In the early years of the Middle Ages, the island of Great Britain was subject to the domination of the Angles and Saxons. It was only in the year 1066 that the Norman Duke William the Conqueror managed to control the island with the victory over the Anglo-Saxons at the Battle of Hastings. Under his rule, British territories were divided into regions called shires. By promoting the creation of the office of sheriff, William placed feudal lords, merchants, and peasants under his political control.
In the year 1154, the dynasty of William was replaced by the Plantagenet dynasty. Henry II (1154 – 1189) was the first emperor of this new dynasty. Concerned about expanding his powers, Henrique made sure that his laws were valid for the whole extension of land on the island. To that end, he formed a body of judges charged with establishing courts across Britain. Even the clerics were subject to the legal dictates of the new king. Ending his centralizing measures, Henry II made the nobility pay taxes and instituted direct control of the armies.
During the government of Ricardo I, or Ricardo Coeur de Leão (1189 – 1199), the country entered an exhausting military struggle against France and in the battles of the Third Crusade. The absence of royal authority enabled the British nobles to turn against it. In the reign of João Sem-Terra (1199-1216), the continuation of military conflicts and the rise in taxes led to the establishment of a revolt among the nobles. Pressured by this situation, João Sem-Terra was forced to sign the agreements imposed by Magna Carta (1215).
This document signed the creation of the so-called Great Council. Through this new political institution, the king would be prevented from passing new laws without the consent of the British nobility. Furthermore, the Magna Carta agreements prevented the king from curtailing the liberty of any individual without a judgment based on British law. As a first rehearsal of the English Parliament, the Grand Council would, years later, admit the entry of bourgeois among its members.
Over time, the Grand Council expanded its powers and could also decide on declarations of war and peace. In the year 1327, the political supremacy of the Council came to depose King Edward II and put his son Edward III on the throne. In the 14th century, the Council started to be divided between the House of Lords, formed by members of the nobility; and the House of Commons, made up of burghers and knights.
In the fourteenth century, the English prolonged an ancient territorial dispute with France over the thriving commercial region of Flanders. Known as the Hundred Years War, this conflict provoked a process of impoverishment that reached its peak with the pandemic of the Black Death, which affected all of Europe. Consequently, the nobility power weakened and several peasant revolts aggravated the English situation.
In 1453, with the end of the Hundred Years War, the Lancaster and York families disputed the succession to the English throne. Known as the War of the Two Roses, this conflict was only resolved when Lancaster Henrique Tudor sought the support of the bourgeoisie to end the dispute. Named Henry VII, this monarch started the Tudor dynasty, which inaugurated the establishment of absolutist regimes in England.
By Rainer Sousa
Graduated in History
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/historiag/formacao-estado-nacional-britanico.htm
