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
Went on to shape
1776
Virginia Declaration of Rights
Virginia (United States)
borrowed phrases and ideas from the English Bill of Rights
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, 56 later texts on this timeline trace back to it.
Countries in the Legal Families Atlas
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.
