Grand Remonstrance, The

one of the most important documents from the first stage of the English bourgeois revolution of the 17th century. It was adopted by the Long Parliament on Nov. 22, 1641. It contained a long list (204 articles) of the misdeeds of the crown and was directed against absolutism. The Grand Remonstrance, which reflected the interests of the bourgeoisie and the new nobility, dealt essentially with questions of guaranteeing bourgeois ownership of land and the protection of personal property from the claims of the crown, with freedom of trade and entrepreneurial activities, with the cessation of religious persecutions and arbitrary management of financial affairs, and the need for royal officials to be responsible to the Parliament.