A Study Of Urban Autonomy In Early Modern England (1485-1640)

Britain is known as the mother of local self-government,and urban autonomy is a form of local self-government.The political decentralization of power in the Middle Ages provided the conditions for its urban autonomy.At the same time,it also formed a unique feature of urban autonomy,that is,the autonomous cities of this period belong to different powers,some of which are controlled by the king,some are controlled by the church,others by the aristocrats.In the early modern times,with the emergence of nation-state and the formation of supreme monarchy,there were some new changes in British urban autonomy.During this period,the autonomous city was under the control of the state represented by the monarchy.The state dispatched personnel to the autonomous city through the Privy Council,or through the asylum system,so that the autonomous city was under the control of the state,and through the implementation of economic mercantilism,political royal supremacy,social protection and other measures,the activities of the autonomous city were economic,political and social,they are under the control of the state.Although autonomous cities are under the control of the state,they still have some autonomous powers.They organize municipal organs and Congress management organs by themselves,and use these organs to deal with the problems of political elections,economic management and social relief within cities.The operation of these autonomous institutions provides conditions for the management of internal political,economic and social life of autonomous cities,and also enables autonomous cities to operate effectively.The autocratic monarchy formed in early modern Britain made the whole country's sovereignty exclusively belong to the king,and there was no institution or stratum to touch it.At the same time,it also made the king's control over the whole country and society more active and authoritative.In the early modern times,autonomous cities retained some autonomous powers as a form of local autonomy,but the state's control over them could not be ignored.This reflects the state's control attitude towards autonomous cities in the early modern times.It should be brought into the scope of the state system step by step,so that it can play the role of politics,economy and social management in the local administration of the state.