In English constitutional history, the Habeas Corpus Act is an important law that strengthened the protection of citizens against unlawful imprisonment. In which year was the Habeas Corpus Act passed by the English Parliament?

Introduction / Context:
The Habeas Corpus Act is a landmark in the development of civil liberties and the rule of law in England. The term habeas corpus refers to the legal protection that prevents the state from detaining individuals without showing a valid reason before a court. The specific Act passed by Parliament helped to make this protection more effective and to prevent abuses by the Crown or its officials. This question tests whether you know the correct year in which this important Act was passed.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• The law in question is the Habeas Corpus Act.
• It was passed by the English Parliament.
• Four late seventeenth century dates are given as options.
• We assume standard dating used in history and civics books.

Concept / Approach:
To answer this, you need to recall the timeline of English constitutional developments after the English Civil War and during the Stuart period. The key thing to remember is that the Habeas Corpus Act was enacted under King Charles II. Most standard texts state that the Habeas Corpus Act was passed in 1679. Later important events, such as the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and the Bill of Rights of 1689, occurred after this date. Therefore, among the options given, 1679 is the historically correct year.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Identify that the question is about the year of enactment of the Habeas Corpus Act in England.Step 2: Recall that the Act belongs to the reign of Charles II, not to a much later period.Step 3: Remember the specific date often quoted in textbooks, namely 1679, as the year of the Habeas Corpus Act.Step 4: Compare 1679 with the other options 1683, 1691, and 1697, which belong to later years.Step 5: Select 1679 because it is the only option that matches the standard historical record.

Verification / Alternative check:
A quick way to verify is to remember the sequence of major constitutional documents: the Habeas Corpus Act in 1679, followed by the Glorious Revolution and the Bill of Rights in 1689. Since the Bill of Rights belongs to the decade after 1679, any date after 1680 would be inconsistent with that basic chronology. Checking any reliable history summary of English constitutional development will confirm that 1679 is the accepted year for the Habeas Corpus Act.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
1683 is a few years later and does not correspond to the passing of the Habeas Corpus Act, although other political events occurred around that time.
1691 and 1697 are even later dates, after the Glorious Revolution, and are not connected to the original Habeas Corpus Act mentioned in standard textbooks.

Common Pitfalls:
Students sometimes confuse different constitutional documents from the same broad period, such as the Petition of Right, the Habeas Corpus Act, and the Bill of Rights. Because many of them fall within a span of a few decades, the exact years can be mixed up. To avoid such errors, it helps to associate each document with a memorable keyword and approximate decade. For example, link habeas corpus with the late 1670s, and the Bill of Rights with the Glorious Revolution of the late 1680s. This mental timeline makes recall much easier during exams.

Final Answer:
The Habeas Corpus Act was passed by the English Parliament in the year 1679.