The 5 most original forms of government and government in history
Miscellaneous / / April 07, 2023
Elections by lot, great leaders appointed by their mothers, and more.
1. Icelandic democracy
The Vikings, who settled Iceland in the 850s, quickly understood: the kings are far away, and therefore it is necessary to create a local government.
Sending messengers to the Continent every time a political decision had to be made proved to be quite costly. Therefore, the settlers came up with an original form of democracy - the so-called Icelandic democracy.
And to make important decisions, they organized an Althing - a general meeting. It was held every 2-3 years, always in the summer, because the meeting was held outdoors. The place was the same every time - the "Rock of Laws" in the valley of Thingvellir.
The Icelandic parliament, by the way, is still called that. Formally, it is considered the oldest in the world, because the first meeting took place already in 930.
In the Althing participated all free men - laws were made here, courts were held and disputes were resolved. There was no single head of state in Iceland. Its districts were ruled by 36 periodically changing leaders - godi.
They also elected a "legislator" - a person who performed the functions of the current speaker of parliament. He was appointed for three years and forced to learn the laws of Iceland by heart. In fact, it was the walking constitution of the Vikings.
At the Icelandic Council, in addition to courts and political speeches, it was possible arrange fairs, trade, meet old friends, make or break up marriages and transactions, place children in foster families.
Hundreds of Icelanders came to the Althing, staying in temporary camps, and in addition to the solution fate of the state could watch sports competitions, take a walk at someone's wedding and get drunk. A kind of mix of parliament and an outdoor music festival.
Some of the laws adopted by the Althing are still in force in Iceland. For example, in 982 it was decided that a horse taken out of the island could not be returned back.
That is, even if the Icelandic horse is sent to the World Equestrian Championships, in his homeland he will become persona non grata. Why - no one remembers, it just happened.
True, in 1262 the Norwegian king Hakon IV looked at Iceland and decidedThat's enough to play democracy. Therefore, he threatened the country with a trade embargo and unobtrusively introduced his agents into the ruling clans. They pushed through the necessary laws at the Althing, and Iceland began to pay taxes to Norway, and then signed a union with it.
The Althingi was not abolished, but the rule of power in Iceland has since remained with the Norwegian king. The country became independent only in 1944.
2. Republic of Venice
One of the longest-lived European republics was the Venetian - it lasted about 1,000 years. First elections there passed in 727, and the last in 1797, when Napoleon conquered the city-state.
In general, in the modern sense, Venice was not a republic, but an oligarchy, because the right to vote belonged not to commoners, but to nobles - members of 300 Venetian aristocratic families. Every man who reached the age of 25 was a member of the Grand Council, the highest body of the republic, and his name was entered in a special "Golden Book".
The actual ruler of Venice was the doge, that is, the duke, and this position was not hereditary, but elective. His appointed for life through an extremely complex voting system.
But despite the fact that the Doge ruled Venice, his power was rather limited. For example, his relatives forbidden hold administrative positions. He participated in all events, but could not impose his decisions. Contacts, meetings and even correspondence were controlled by other members of the Council.
He could not leave Venice and had no property outside the state, and he was allowed to marry a foreigner only if the Grand Council had no objections. Over time, the position became more ceremonial. So, the Doge carried out the "Betrothal of Venice to the Sea" - an annual holiday with prayers and throwing valuable objects into the water.
In addition to the Grand Council mentioned, there were also a lot of other bodies in Venice. For example, the Council of Forty, which served as the supreme court. As well as the Senate and the Small Council.
There was also the Council of Ten, which controlled the activities of the doge, so that this smart guy did not think of anything.
This body also had the power to arrest, interrogate, torture and condemn any person from the ruling structures of the republic if there was a suspicion of dishonesty. He was completely anonymous so that he could not be influenced by other Soviets.
Such a structure looked - and was - complex, but the abundance of various departments made it possible to build a system of checks and balances that did not allow too much power to be concentrated in one hand.
3. Florentine Republic
Another peculiar form of republican government, established in Italy, was in the city-state of Florence. On January 15, 1293, wealthy citizens decided to slightly cut the powers of the aristocracy and created their own "Institutions of Justice".
152 noble families were forbidden to hold political posts, instead of them they began to rule popolo - which literally translated as "the people". To become a part of them, one had to be a member of one of the seven main guilds of the city.
These were the so-called senior guilds: judges, fabric, wool and fur merchants, usurers and doctors. Members of the five minor guilds, the "junior guilds"—butchers, shoemakers, blacksmiths, masons, and second-hand merchants—had a lower status in the popolo hierarchy.
All together, the members elected the signoria (“Government”), a council of nine priors, seven of which were appointed by the “senior workshops”, two by the “junior workshops”.
The guarantor of the constitution and signoria, the commander of the militia and the highest official of the state was the Gonfaloniere of Justice.
His elected signoria for only two months - so as not to stay too long. And they did this... with the help of a simple lot, which guaranteed impartiality.
Because of such a short period of time, different sides of the government constantly squabbled with each other. The confrontation between the two factions, the Guelphs and the Ghibellines, lasted from the 12th to the 16th centuries and sometimes even led to civil wars.
The first signs that democracy is in danger, soundedwhen the Ordinances of Justice were amended to return some of the disenfranchised rights to aristocrats. Later, another gonfalonier Piero Soderini in 1502 made his position for life. Then the members of the family that came to power Medici returned the rule of re-election of the gonfalonier once a year, but added the ability to be re-elected three times.
In the end, the ruler Alessandro de Medici waved his hand and abolished the republic, crowned in 1533 as Duke of Florence. And from now on, the title of the ruler of the city-state was inherited.
4. Novgorod Republic
In 1136, the Novgorodians overthrew their prince Vsevolod Mstislavich and decided to try out democratic values and electoral freedoms, and therefore founded a veche. It was of male citizens and made government decisions by voting. Any free citizen could convene a veche by ringing a special bell in the city square.
It was a signal that it was time for residents to break away from their daily routine and go to solve issues of national importance.
The prince remained the supreme ruler of Novgorod. However, this position was severely limited by the decisions of the veche. Yes, prince elected, he was forbidden to engage in trade and own land, and the size of his personal army was limited to fifty people.
In addition to him, the veche also appointed a posadnik - the mayor of the city and a thousand's leader - the commander of the militia. The territories of the Novgorod Republic, located outside the city, were divided into five administrative regions. And each of them had its own veche, which elected its mayor.
Unfortunately, in 1478, Prince Ivan III of Moscow captured the Novgorod Republic, and democracy was abolished. Veche bells were taken away and melted down.
5. Iroquois Confederation
Confederation, emerging in present-day New York between 1450 and 1660, was originally an amalgamation of five Iroquoian tribes: the Seneca, Cayuga, Oneida, Mohawk, and Onondaga. Much later, in 1722, the Tuscarora tribe was admitted into it, and from that moment it became known as the Six Iroquois Tribes.
The society of the Indians was matriarchal: individual families were headed by female elders - clan mothers. Each of them chose a sachem - a leader who went to the council. This body consisted of 50 members. Decisions in the council of leaders were taken only unanimously.
That is, while a particularly enterprising comrade failed to convince the other 49 leaders of his innocence, no action was taken. As you understand, such a society was not very quick to rise.
During its existence, the Iroquois Confederacy accepted 117 laws that have been combined into the Great Law of the World. It was fixed with cylindrical beads made of mollusk shells, strung on threads - this was called wampum. What to do - Indians there was no writing. This document regulated all aspects of Iroquois life, from government to religious ceremonies.
Confederation fell apart in 1784, after a brief war with the United States. As a result, two tribes migrated to British Canada, and four more were sent to the reservations.
Read also🧐
- 5 Facts From Chinese History That Sound Crazy
- 4 mythical characters that have real prototypes
- 4 Strange Historical Facts You Probably Didn't Know About