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Bill of Rights
(878 words)

The Bill of Rights is one of the foundations of the political order of Britain, achieved in the wake of the Glorious Revolution of 1688/1689, that made the kingdom a constitutional monarchy and Parliament the center of gravity of British politics [4]. Contrary to the impression created by the history of its reception, it was not a piece of programmatic legislation like the French declarations of human/citizens’ rights of 1789; rather, it was, as the text itself claimed, the assertion of a constitutional position that had already been in place until James II/VII had undermined it. When the C…

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Lottes, Günther, “Bill of Rights”, in: Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online, Editors of the English edition: Graeme Dunphy, Andrew Gow. Original German Edition: Enzyklopädie der Neuzeit. Im Auftrag des Kulturwissenschaftlichen Instituts (Essen) und in Verbindung mit den Fachherausgebern herausgegeben von Friedrich Jaeger. Copyright © J.B. Metzlersche Verlagsbuchhandlung und Carl Ernst Poeschel Verlag GmbH 2005–2012. Consulted online on 19 March 2024 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2352-0272_emho_SIM_017665>
First published online: 2015
First print edition: 20160907



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