Quote:
Originally Posted by katzpaw
July 9th, 1776 - New Yorkers topple a King George statue - that's why nobody remembers we won the Revolution
https://allthingsliberty.com/2014/09...of-george-iii/
“The British arms, from over the seat of justice in the Court House, … another wrought in stone, in the front of the pediment without … and the picture of King George III … in the Council Chamber, … thrown to the ground … broken into pieces … and burnt … the British arms from all the Churches in the city were ordered to be removed and destroyed.”[9]The climactic act occurred when the large crowd marched down Broadway to Bowling Green and pulled down the larger than life statue of George III.[10] Within the populace two groups were recognized for having participated in the destruction: Isaac Sears’ Sons of Liberty and Captain Oliver Brown’s soldiers (and some sailors).[11] The statue was pulled down ... |
Americans seem to have this misconception that King George III ruled over them with an iron rod which is quite amusing, as firstly King George III was mentally ill and secondly after the English Civil Wars 1642-51, some powers were transferred to Parliament and remained with Parliament despite the restoration.
King George III at best apppointed people on the advice of those around him, and was actually quite a sad figure with increasing bouts of mental instability and illness, he remained at Windsor until his death.
The Following were important events in terms of curtailing the power of Monarchy whilst establishing an independent Parliament, Law and Legal System in terms of England and later Britain.
Magna Carta 1215
The monarchy basically started losing material power with King John of England signing the Magna Carta [1215], which led to the rule of
constitutional law in England. Translation: the beginning of the end of absolutism in royal rule in England. This was just 149 years after the Norman Conquest under William I.
English Civil War 1642-51 and Commonwealth of England/The Protectorate 1651-60
The monarchy continued to lose power by turns in the years since Magna Carta, culminating in the English Civil War. The Commonwealth of England (later, the Protectorate for the whole of England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland) replaced the monarchy under Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland. (We can safely generalise Charles I was a
British monarch, even though history books conventionally identify him as "of England.")
The Restoration 1660
With the end of the Commonwealth/Protectorate in 1658-60, the monarchy was restored under King Charles II of England, Scotland and Ireland. However, Parliament limited Charles II's royal prerogative powers on constitutional grounds that he had no right to arbitrarily suspend laws enacted by Parliament. Translation: further loss of royal power.
The Glorious Revolution 1688
King James II of England and Ireland (and as James VII of Scotland) was overthrown by Parliamentary forces in a joint operation with Dutch forces under William of Orange, who then became "King Billy": William III of England, Scotland and Ireland (in addition to being Stadtholder of various areas in the Dutch Republic). But during William III's reign (jointly with Mary II), there was resistance to his/their validity to the throne (which is too involved to explain here).
United Kingdom 1707-1800 / 1801-1927 / 1921-today
The most prominent political feature of the UK that diluted the power of the monarchy was the
Reform Act 1832 refashioned the British electoral system and extended the franchise. Translation: more power to the people and parliament.
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