England

These last three days in England have been stupendous! There are still so many things I want to see, but unfortunately we’ve run out of time. The first day we spent walking through a museum in England. There was a copy of the Magna Carta, along with other information about it. I read all about King William and common law, which talked about trials and rights of a person. I also read about King John, who was forced to sign the Magna Carta. The Magna Carta is a contract between the King and nobles of England guaranteeing and protecting individual rights and liberties. The Magna Carta is especially important because the King had to abide by it too, not just citizens.

        I also leaned about divine right, which is the belief that the king’s power came directly from God. Anyone who questioned the king was said to be questioning God, and that was frowned upon.

        Inside the museum my friends and I watched a re-enactment of the story of King Charles. King Charles caused the English Civil War because he did not follow the provisions of the petition, didn’t allow freedom of religion, and disbanded Parliament altogether. The antiroyalists, who supported Parliament, won the Civil War. They believed in the Petition of Right, which went against the theory of Divine Right. After the Civil War, King Charles had a public trial and was executed. After this, the Habeas Corpus, which gave the right to freedom, was released. King James the second was unliked by England so his daughter Mary and her husband William scared him out of England. They were crowned King and Queen. This event was named the Glorious Revolution.

        The next day we visited Parliament. We learned about the day the Bill of Rights was first presented. Again we sat in at a re-enactment. The English Bill of Rights is very similar to our own Bill of Rights. Some of the similar rights are the right to a fair punishment, the right to bear arms, the right to free speech, and the right to no taxation without representation. King William and Queen Mary were forced to sign the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights was a turning point for England because it ended all absolute monarchy and became a model for all other nations.

        We spent our last day touring England on a double decker bus! First we passed by the Windsor Castle. It was so spread out and enormous! Our tour guide Annie told us that it is the most famous castle and is where the royal family lives. She also told us that it was where the most bloody episode of the English Civil War took place because troops seized it and Charles the first was beheaded! 

Next we arrived at the Buckingham Palace. It is the residence of the British monarchy and a MAJOR tourist attraction. Annie explained how it is a rallying point for national rejoices and crisis.

The Buckingham Palace

We moved onto St. James Palace. I learned that it was the residence of the monarch until 1698, and now serves as the administrative centre of monarchy. I found it a little bit strange that Mary the first died there so they buried her heart and bowels there. Creepy, right?

By the time we reached Westminister Palace, the sun was beginning to set. I absolutely loved the way it lit up! I wish I could have gone inside of it to see where the Parliament goes everyday. Annie announced that there are 1,100 rooms, 100 staircases, and three miles of corridors! Those members of Parliament must be in good shape!

 The Westminster Palace at night!

       Our last stop on the tour was the Tower of London. It is the oldest building used by the government today! It was extremely tall, with four posts topped off with domes. Annie shared with us that this has served as a fortress, prison, palace, place of execution and torture, armory, treasury, the Royal Mint, public records office, and observatory, and crown jewels at one time or another! The people of England obviously had a hard time choosing what they wanted this building to be!

The Tower of London

The Tower of London was the perfect thing to finish off our stay in England. I can’t wait to find out what France has in store for us!

England contributions:

• limited power of authority
• Magna Carta
• common law (rule by law)
• Parliament
• checks and balances
• Habeas Corpus