How Did King Henry III Maintain Control? (AQA GCSE History)

Summary

For a short time, while Henry III and his son were prisoners, Simon de Montfort was the ruler of England in all but name. He began to make changes to turn England into a republic. The changes were brought to a swift and brutal end at the Battle of Evesham when Simon de Montfort was killed. However, the consequences of his rebellion were to be felt far into the future, as it led to the development of a parliament much like the one we have today.

The Parliament of 1265

• With both the king and the heir to the throne as his prisoners, de Montfort began to establish a new way to run England

• It was to become a republic in which decisions were made by parliament instead of a monarch

• In 1265, de Montfort called a Great Council of Barons but also invited knights and wealthy merchants, known as burgesses, to attend

  • These were not nobles but commoners or commons

  • For the first time, they were going to have influence in how England was run 

• Commoners having an influence is the reason that people see the Parliament of 1265 as a significant event in England’s history

The Battle of Evesham

• Not all barons were happy with de Montfort’s changes and began to fear that he had become too powerful

• When Prince Edward escaped from captivity whilst exercising his horse, he quickly became a focal figure and leader for the angry barons

• Prince Edward’s army met with de Montfort’s forces in Evesham on 4th August 1265

• De Montfort’s forces were greatly outnumbered

• De Montfort was hacked to pieces when leading a cavalry charge 

How did Parliament develop after 1265?

• Henry returned to his throne and never called another Great Council

• However, when Prince Edward became Edward I in 1272, he understood the importance of keeping the barons happy

  • Whenever he required new taxes, he called parliaments so the funding could be discussed and approved rather than simply demanded

• In 1295, he called what became known as the Model Parliament

  • This bears a great resemblance to the parliament of today with both lords and commoners assembled

• However, unlike today, voting was not done in secret and only nobles were entitled to vote

Short-term impacts of the Parliament of 1265

• Henry re-established total control over the country within two years

• However, he continued to summon commons to Parliament to approve new taxes

• This continued under the reign of Edward I when he established the Model Parliament in 1295

Medium-term impacts of the Parliament of 1265

• Parliament challenged and replaced the monarch in the Glorious Revolution of 1688

  • This would not have happened if De Montfort had not created the extended parliament of 1265

Long-term impacts of the Parliament of 1265

• It established the principal of representation of the common man in making decisions over the running of the country

  • This helped inspire the Chartists who demanded the vote for all men in the 19th century

• Although different in many ways, the Parliament of 1265 set out the structure of Parliament that operates today by establishing the House of Commons alongside the Lords