5th Parliament of King William III

The 5th Parliament of William III was summoned by William III of England on 26 December 1700 and assembled on 6 February 1701. The party political constitution of the new House of Commons was 249 Tories, 219 Whigs and 45 others, representing a significant swing in favour of the Tories. Robert Harley, the Tory member for Radnor, who had declined a post in William III's new ministry, was elected Speaker of the House.

Parliaments of England
1604–1705
ParliamentDate
Blessed Parliament 1604
Addled Parliament 1614
3rd Parliament of King James I 1621
4th Parliament of King James I 1624
Useless Parliament 1625
2nd Parliament of King Charles I 1626
3rd Parliament of King Charles I 1628
Short Parliament Apr 1640
Long Parliament (1) Nov 1640
Oxford Parliament 1644
Long Parliament (2) 1645
Rump Parliament (1) 1648
Barebone's Parliament 1653
First Protectorate Parliament 1654
Second Protectorate Parliament 1656
Third Protectorate Parliament 1659
Rump Parliament (2) 1659
Long Parliament (3) 1660
Convention Parliament 1660
Cavalier Parliament 1661
Habeas Corpus Parliament 1679
Exclusion Bill Parliament 1680
Oxford Parliament 1681
Loyal Parliament 1685
Convention Parliament 1689
2nd Parliament of William and Mary 1690
3rd Parliament of King William III 1695
4th Parliament of King William III 1698
5th Parliament of King William III 1701
6th Parliament of King William III Dec 1701
1st Parliament of Queen Anne 1702
2nd Parliament of Queen Anne 1705
List of Parliaments of England
Robert Harley, Speaker

The two main issues facing the new Parliament were clear. One was the issue of the succession, following the death of Princess Anne's only surviving child during the Summer and the other was the threat of war with France. A ‘bill of settlement’, which would invite the Protestant House of Hanover to accept the English throne was piloted through both Houses, albeit on terms which would further restrict royal prerogative, by 22 May 1701.

Initially Parliament was of one accord as far as the ratification of the second Partition Treaty, which was an agreement between Britain and other powers to decide the division of the Spanish kingdom and Empire upon the death on 1 November 1700 of the imbecilic King Carlos II without heirs. When Parliament discovered that the King's emissary Lord Portland had already concluded the treaty without their knowledge or approval he was impeached, followed by Junto members Charles Montagu, the Earl of Orford and John Somers. All, however, escaped punishment.

Outspoken Tory reluctance to finance another war with Spain had mellowed by the end of the Parliament. The Whigs were very much in favour of war and persuaded the King of the need for another election that year. Parliament was thus dissolved on 11 November 1701 and another Parliament summoned later that month.

Notable Acts passed in the Parliament
gollark: ????
gollark: What *would* you consider bad languages, gibson?
gollark: I think the programming practices it encourages are bad ones, thus bad.
gollark: That's not *really* true if you define it broadly enough.
gollark: Basically.

See also
  • Acts of the 5th Parliament of William III
  • List of Parliaments of England

References
    • "The 4th Parliament of William III". History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 6 November 2017. - Note: 5th Parliament considered to be the 4th by History of Parliament
    This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.