When Britannia was a province of the Roman empire, rule by the Roman occupiers was autocratic – no one else had a say. In England in the Anglo-Saxon period that followed, local tribal leaders were chosen by their peers and ruled by consent.
During medieval times, a style of government evolved in which all free men – that is, no women and no serfs – had some representation at the top.
Some monarchs tried to avoid consultation with what came to be known as Parliament and had to be reminded periodically of the constitutional settlements their forebears had sanctioned. Some of the most important of these are discussed below.
