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Why were the Kentish petitioners imprisoned by the House of Commons?

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Daniel Defoe Daniel Defoe, engraving by M. Van der Gucht, after a portrait by J. Taverner, first half of the 18th century.

In 1701, five gentlemen from Kent were illegally imprisoned by the House of Commons after they presented a petition demanding that the government increase its defense preparations in anticipation of a looming European war following the death of the king of Spain.1

At the time, the House of Commons was controlled by the Tory party, and the petition was viewed as an unwelcome challenge to their authority. The imprisonment of the Kentish petitioners prompted Daniel Defoe to intervene by presenting his famous document, "Legion’s Memorial," to the Speaker of the House, Robert Harley. In this memorial, Defoe asserted that "Englishmen are no more to be slaves to Parliaments than to a King," a bold stance that ultimately contributed to the release of the Kentishmen.1