Course Work Definitions

1. The Shire.

This is an administrative division of land in Great Britain and other countries that are English Speaking. In Australia, a shire is also considered a local government area (Galt, 1981). As such, a shire is a means of land management unit that covers more than one territory. In the UK, there are 28 shires with many subdivisions whose existence is dated back to the Middle Ages.

• The mandate for representatives.

First, a mandate is an order to represent people, which is given by the constituency or a superior body. Some mandates include advocating on behalf of the residents who are under their administration (Crozier, 1979). Also, representatives work to assist their people. This is synonymous with current-day congressmen or congresswomen who work to ensure their people get a fair share in the national administration.

• “Plena Potestas.”

This is a concept in Romanian family law. It gave a guide for the power which the male head of a family has over the children of his family and the members of extended family in the male lineage (Post, 1943). Such a head male had private law, and they controlled through practices such as capital punishment. Other Plena Potestas concerned inheritance, where the father owned property given to the child until he (the father) died.

• Glorious Revolution of 1688.

It is part of English History which accounts for events that happened between 1688 and 1689. It is also called the bloodless revolution or the revolution of 1688. One of the major events through the glorious revolution was the dethronement of King James II by Mary II, his daughter, and Willian II, his stepson (Vallance, 2011). The two led to major changes in the distribution of power and signed the Declaration of Rights, which is now known as the Bill of Rights.

• Structure of the Parliament (UK).

The UK parliament is made up of the Crown, the House of Lords and the House of Commons (Cowell, 2007). They all conduct debates that concern the legislation. They also oversight the work of the government and the legislative functions. It is also a bicameral and monarchy in nature. The House of Lords is the upper house, while the House of Commons is the lower house.

References

Cowell, A. (2007). Britain Wonders if More Elections Equal More Democracy (Published 2007). Nytimes.com. Retrieved 20 February 2022, from https://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/18/weekinreview/18cowell.html.

Crozier, A. (1979). The Establishment of the Mandates System 1919-25. Journal Of Contemporary History, 14(3), 483-513. https://doi.org/10.1177/002200947901400307

Galt, J. (1981). THE BRITISH LIBRARY AND THE SHIRE COUNTY. Journal Of Documentation, 37(4), 166-170. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb026713

Post, G. (1943). Plena Potestas and Consent in Medieval Assemblies: A Study in Romano-Canonical Procedure and the Rise of Representation, 1150–1325. Traditio, 1, 355-408. https://doi.org/10.1017/s036215290001758x

Vallance, E. (2011). BBC – History – British History in depth: The Glorious Revolution. Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 20 February 2022, from https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/civil_war_revolution/glorious_revolution_01.shtml.