In 1337 Cornwall was created a duchy with the eldest son of the monarch as the incumbent. Until Tudor times laws had to be enacted “in Anglia et Cornubia,” showing that Cornwall was not considered part of England. With Tudor centralisation, the Cornish rose up in arms against English rule no less than three times. In 1497 came the famous An Gof and Flamank insurrection, with a Cornish army marching to Blackheath in Kent and threatening London before being defeated. Then came a short-lived insurrection led by Perkin Warbeck. In 1549 came the “Prayer Book” rebellion, with the English language being forced on the Cornish in religious services. In their declaration, preceding the uprising, it was stated, “we, the Cornishmen, whereof certain of us understand no English, utterly refuse this new English.”

It took several centuries, however, before the Cornish language died out as a generally spoken community language (see Cornish). Cornwall, since the suppression of the last Cornish uprising, has become a generally accepted part of England and from 1889 has been regarded as an “English county” so far as political administration is concerned. Yet there are still questions about its legal position within the United Kingdom. One such contention is that of the Cornish Stannaries Parliament.

King John in a.d. 1201 granted the first charter to the Stannaries and allowed it to be the government of a state within a state, able to raise its own taxes and make its own laws. They were even granted a power of veto over the London Westminster Parliament in a.d. 1508. The Stannaries Parliament survived the repression after the uprisings, and as late as 1753 this power of veto was recognised by London. Throughout the nineteenth century, the Stannaries did not meet but were reconvened in 1974 by enthusiasts, acting in accordance with Stannary law. Meeting regularly since 1974, the first time the Stannary Parliament challenged the United Kingdom government in law was over the Community Charge or Poll Tax brought in by the Conservative Government, for Scotland in 1989 and for England and Wales in 1990. Tim Saunders, charged before Cardiff magistrates for nonpayment of the Community Charge, defended himself by stating that he was subject to the Stannary Parliament and that England had no right in