chapter 16 rule of major generals

Question 1

what was the purpose of the MGs?

Answer 1

to enforce religious reformation, to make up for the failure of the western design, to shift taxation onto ex royalists through the decimation tax and to reduce the threat of royalism

Question 2

how many MGs were there?

Answer 2

11

Question 3

how did the MGs fulfil their purpose?

Answer 3

suppressed games houses, taverns and brothels, but some made efforts to improve the lives of those in lower social classes and some focused more on godly reformation and more abitrary reforms

Question 4

what were the three main concerns over the MGs?

Answer 4

finance, government and religion and period of extended military rule

Question 5

what were the concerns over government?

Answer 5

pn worried that the state was too reliant on the military and that the MGs were a threat to pn’s control of localities - fears justified when MGs removed some conservative men from local govt

Question 6

what were the concerns over finance?

Answer 6

concern that high taxes to support the army would be permanent, also concerns over potential financial settlement, not enough money to allow regime to reduce army size or transfer power to a local militia

Question 7

what was the decimation tax?

Answer 7

affected under 2000 royalists - 10% of annual income tax - affected the most wealthy but failed in achieving goal of furthering MG rule

Question 8

what were the concerns over religion?

Answer 8

religious radicalism linked with NMA - therefore could not persecute radicals - raised fears among more conservative PNs that there would be a breakdown in social, political and economic order - exasperated by quaker movement

Question 9

what was the main factor that would allow cromwell to impose godly rule?

Answer 9

the NMA - which required high taxes to fund