sor2arna, 1:55 AM Bil of Rights ~ Brtannica Online Encyclopedia
Bill of Rights
Bill of Rights, formally An Act Declaring the Rights and Liberties of the Subject and
Settling the Succession of the Crown (1689), one of the basic instruments of the British
constitution, the result of the long 17th-century struggle between the Stuart kings and the
English people and Parliament. It incorporated the provisions of the Declaration of Rights,
acceptance of which had been the condition upon which the throne, held to have been vacated
by James II, was offered to the prince and prince:
of Orange, afterward William III and Mary
II. With the Toleration Act (1689), granting religious toleration to all Protestants, the Triennial
Act (1694), ordering general elections to be held every three years, and the Act of Settlement
(1701), providing for the Hanoverian succession, the Bill of Rights provided the foundation on
which the government rested after the Glorious Revolution (1688-89). It purported to
introduce no new principles but merely to declare explicitly the existing law. The revolution
settlement, however, made monarchy clearly conditional on the will of Parliament and
provided a freedom from arbitrary government of which most Englishmen were notably proud
during the 18th century.
The main purpose of the act was unequivocally to declare illegal various practices of James IL
Among such practices proscribed were the royal prerogative of dispensing with the law in
certain cases, the complete suspension of laws without the consent of Parliament, and the
levying of taxes and the maintenance of a standing army in peacetime without specific
parliamentary authorization, A number of clauses sought to eliminate royal interference in
parliamentary matters, stressing that elections must be free and that members must have
complete freedom of speech. Certain forms of interference in the course of justice were also
proscribed. The act also dealt with the proximate succession to the throne, settling it on Mary’s
heirs, then on those of her sister, afterward Queen Anne, and then on those of William,
provided they were Protestants.
Click here for the text of the Bill of Rights (1689).
‘The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen,
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Citation information
Anicle Title: Bil of Rights
Website Name: Encyclopaedia Britannica
Publisher: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc
Date Published: 19 March 2020
‘URL: https:/Avww britannica.comhttps://www britannica.com/topic’Bill-of-Rights-British-history
Access Date: October 24, 2022
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