James Harrington

James Harrington was born in 1611 into a gentry family in Northamptonshire, England. He studied at Trinity College, Oxford, without taking a degree, and then traveled in the Netherlands, Germany, France and Italy, where he admired the republic of Venice. In the English Civil War he was appointed to attend King Charles I while the king was held prisoner, and he became attached to him personally, though he did not share his politics. After the king's execution and the founding of the Commonwealth, Harrington wrote The Commonwealth of Oceana (1656), which describes an imaginary republic modeled on England. He argued that political power follows the ownership of land, and he proposed limits on landholding, a written constitution, a senate that would debate laws and a larger assembly that would vote on them, election by secret ballot, and the regular rotation of office holders. He founded a discussion club, the Rota, to promote these ideas. After the restoration of the monarchy he was imprisoned in 1661, and his health declined. He died in London in 1677.

James Harrington is also an author in the library: author page and works.

Faith: Faith not well documented. Source: Wikipedia