Skip to main content

harry potter - How and why was the Ministry of Magic founded?


The Ministry of Magic, as we know, is the governing body for the magical community in Britain. It is presided over by the Minister for Magic, who is effectively the wizarding equivalent of the Muggle Prime Minister, being the most senior official in the executive branch of the Ministry. There are apparently other ministries around the wolrd that perform the same or similar functions in their respective countries, e.g. in Bulgaria, and we come across the Bulgarian Minister in the novels. According to the Harry Potter Wikia the Ministry was founded sometime in (or prior to) 1629, and was the successor of the Wizards' Council. The Ministry has a number of responsibilities chief among which is maintenance of the Statute of Secrecy (although it is notable that this Statute was adopted by the International Confederation of Wizards sometime after the creation of the Ministry itself, in 1689/92).


Out of universe, it seems clear that the Ministry of Magic is intended to serve as an analogue for the parliamentary government of Great Britain. However, it is not clear in universe how and why exactly the Ministry would come to be.



Why would the magical community adopt an institution with procedures and representatives whose names and particulars seem to be derivative of the Muggle community and its governance? (For instance, the term "Minister" was used to refer to an official in the Muggle royal court who held a position of great influence with the King. Derived from Olde French and Latin, it means "servant", in context a servant of the monarch. The first documented use of "Prime Minister" was by Cardinal Richelieu of France in 1625, in his role as chief advisor to Louis XIII).


And what changed in or before the 1620s that made Wizards decide that the old Wizards' Council was no longer fit for purpose and needed to be replaced with a new governmental system? It is noteworthy that while the (Muggle) Parliament of England had existed for several centuries by this point in time, it was in the 1620s that conflict between the Parliament and the Stuart monarchy really began to come to a head, leading to the Petition of Right in 1628 where the House of Commons sought to restore liberties that they believed the King was infringing. This was followed not long after by the English Civil War as the conflict between the Monarchy and the Commons boiled over. Over the course of the 17th century as a whole, the English Parliament as we know it today would be born.


All of this begs the question: in universe, was there a comparable political development or conflict (or infringement of rights) in the magical community that could explain the (possibly near-simultaneous) creation of a new governing body, being the Ministry of Magic, at this time? And if not, why or how did the Ministry come to be founded?


EDIT: I have since found a link in the Harry Potter Lexicon which gives an alternative date for the creation of the Ministry of Magic of "in the late 1600s" (though I am not sure where it sources this information from). While this differs from the date of 1620s given above, it would fit in broadly with the observation that a change in governance of the magical community (the Ministry succeeding the Wizards' Council) must have occurred somewhat in line with historical events that greatly changed the nature of governance in the Muggle Society at this time - see also The Glorious Revolution of 1688 and the Bill of Rights (1689); the latter of which ended the absolute power of the monarchy, which no English or British monarch has held since. Again, is there a possible Wizarding connection to developments in Muggle governance which might explain the foundation of the Ministry of Magic?




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

harry potter - Did Dolores Umbridge Have Any Association with Voldemort (or Death Eaters) before His Return?

I noticed that Dolores Umbridge was born during the first Wizarding War, so it's very likely she wasn't a Death Eater then (but she is pretty evil -- who knows?). After that Voldemort was not around in a way that could affect many people, and most wouldn't know he was planning to rise again. During that time, and up through Voldemort's return (in Goblet of Fire ), did Umbridge have any connection with the Death Eaters or with Voldemort? Was she doing what she did on her own, or was it because of an association with Voldemort or his allies? Answer Dolores Umbridge was definitely not a good person. However, as Sirius points out, "the world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters". Remember that he also says that he doesn't believe Umbridge to be a Death Eater, but that she's evil enough (or something like that). I think there are two strong reasons to believe that: Umbridge was proud to do everything according to the law, except when she trie...
Post a Comment
Read more

futurama - How much time is lost in 'Time Keeps on Slippin''

In time Keeps on Slippin' , Farnsworth creates a basketball team which he matures by abusing Chronitons. This leads to time skipping forward by random, but ever increasing amounts. How much time was skipped in this way? Answer Unfortunately, I don't think a good estimate can be made for this, for two reasons: Many of the time skips move forward by an indeterminate amount of time. At one point, the Professor mentions localized regions of space skipping forward much more than others. We then see two young boys on the street below complaining about having to pay social security, only to suddenly become senior citizens and start complaining about wanting their money. Thus, each individual could have experienced a different amount of time skippage.
Post a Comment
Read more

aliens - Interstellar Zoo story

I vaguely remember this story from my childhood: it was about an interstellar zoo that came to Earth with lots of bizarre and unusual species, and humans would file through and gape at all the crazy looking creatures from other planets. The twist came at the end when the perspective shifted to the other side of the bars and we discovered that the "creatures" were traveling through space on a kind of safari. They thought they were the visitors and we were the animals. Neither side knew that the other side thought they were the zoo creatures. Answer Got it. Zoo, by Edward D. Hoch. Published in 1958. Link to Publication History Link to PDF
Post a Comment
Read more

tolkiens legendarium - Did Gandalf wear his Ring of Power throughout the trilogy?

After Gandalf discovered that Sauron was back and sent Frodo on his quest to Rivendell, did he continue to wear Narya (one of the Three Rings)? It seems like a huge risk to continue to wear it after the Nazgûl (Ringwraiths) started to try and reclaim the One Ring; if they managed to get the ring to Sauron, couldn't he be corrupted by his power? Whatever powers Narya bestows upon him couldn't possibly be worth the huge risk, could it? Answer When Sauron forged the one ring and put it on his finger, the other ring bearers were immediately aware of him and his intentions and removed their own rings. There is no reason why they couldn't merely do so again. As soon as Sauron set the One Ring upon his finger they were aware of him; and they knew him, and preceived that he would be master of them, and of all they wrought. Then in anger and fear they took off their rings. "Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age," Silmarillion
Post a Comment
Read more