Parliament

England's first Parliament sat in 1265, and continued to meet until the Kingdom of England merged with the Kingdom of Scotland, in 1707.

The new Parliament of Great Britain inherited the structure and precedents of the earlier Parliament.

The Kingdom of Ireland merged with the Kingdom of Great Britain, in 1801, and the Parliament of the United Kingdom inherited the structure and precedents of the earlier Parliaments.

Anglo-Saxon kings met with a Witenagemont, or Witan -- old English for "wise men".

The national legislatures of many countries that were once part of the British Empire are modeled after the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and are often called "Parliament". One notable exception is the Congress of the breakaway United States.

The Parliament of the United Kingdom is bicameral, as are the Parliament of Canada, the Parliament of Australia, the Parliament of Antigua and Barbados, the Parliament of The Bahamas, the Parliament of Belize, the Parliament of Grenada, the Parliament of India, the Parliament of Jamaica, the Parliament of Malaysia, the Parliament of Nigeria, the Parliament of Pakistan, the Parliament of Saint Lucia, the Parliament of South Africa, the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago.

Legislators in the Upper house are appointed in the United Kingom and some Commonwealth countries, including: Canada, Antigua and Barbados, The Bahamas, Grenada, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago.