The Rise and Decline of European Parliaments, 1188-1789

Holly BiceranoEC 765

9/29/2014

The emergence of political assemblies in

western Europe in the sixth and seventh centuries

Changes in the eighth to tenth centuries as a result of the professionalization of war

Differences between a parliament and a council or an ad hoc assembly Definition of parliament Presence of representatives of the cities

Precursors of Parliament

Fragmented authority of feudal Europe Representatives from different segments of

the population The Church The Nobility The Cities

Parliament and Power-holders

1188: First parliament convened in Spain by

King Alfonso IX The Reconquista: A large number of cities were

conquered by the kings of Leon and Castile. Because they had to compete with the Muslim

kingdoms for the favors of merchants and farmers, they granted them some rights.

Move from south-west to north-east in Europe Exchange of ideas within Europe

Spread of Parliaments

Taking the lead: Spain France joins

Parallel evolution in France after being incorporated by the French king

Early decline following the sixteenth century (fifteenth in France) Despotism and parliamentarism are stable equilibria generating high

levels of taxes. Mixed state is inefficient because of mistrust between the king and

the elite. Montesquieu: Either the king will enforce his centralizing powers on

parliament and limit its power or parliament will gain the upper hand. Enhanced power of the central executive due to the growth of central

bureaucracies, the professionalization of armies and navies, and improvements in systems of tax collection France: The king produced taxes in mid-fifteenth century without

approval of parliament and the power of the estates-general gradually declined.

Spain: The Discovery of the Americas brought a large amount of income that was not controlled by parliaments. This meant there was less of a need to raise taxes, causing the role of parliaments to weaken.

Parliaments in Southern Europe

Region constitutes the Low Countries, Scandinavia, and the British Isles Slower in accepting the innovation

There was a gradual spread of the communal movement that began in Spain. The communal movement gave cities more independence and led to formal meetings of representatives from different estates.

Development of parliaments in Low Countries in the late fourteenth or early fifteenth century

Denmark and Sweden – sixteenth century England is exception (early start)

Magna Carta in 1215 that is considered the foundation of parliamentary democracy

No decline from the sixteenth century onwards Parliamentary democracy is advantageous to despotism because there was

greater potential to increase taxes. Socio-political conflicts of the early modern period

The Dutch revolt beginning in the 1570s The English Civil War of the 1640s The Glorious Revolution of 1688 The French revolution of 1789

Parliaments in North-western Europe

Introduction of parliament also rather late for the

same reasons as in north-western Europe Decline followed soon after 1500 (in Poland) or

1600 (in almost all other states, with the exception of Hungary and the Palatinate) for the same reasons as in southern Europe

1598-1653: Parliament in Russia The Time of Troubles: Interregnum that led to elite

rule in place of a sovereign The Romanovs, the second imperial dynasty,

consolidated their position and stopped convening parliament after 1653.

Parliaments in Central Europe

Beginning of a divergence between north-

western Europe and southern and central Europe in the sixteenth century In the thirteenth to fifteenth centuries, there was

initially a convergence in Europe because of the spread of parliament for reasons of parallel evolution and the exchange of ideas.

However, the north-western states moved towards parliamentarism while the southern states moved towards despotism in the sixteenth century for reasons previously mentioned.

This is termed the ‘little divergence’ by scholars.

Institutional ‘Little Divergence’

Initiative taken by the sovereign: ‘revolution from

above’ Stabilization of power after succession crisis

Link between the number of years following their accession to the throne and the frequency of parliamentary sessions in England

Chance that Parliament was not convened in a certain year

Comparison between Spain in 1188 and England in 1688

The communal movement Contrast with Byzantium and the Ottoman Empire

Warfare Evident necessity ‘No taxation without representation’

Why the Parliament?

No sovereign that could call for a parliament Governed by cities Communes developed into city-states No institutional development Lesson: Need to have both feudal territorial

states and communes to give rise to a parliament

Northern Italy

Meetings of cities precede the emergence of estates

in the late fourteenth or early fifteenth century Comparison to northern Italy

The cities in Northern Italy were independent in the absence of a sovereign,

Comparison to elsewhere In other countries, parliament was preceded by the

communal movement that gave more power to cities and resulted in the king having to limit his own power. By contrast, parliament in the low countries did not start at the top, but rather with cities meeting.

Low Countries

Drawback to earlier measures: Defined at the level of

current-day countries. Urban development as a proxy for economic

development due to inaccuracy of other measurements Findings: The activity index of parliaments is positively

correlated with urban development; however, the existence of a parliament as such is insignificant. Van Zanden, Buringh, and Bosker: “We focus on the

development of individual cities. As such, we are looking for evidence of whether or not cities that fell under the influence of a parliament with city representation fared better than cities without such representation.”

Urban Development Across Europe