1689 · Charters, declarations and treaties

English Bill of Rights

England

An Act of Parliament that limited the power of the Crown, protected free speech in Parliament and banned cruel and unusual punishments.

Why it matters

It settled that Parliament, not the monarch, makes the law, and its wording shaped later bills of rights.

Built on

1215

Magna Carta

England

built on the idea that the Crown is bound by law

Went on to shape

1787 (in force 1789)

Constitution of the United States

United States

ideas of limited government and rights against the Crown

1791

United States Bill of Rights

United States

borrowed protections against abuse of state power

Counting texts that borrowed from the texts that borrowed from this one, 9 later texts on this timeline trace back to it.

Countries in the Legal Families Atlas

United Kingdom

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TheLawToKnow Tools’s timeline lists links of influence only where the borrowing is widely documented. Historians sometimes disagree about how much one text shaped another. It is an educational overview, not legal advice.