(22) Political Radicalism - religious groups Flashcards
When was the House of Lords abolished?
19 March 1649
Why did the Levellers denounce the Rump?
It had not addressed the fundamental issue of Parliamentary representation
What did Lilburn publish on 26 February?
‘England’s new chains discovered’
What was ‘England’s new chains discovered’ about?
- attacked the Grandees
- appealed to the army
- the Rump as a new oppressor
What was the response of the Rump?
Lilburn and other Levellers were were arrested in March 1649 and charged with treason
What did the Levellers succeed at doing, despite the imprisonment of its leaders?
Stir up two significant mutinies
What occurred in Colonel Whalley’s regiment?
April - soldiers refused to leave their quarters
What was the outcome of Whalley’s regiment’s mutiny?
Cromwell and Fairfax were ordered in to disperse the mutiny and execute ringleaders
When was the second Leveller mutiny?
May 1649
What occurred in the second Leveller mutiny?
5 cavalry regiments mutinied - supressed by Cromwell and Fairfax again
What measure did the Rump agree to that supported the army?
To pay army arrears
Who were the Diggers?
An off-shoot of the Levellers - emerged in late 1648 and defined themselves as ‘True Levellers’
Who were the Digger leaders?
Gerrard Winstanley and William Everard
When and where was a community of Diggers founded?
April 1649 in Surrey, occupying St George’s Hill
What was the Digger’s slogan?
‘Work together. Eat Bread Together’
What was the beliefs of the Diggers?
- to work the ‘common land’
- rejected the concept of a monarchy
- hopes a new era the ‘commonwealth’ would occur
What happened to the Diggers at St George’s Hill?
The community was dispersed within six months
Why did the Digger movement not thrive?
- their approach to property caused anxiety
- went against social conventions
- easily accused as being Ranters
- heretical belief that all mankind would enjoy eternal life in heaven
What was Winstanley’s political writings?
‘law and freedom’ published in 1652 - challenged Cromwell to bring about genuine liberty or accept he had transferred the kings power into his own hands
What was ‘Godly Society’?
- individuals can relate directly to God
- sin was a public and private responsibility
When was the Blasphemy Act introduced?
1650 - first offence would be 6 months imprisonment, second offense would be banishment oversees
Who was the leader of the Quakers?
George Fox
When did the Quakers emerged?
c.1647
What were Quaker believers identified as?
Friends of the Truth
What were the Quakers main beliefs?
- God spoke to individuals through an inner light
- no need for ministers of ceremony
- oath-taking was wrong
- services conducted with extended periods of silence
- military service was wrong
When was Fox imprisoned under the Blasphemy act?
October 1650
How did the Quaker movement grow?
It had a missionary, evangelistic vision:
- by 1660 there were 20,000 Quaker converts in England
What were the Baptists doing during this period?
-Grouped Churches into regional associations
What were the purposes of regional associations?
- Christian fellowship and accountability for ministers
- Quality control of teaching
- Monitoring and maintenance of Baptist doctrine and practice
What were 2 other radical sects?
- Fifth Monarchists
- Muggletonians
What did the Fifth Monarchists believe?
- millenarianism
- reached its peak in 1650
- awaited the apocalyptic return of Jesus
- government should be based on Jewish Sanhedrin
- legal profession abolished
- Mosaic Law imposed
What did the Muggletonians believe?
- denial of the Trinity
- mortality of the soul
- devil is man’s sinful thoughts
- God lives 6 miles above the earth
- pacifism
- doctors are akin to witches
How did the Muggletonian movement begin?
1651 - by Lodowicke Muggleton and John Reeve claimed that God had sent them a message
When was Lodowicke convicted of blasphemy?
1653
Where did Muggletonians recruit believers?
To find them in a particular shop in London
What did republicanism mean in 1649?
Unfit monarchs should be brought to justice, and such issues extend beyond the constraints of one nation
