1. Functions and Forms of the English Government
throughout History.
By Aideen Galligan.
The form and function of the English government has
changed throughout history. During the Celtic times
England was ruled by a monarchy. Then around 50 B.C.
when the Roman Empire was in Europe the Romans
ruled England. After the fall of the Roman Empire the
feudal system was introduced; so kings and lords ruled
different parts of the county and when the Magna Carta
was written the government changed again. After the
glorious revolution the government of England was
changed dramatically again and during the Victorian era
a King ruled.
During the Celtic time in England a monarchy ruled the
country. The country was divided into tribes and in each
tribe there was a king chosen by the clan. When a king
died his power was passed down through the family. The
king’s function was to provide protection for the clan if
they were ever attacked.
Around 700 BC the Roman Empire ruled most of
Europe; England included. The Emperor of decide to
invade England to expand the empire. Lots of
Legionaries invaded and the Celtic army was defeated
causing England to be part of the Roman Empire. The
function of the government during the time of the Roman
Empire was to provide protection, social Protection,
infrastructure and make laws. During this time large
army were made to protect the empire from being
invaded. The government provided social protection for
the poor people who where know as plebeians. The

2. government gave them dole which they used to make
bread. The government was also in charge of
infrastructure; so they planned the building of roads and
buildings. Another function of the government at the
time was to make laws. The government was made up of
rich people known as patricians so they made laws that
suited them.
After the fall of the Roman Empire a new form of ruling
a country was introduced called feudalism. During the
Middle Ages kings and Lords ruled small parts of
England. The king ruled by the divine right; so they
believed that God had chosen them. The king owned the
most land and needed it to be protected so he gave some
of the land to soldiers in exchange for protection. Then
the king needed people to work on his land so he gave
small patches of land to peasants and in return they
farmed his land and paid taxes to him. The kings job was
to keep order in his area and to protect his people so
large stone castles and walls were built for their
protection. He also made laws and collected taxes from
the people who lived on his land. Feudalism lasted a long
time in England and the king was always a descendant of
the previous king, so power was kept in the one family.
A huge changed happened to the English government
when the Magna Carta was written, when King John was
in power during the medieval period of history. The
Magna Carta which means big piece of paper was signed
in 1215.The Charter stated that on one will be denied
justice and that people brought to a judge must be alive.
The Magna Carta also stated that the king had to govern
his land according to law; which reduced his power.

3. This all changed when James the 2nd was ruling England
in 1688. This period in time is known as the glorious
revolution. During this time it was agreed that parliament
should decide who the king is.
During Victorian England the king ruled. During this
time the function of the government was to defend its
people and provide social and state protection. Laws
were made and soon after courts and prisons were built
and the police force kept order in England. Social
protection was provided for those who needed it;
workhouses were built and were funded by the rich
people of the time. The state at the time also provided
some protection through laws, for example they made
laws about how old children had to be to work and how
long they were allowed to work for.