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Along the trail of years, J.M. Roberts leads his readers from humanity's origins to the triumphs
and failures of our modern, global society. Along the way, woven into his tale, is a relatively
unheralded and unacknowledged skein of history; the story of Sovereignty. Strewn along his
unfolding narrative, Roberts has dropped Pearls of Great Price1 describing the migration of
sovereignty from privileged individuals drawing power from religion and violence towards
everyman--through the concepts of natural rights espoused in the English and American
Constitutions.
Roberts places the beginning of human history at the point homo sapiens first stepped away from
his instincts--"from the determinism of nature"--and squarely declares that human culture begins
its progressive development; accident and ecological pressures being increasingly affected by
structures that guide acceptable individual and group behavior3 --embedded in memory rather
than genes allowed for faster mutation and evolution of successful behaviors4.
The first explicit references to the exercise of sovereignty come with Roberts' descriptions on the
earliest civilizations. Again, he draws attention to memory, or rather the ability to communicate
1
Matt. 13:46, Bible KJV.
2
J.M. Roberts, A Short History of the World, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993), 2.
3
Clifford Geertz, The Interpretation of Cultures. (New York: Basic Books, 1973), 11.
4
Roberts, 12.
2
weather--to explain the rise of priestly classes that exercised power5. The use of written laws,
originating in Sumeria, permitted the organization of large urban communities whose members
developed innovative technologies. The persistence of communities and enduring societal rules,
coupled with violent interaction at civilizational boundaries allowed the rise of great individuals;
kings, who combined religious dignity with military prowess6. Prerogative and power; the ability
to dictate law and practice--sovereignty--was invested in these kings, the first individuals with
This situation, the investing of sovereign power in the hands of those deemed sacred to deity
continued through the dynasties of Egypt, the Hittites, Aryans, Minoans, Mycenaeans, Assyrians,
Phoenicians, Persians, Hellenes, China, and Rome7. In all the centuries, the pattern was broken
only by classical Greece, who out of the isolation arising at the end of the Bronze Age,
developed a new paradigm; choosing leaders and establishing rules under the consent of all adult
male citizens of the polis8. Though the paradigm did not survive, the legacy--stored in its
The tradition of the imperial sovereign passed from Rome into its adopted religion and, in turn,
its Byzantine sibling. This spawned a new series of Christian empires, while the rise of Islam
continued the Persian ideas of kingship. The Christian Churches, in their assumption of sacred
5
Ibid., 39.
6
Ibid., 46-48.
7
Ibid., 57-205.
8
David G. Terrell, "Miscellaneous Essays on Ancient Greek Civilization," (Scribd.com Portfolio of David G Terrell.
August 22, 2009. http://www.scribd.com/doc/31886319/terrell-dg-misc-essays-on-greek-civilization-scribd
(accessed December 28, 2010)), 11.
3
establishment of lower orders of "nobility" who asserted their prerogatives, dignity, even rights
to degrees of sovereignty pushed back against the encroachment of imperial control over their
activities9. This led to the institution of representative bodies to advocate the division of
sovereignty; and, to the emergence of a society whose great majority learned the concept of
In the West, the eventual establishment of Feudal social structures in support of this hierarchy of
nobility was eventually overcome by urban growth. The establishment of large networks of
resources outside of noble families. As the nobility's economic power was based on the power to
levy taxes, their influence was often negated by the tax relief provided by charters many urban
centers sought from imperial sovereigns. Because of the effect on taxation, the nobility attempted
to maintain power over the merchants, but suppressing them closed off flows of goods, foods,
In time, the mercantile social networks became sufficiently complex and adaptive to resist
coercion. In the codification of behaviors, lawyers replaced traditional sources of tribal wisdom
regarding the basic rules of correct behavior and the relative balance of power between
merchants and nobles became more homogeneous with only the clergy and imperial power held
higher. Competition and cooperation gave rise to ordered responses to societal challenges to
9
Roberts, 288.
10
Ibid., 287-289.
4
With the diminishing power of the Holy Roman Emperor, sovereignty passed into the hands of
the national kings and the Papacy. In England, the melding of Roman, Celtic, British and
Germanic influences fostered a concept of King as Chief Executive, deriving power from the
people through a relatively representative parliament. In the same era, the Papacy's sovereignty
The combined fall of Imperial and Papal sovereignty left a power vacuum in Europe that was
filled by the great powers. France remained an aristocratic monarchy; the Dutch became a
mercantile oligarchy; and, the English parliament grew stronger--eventually executing a king.
Like the Dutch, landowners and merchants came to exercise sovereignty. While the Dutch
suffered and declined under the hostile intentions of the French, the English, protected by the
Channel Fleet, grew wealthy. In the process, the English began to associate their economic
success with the advantages they enjoyed as a result of more widespread, individual
sovereignty12.
English "constitutionalism" affected international relations and eventually took root in North
America. The settlers there eventually declared independence and established a weak central
government that enshrined the idea of the sovereign individual who could delegate power to a
effectively against other, more centralized, countries. The Americans then intentionally created a
11
Ibid., 294-295.
12
Ibid., 296-297.
5
stronger central government, though hampered by intentional inefficiencies to prevent the seizure
The global history of sovereignty since the adoption of the American Constitution has proved to
be a continuing struggle. On one hand, the world faces efforts to centralize power in the hands of
a single person or a small group (i.e. totalitarianism and fascism). This group includes those
whose "compassionate" desires seek to preserve all humanity from misery, through methods of
sharing deemed more rational and more equal--regardless of whether the rationale of compassion
is shared by all.
possible, given the practical needs of maintaining such a condition in an international arena often
in opposition, establishing Justice, insuring domestic Tranquility, providing for the common
defense, promoting the general welfare, and securing Liberty (i.e. individualism and freedom).
David G Terrell
Herndon, Virginia
Bibliography
Geertz, Clifford. The Interpretation of Cultures. New York: Basic Books, 1973.
Roberts, JM. A Short History of the World. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993.
13
Ibid., 325-326.
6
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