“The archbishop or bishop shall say, Will you solemnly promise and swear to govern the people of this kingdom of England, and the dominions thereto belonging, according to the statutes in parliament agreed on, and the laws and customs of the same? --- The king or queen shall say, I solemnly promise so to do.
Archbishop or bishop. Will you to your power cause law and justice, in mercy, to be executed in all your judgments? --- King or queen. I will.”
– First part of the coronation oath of British monarchs in Sir William Blackstone’s time, as quoted in his “Commentaries on the Laws of England” (1765), Book 1, Chapter 6 (some of the oath’s wording regarding the monarch’s duty to Parliament has since been changed)
I should acknowledge that every known civilization has left its distinctive mark upon the world. But Britain’s influence upon world history, including through its daughter country of the United States, seems particularly great. In the history of the world, I hold Britain’s influence to be pretty much incomparable. In my opinion, even the influence of the Athenian democracy of Ancient Greece, or the Republic and Empire periods of Ancient Rome, may not quite compare to the influence of Britain. Again, the influence of the United States could be seen as being merely an extension of this British influence. It seems to have been the British Isles that gave birth to a government … answering to most of their people. (More about that later on in this post.) I understand that the influence of other civilizations is also great, and I have likewise covered some of their truly-salutary influence elsewhere. For example, I have covered India here, China here, and Japan here. I have covered Mexico here, Brazil here, and the distant African continent here. But nearly every post-Renaissance civilization has been influenced, to some degree or another, by the sons and daughters of the British Isles. Some of that influence has been good, and some of it has obviously been rather bad. But all of it has been important, in one way or another, for the history of the larger world.
British history is a story of imperialism – of kings and queens, and of the damage caused by the earliest ones. But it likewise seems to be the story of a uniquely British view of kingship, and related conceptions of rights and liberties on the part of their many subjects. In many ways, we ignore this history at our own peril. The same could be said for the popular governments of Ancient Greece and Rome – and, of course, of Britain’s former colonies, including those that eventually became the United States. It may behoove us to learn about what worked for these governments, and what ultimately led some of them to perish and vanish. But, today, I will be focusing on the British Isles, and what we can learn from their uniquely important history.
Geography has often helped the British Isles, by giving them a higher degree of isolation
The lessons of British history began with the earliest known settlers of the British Isles. As you may know, this includes the early Celts. Although it’s possible that other humans made it there before them (as the local flora and fauna did), they are rightly considered to be among the earliest human inhabitants of the British Isles. The invasions of the British Isles also began very early on in British history. These included an invasion by the Romans, another by the Anglo-Saxons, and two by the Vikings. Britain (thankfully) has not been invaded since the Norman conquest of 1066, although Napoleon and Hitler both tried hard to do so. Geography has often given some important advantages to the British Isles, such as a certain degree of isolation from the affairs of the Continent. This may have allowed them to protect themselves against further invasions in the coming centuries.
Scene from the Bayeux Tapestry depicting the Battle of Hastings and the death of Harold
The creation of Parliament, the battles over religion, and the battles over the throne
We can learn something from Britain starting out as an absolute monarchy, as all post-Roman nations were by the thirteenth century. Following the Magna Carta, they then went to a constitutional monarchy in that same century. We can learn something from the creation of their Parliament, which was simultaneous with the Magna Carta. We can learn something from seventeenth-century laws like the Petition of Right, the Habeas Corpus Act, and the English Bill of Rights – which all influenced some part or other of the United States Constitution. We can learn from the intense battles over the state religion, such as those under Henry the Eighth and his famous daughter Elizabeth. We can learn from the Wars of the Roses during the prior Plantagenet dynasty, and the “English Civil War” during the subsequent Stuart dynasty. We can learn from the problems of early English imperialism – in Scotland, in Wales, and (eventually) in nearby Ireland. And we can learn from Britain’s daughter nations elsewhere in the world, including the massive United States. These daughter nations also include Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, as you may know.
We can learn from Britain’s failures, including the problems of its imperial ventures
Of course, we should also learn from Britain’s various failures as well. These include their “Intolerable Acts” regarding the American colonies, which pushed the colonies further towards a revolution: the American Revolution. We can learn from Britain’s imperial mistakes in the Caribbean, in Africa, and especially in India – with the corrupt rule of the British East India Company, a private corporation with political and military power. We can learn from Britain’s fight against Napoleon, both on land and at sea. This was interrupted by another brief war with the Americans in 1812, which had been provoked by Britain’s drafting American sailors into the Royal Navy (as I describe elsewhere) – defeating the purpose of this conscription for them. We can learn from the lesser-known Trent affair at sea, which almost sucked the British Empire into yet another war with the United States. This was when America was embroiled in its own civil war. And, on a more positive note, we can learn from their Empire’s eventual transition to the “British Commonwealth.” At this point, the yoke of British imperialism was gradually replaced with self-rule in many of these former colonies.
Queen Victoria
Fighting two world wars and the Cold War, and struggles with socialism at home
We can learn something from twentieth-century Britain, and from the very-limited monarchy of Queen Elizabeth the Second. And we can learn something from Britain’s once-troubled relationship with France, and the eventual reconciliation between their two peoples. We can learn something from their reconciliation with the United States, with each now being counted as the other’s most important ally. We can likewise learn something from the Great War, including the war’s British campaigns in the Middle East. Of course, we can also learn a few things from Winston Churchill as well, and how he led Britain during World War II. We can likewise learn from Mahatma Gandhi, and his campaign of nonviolent resistance against the British Raj. And we can learn something from Britain’s fight against communism in the Cold War, while they were succumbing to socialism much closer to home. However, I should also note that there was a brief interregnum in British socialism during the Margaret Thatcher era, where free markets were restored for a time. All of these things can teach us much about the British identity – for good, and for bad, and for everything in between.
Winston Churchill
The rights and liberties of the British people were gradually asserted over many centuries
But the most important thing to emerge from all of this … is one of the good parts. That is, some major limits had been gradually placed upon the power of the British monarchy. The creation of Parliament thus led to an increased separation of powers. And this, in turn, led to a recognition of the rights and liberties of the British people. Starting with the Glorious Revolution of 1688, monarchs were required to take an oath to govern “according to the statutes in parliament agreed on” (as cited above). Since Parliament (by then) included a House of Commons, this therefore made the monarchy answerable to the British people. The aforementioned laws, starting with the Magna Carta, placed some real limits upon the power of the monarchy. And this made possible the later advances of the United States Constitution. These individual freedoms, both in Britain and America, allowed free inquiry to flourish, resulting in some of the greatest scientific and philosophical advances of these later times. This, more than anything else, helps to explain why British history still matters – even after their Empire declined somewhat, following the Suez Crisis of 1956. And this explains why I continue to be fascinated by British history. It is one of my hobbies, as I explain in this blog post. Again, one can also learn some valuable lessons from the Greeks and the Romans, which are likewise indispensable. One can also learn something from America’s Declaration of Independence, and its other founding documents – including, most importantly, our Constitution. And one can learn something from many other cultures, from numerous other parts of the world. But British history continues to offer us some unique insights, into both the opportunities and the hazards of popular government. It can show us which policies will actually advance the cause of freedom – and which policies will instead hinder, undermine, or even (temporarily or permanently) destroy it. If that’s not practical, then I don’t know what is.
Magna Carta, 1215
Conclusion: There seem to be certain things that only the British Isles can teach us
This is why I continue to hope that British history will be taught in the school system. We’re obviously allowed to disagree about what its lessons might be. But I hope that our children may continue to learn those things that only the British Isles can teach them. Along with other subjects related to popular government, this is the path to preserving our republic, and even the free world as a whole.
“Archbishop or bishop. Will you to the utmost of your power maintain the laws of God, the true profession of the gospel, and the protestant reformed religion established by the law? And will you preserve unto the bishops and clergy of this realm, and to the churches committed to their charge, all such rights and privileges as by law do or shall appertain unto them, or any of them? --- King or queen. All this I promise to do.
After this the king or queen, laying his or her hand upon the holy gospels, shall say, The things which I have here before promised I will perform and keep: so help me God. And then shall kiss the book.”
– The other part of the coronation oath of British monarchs in Sir William Blackstone’s time, as quoted in his “Commentaries on the Laws of England” (1765), Book 1, Chapter 6 (much of the oath’s wording has since been modified, such as the upholding of the “protestant reformed religion”)
If you liked this post, you might also like:
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment