The English Legacy and the Rise of a Decentralist World Political Foundations: From Roman Law to Common Law : Two highly centralized institutions forged the development of central governments in Europe.  The Roman experience and the Catholic traditions were more entrenched in southern Europe than in the north or in England.  Consequently, England developed a unique approach to regulate its society:  Common Law (customs and traditions of the locality/township will be used to regulate society).  Over time, this resulted in the rise of decentralizing institutions, in short, policies that  checked the power of central authority (the monarchs) emerged as the basis for America's democracy.
a. Magna Charta 1215:  Institution limiting the king's power to tax
b. Parliament 1300s:  quasi-representative institution that consulted with king over policies.
c. English Civil War 1640s: military power struggle that pitted Catholic/centralistic kings against Protestant/regionalist/parliamentarians.
d. English Bill of Rights 1689: After the victory of Parliament over the king, this document limits the overall authority of the king. Religious Foundations: Reformation to Protestants: The rise of England's decentralist/regionalist/common law tradition stems from a religious power struggle between Protestant and Catholics.  At first, the struggle was a mere attempt to reform the Catholic faith.  In the final analysis, a full fledge protest  movement resulted in England severing ties with the Vatican.
a. Martin Luther: German Catholic priest challenging the Catholic Church and sparking the Reformation Movement
b. Henry VIII: English monarch who breaks away from the Catholic Church and establishes the Church of England when the Vatican fail to  provide him with a divorce from his Spanish wife Catherine of Aragon in 1533 ad.
c. Charles V: Most powerful monarch in Europe, King of Spain, and uncle to Catherine of Aragon;  Lobbied the Vatican not to grant Henry VIII  a divorce.
d. Church of England: Reformed Catholic Church in England established by Henry VIII.
e. Puritans: Religious group that wanted all vestiges of Catholicism erased from the Church of England. Persecuted by the establishment and they sought refuge in the New World.
f. Separatist: Religious group who sought separation of church and state in the New World
Economic Foundations: The Capitalist State
a. Mercantile: State protected economy. Objective is to accumulate as much bullion (precious medals) as possible.  Most European state embraced this system.  State with more to protect became more centralistic.
b. neo-capitalism (capitellum/cuerpos/corp/body): economic system where the individual became paramount in securing/fomenting wealth.  England relied on individual privateers (pirates) to secure wealth for the state.
Decentralist Settlement Patterns
a. Proprietorships: Outright ownership  of a colony by an individual or family. One example is the Colony of Maryland.  Owned and operated by the Calvert family, they were free to run the colony at will.  This differed from a joint-stock company which was a for-profit  venture in the New World. Individuals pooled their resources together to finance a colonial in the New World.
b. Royal Colony:  At first the State limited its risk in financing colonies in the New World, however, after a colony failed or in order to provide for the defensive of viable colonies, the State took over fledgling colonies or fully founded independent colonies.
c. Religious: Colonies founded by religious organizations.  The New England area (northeast) is a product of Puritan groups attempting to establish colonies that would conform to their interpretation of God's will. Massachusetts, Rhode Island are two examples.
A tradition of Vested Interest: Seeds for Democracy and Government by Consent
A "vested interest" suggests that individuals possess a stake in society.  If one possesses a stake in society, then she or he will participate in society.  A participating citizenry is necessary for the growth of democracy and consensual government.  Thomas Jefferson would later envision an "Agrarian Democracy" for America.   He argued that democracy only flourishes when its citizenry owns and toils the land beneath them.  "Vested interests" can take different forms other than land. The English cultural tradition is rich in elements that give rise to "vested interests" and, in turn, give rise to democracy.