On January 20, 1265, the very first English Parliament was conducted in the Palace of Westminister. Actually, it wasn’t near the type of parliament that we would recognize today, but the story is fascinating.

Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, was in rebellion against King Henry III. Instead of waging a war against the King, de Montfort summoned all of his supporters together without authorization by the King (which was required for such gatherings) to find a solution to their problems. De Montfort brought together archbishops, bishops, earls, barons, abbots, and knights. However, what made this gathering so unique was the fact that de Montfort summoned everyone based on representation from the different boroughs throughout England. This was the first true “representative democracy” of its kind in England, even though de Montfort likely didn’t intend it to be a representative democracy.

Then, about 30 years later, King Edward used de Montfort’s model as a representative democracy for England. Over time, England eventually created the country’s first bicameral representation, i.e. representation with 2 different houses, including (i) the House of Commons and (ii) House of Lords.

It’s amazing how sometimes the most seemingly insignificant events can lead to the most remarkable discoveries, as is the case here!