In the 1760s William Blackstone described the Fundamental Laws of England in Commentaries on the Laws of England, Book the First – Chapter the First : Of the Absolute Rights of Individuals as "the absolute rights of every Englishman" and traced their basis and evolution as follows:

• Magna Carta between King John and his barons in 1215
• confirmation of Magna Carta by King Henry III to Parliament in 1216, 1217, and 1225
• Confirmatio Cartarum (Confirmation of Charters) 1253
• a multitude of subsequent corroborating statutes, from King Edward I to King Henry IV
• the Petition of Right, a parliamentary declaration in 1628 of the liberties of the people, assented to by King Charles I
• more concessions made by King Charles I to his Parliament
• many laws, particularly the Habeas Corpus Act 1679, passed under King Charles II
• the Bill of Rights 1689 assented to by King William III and Queen Mary II
• the Act of Settlement 1701