar.
The Convention, after the Declaration of Breda had been received, proclaimed on 8 May that King Charles II had been the lawful monarch since the death of Charles I in January 1649. There are also two contemporary treaties known as the Treaty of Breda. Events 589 - Reccared summons the Third Council of Toledo 1450 - Jack Cade's Rebellion: Kentishmen Charles II (Charles Stuart 29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685 was the King of England, Scotland, and Ireland. Charles I, (19 November 1600 &ndash 30 January 1649 was King of England, Scotland and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution. The Convention Parliament then proceeded to conduct the necessary preparation for the Restoration Settlement. The English Restoration, or simply The Restoration began in 1660 when the English monarchy, Scottish monarchy and Irish monarchy were restored These preparations included the necessary provisions to deal with land and funding such that the new régime could operate.
Reprisals against the establishment which had developed under Oliver Cromwell were constrained under the terms of the Indemnity and Oblivion Act which became law on 29 August 1660. Oliver Cromwell (25 April 1599 Old Style &ndash 3 September 1658 Old Style) was an English military and political leader best known The Indemnity and Oblivion Act is an Act of the Parliament of England (16 Cha Events 708 - Copper coins are minted in Japan for the first time (Traditional Japanese date: August 10, 708) Nonetheless there were prosecutions against those accused of regicide, the direct participation in the trial and execution of Charles I. The broad definition of regicide is the deliberate killing of a Monarch, or the person responsible for it
The Convention Parliament was dissolved by Charles II on 29 December 1660. Events 1170 - Thomas Becket: Thomas Becket Archbishop of Canterbury is assassinated inside Canterbury Cathedral by followers of King Henry II The succeeding parliament was elected in May 1661, and was called the Cavalier Parliament. The Cavalier Parliament of England lasted from May 8, 1661 until January 24, 1679. It set about both systematic dismantling of all the legislation and institutions which had been introduced during the Interregnum, and the confirming of the Acts of the Convention Parliament. The English Interregnum was the period of Parliamentary and Military rule in the land occupied by modern-day England and Wales after the
Convention Parliament of 1689
The third example of a convention parliament is the first parliament of the 'Glorious Revolution' of 1688. The Crown and Parliament Recognition Act 1689 (2 Will & Mar c The Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688, was the overthrow of King James II of England (VII of Scotland in 1688 by a union
This parliament, which met in 1689 after the departure of King James II of England, was not summoned by the King. James II of England and Ireland James VII of Scotland (14 October 1633 &ndash 16 September 1701 was King of England, King of Scots, Later that same year James It decided that he had abdicated by fleeing the capital and throwing the Great Seal of the Realm in the River Thames. The Great Seal of the Realm or Great Seal of the United Kingdom (prior to the Union the Great Seal of England, then Great Seal of Great Britain The Thames ( is a major River flowing through southern England. It also offered the throne jointly to King William III and Queen Mary II, formally recognising Prince William of Orange as King by passing the Bill of Rights 1689. William III or William of Orange (14 November 1650 &ndash 8 March 1702 He is informally known in Northern Ireland and Scotland as "King Billy" Mary II (30 April 1662 &ndash 28 December 1694 reigned as Queen of England, Ireland and Scotland from 1689 until her death The Bill of Rights (or Declaration of Rights) is an act of the Parliament of England, with the Long title An Act Declaring the Rights and Liberties
The Scottish equivalent was the Convention of the Estates, leading to the Claim of Right Act 1689, having a similar effect on the Scottish crown. The Claim of Right is an Act passed by the Parliament of Scotland in April 1689.
Features of the convention parliaments
The features which unite the three convention parliaments and which mandate their status as convention parliaments, are:
- The recognition by the convention of the preceding parliamentary process as having come to an end of its powers in terms of determining future parliamentary proceedings
- The implicit self-empowerment of the parliamentary convention to act in place of the preceding process, thereby establishing its own legitimacy in determining the future of parliamentary proceedings
References
- ^ Pepys' Diary
- ^ History of England, Thomas Babington Macaulay pp 109-110
See also
- Constituent Assembly
- Constitutional convention (political meeting)
- List of Parliaments of England
- Constituent Cortes
- Revolutionary breach of legal continuity