England is a monarchy, however, it was not a monarchy throughout it's history. In the times when the Throne was the country's most powerful seat, England became a renowned empire and grew into a world power. However, recently, after losing out on the power struggle, England has become a relatively low key super power. Did the Queen of England make a mistake?
2007-02-10 12:30:53 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Arts & Humanities ➔ History
I think you are somehow mistaken.
1. England was never an absolute monarchy.
2. Parliament took control in the seventeenth century. It was then that England started to become a world power. The factors behind this were the rule of law, stability of contract, freedom of speech and ideas, and commercial and industrial success - none of them compatible with the arbitrary monarchy you dream of.
3. Britain's decline started about 1870 and was accelerated by the two World Wars. Hard to blame Elizabeth II for that!
By the way, out in the west a bunch of Britain's colonists took the ideas I mentioned earlier to their logical conclusion and declared Independence in 1776. Know who I mean?
2007-02-10 18:31:44 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You are quite wrong in your version of history. The greatest growth in power came about as a result of the Industrial Revolution when during the 18th and 19th centuries when England was already a Parliamentary democracy and the power of the monarchy was greatly reduced.
This power reached a peak by the start of the 20th century and has been in decline ever since due to the increased industrialisation of other nations, the cost of two world wars and the loss of cheap raw materials from its empire.
The presence or otherwise of a monarchy is totally irrelevant and is now little more than a tourist attraction.
2007-02-10 18:15:30 · answer #2 · answered by brainstorm 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Wow, you really did telescope History. The Magna Carta and then a bit later Cromwell took care of all of that. The Monarchy in England has been just a figure head for many hundreds of years.
2007-02-10 12:35:01 · answer #3 · answered by Debbie T 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The current Queen of the United Kingdom did not relinquish anything.
The constitutional monachy that the U.K. has was created after the Civil war and was mainly agreed to by King Charles II.
2007-02-10 12:39:16 · answer #4 · answered by Fiona Volpe © 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I agree with Fiona. The fact that Britain is a parliamentary democracy has ensured its survival. Pure monarchies don't do very well in this age of egalitarianism.
2007-02-10 13:04:16 · answer #5 · answered by miketwemlow 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋