Editing Parliament (section)

===Portugal===
{{main|Portuguese Cortes}}
After its self-proclamation as an independent kingdom in 1139 by [[Afonso I of Portugal]] (followed by the recognition by the [[Kingdom of León]] in the [[Treaty of Zamora]] of 1143), the first historically established Cortes of the [[Kingdom of Portugal]] occurred in 1211 in [[Coimbra]] by initiative of [[Afonso II of Portugal]]. These established the first general laws of the kingdom (''Leis Gerais do Reino''): protection of the king's property, stipulation of measures for the administration of justice and the rights of his subjects to be protected from abuses by royal officials, and confirming the clerical donations of the previous king [[Sancho I of Portugal]]. These Cortes also affirmed the validity of canon law for the Church in Portugal, while introducing the prohibition of the purchase of lands by churches or monasteries (although they can be acquired by donations and legacies).

After the conquest of [[Algarve]] in 1249, the [[Kingdom of Portugal]] completed its [[Reconquista]]. In 1254 King [[Afonso III of Portugal]] summoned [[Portuguese Cortes]] in [[Leiria]], with the inclusion of [[bourgeoisie|burghers]] from old and newly incorporated municipalities. This inclusion establishes the Cortes of Leiria of 1254 as the second sample of modern [[parliamentarism]] in the history of Europe (after the [[Cortes of León]] in 1188). In these Cortes the [[monetagio]] was introduced: a fixed sum was to be paid by the burghers to the Crown as a substitute for the [[septennium]] (the traditional revision of the face value of coinage by the Crown every seven years). These Cortes also introduced [[Staple right|staple]] laws on the [[Douro River]], favoring the new royal city of [[Vila Nova de Gaia]] at the expense of the old episcopal city of Porto.

The [[Portuguese Cortes]] met again under King [[Afonso III of Portugal]] in 1256, 1261 and 1273, always by royal summon. Medieval Kings of Portugal continued to rely on small assemblies of notables, and only summoned the full Cortes on extraordinary occasions. A Cortes would be called if the king wanted to introduce new taxes, change some fundamental laws, announce significant shifts in foreign policy (e.g. ratify treaties), or settle matters of royal succession, issues where the cooperation and assent of the towns was thought necessary. Changing taxation (especially requesting war subsidies), was probably the most frequent reason for convening the Cortes. As the nobles and clergy were largely tax-exempt, setting taxation involved intensive negotiations between the royal council and the [[bourgeoisie|burgher]] delegates at the Cortes.

Delegates (''procuradores'') not only considered the king's proposals, but, in turn, also used the Cortes to submit petitions of their own to the royal council on a myriad of matters, e.g. extending and confirming town privileges, punishing abuses of officials, introducing new price controls, constraints on [[Jews]], pledges on coinage, etc. The royal response to these petitions became enshrined as ordinances and statutes, thus giving the Cortes the aspect of a legislature. These petitions were originally referred to as ''aggravamentos'' (grievances) then ''artigos'' (articles) and eventually ''capitulos'' (chapters). In a Cortes-Gerais, petitions were discussed and voted upon separately by each estate and required the approval of at least two of the three estates before being passed up to the royal council. The proposal was then subject to royal veto (either accepted or rejected by the king in its entirety) before becoming law.

Nonetheless, the exact extent of Cortes power was ambiguous. Kings insisted on their ancient prerogative to promulgate laws independently of the Cortes. The compromise, in theory, was that ordinances enacted in Cortes could only be modified or repealed by Cortes. But even that principle was often circumvented or ignored in practice.

The Cortes probably had their heyday in the 14th and 15th centuries, reaching their apex when [[John I of Portugal]] relied almost wholly upon the bourgeoisie for his power. For a period after the 1383–1385 Crisis, the Cortes were convened almost annually. But as time went on, they became less important. Portuguese monarchs, tapping into the riches of the [[Portuguese empire]] overseas, grew less dependent on Cortes subsidies and convened them less frequently. [[John II of Portugal|John II]] (r.1481-1495) used them to break the high nobility, but dispensed with them otherwise. [[Manuel I of Portugal|Manuel I]] (r.1495-1521) convened them only four times in his long reign. By the time of [[Sebastian of Portugal|Sebastian]] (r.1554–1578), the Cortes was practically an irrelevance.

Curiously, the Cortes gained a new importance with the Iberian Union of 1581, finding a role as the representative of Portuguese interests to the new [[Habsburg]] monarch. The Cortes played a critical role in the [[1640 Restoration]], and enjoyed a brief period of resurgence during the reign of [[John IV of Portugal]] (r.1640-1656). But by the end of the 17th century, it found itself sidelined once again. The last Cortes met in 1698, for the mere formality of confirming the appointment of Infante John (future [[John V of Portugal]]) as the successor of [[Peter II of Portugal]]. Thereafter, Portuguese kings ruled as absolute monarchs and no Cortes were assembled for over a century. This state of affairs came to an end with the [[Liberal Revolution of 1820]], which set in motion the introduction of a new constitution, and a permanent and proper parliament, that however inherited the name of Cortes Gerais.