Commonwealth and Protectorate

Question 1

What problems did the Rump parliament face in the wake of the execution of the king? (8)

Answer 1

1) There had not been a majority in the country in favour of the execution of the king.
2) There was no clear agreement about the kind of government to be established.
3) The army expected the Rump to begin to set up a new system and then there would be elections.
4) The Levellers were pressing for parliament to have less power and for more men to have the vote.
5) The religious radicals wished for the word of God to be the deciding factor in decision making and for preaching to be unconstrained.
6) The royalists were far from being defeated and Charles II had been proclaimed king by his supporters and so was a threat.
7) There was discontent in Scotland and Ireland over what had happened.
8) The army had been increased to keep order but was becoming costly to maintain, which meant taxes were increasing.

Question 2

How did the Rump act to establish a new form of government? (4)

Answer 2

1) Given some of the problems above, the Rump allowed some of the MPs that had been previously expelled to return, to add to their numbers.
2) They then agreed by a small majority to abolish the House of Lords and to set up a Commonwealth form of government.
3) They replaced the Privy Council with a Council of State but retained control over it and rejected Ireton and Thomas Harrison who had been involved in Pride’s Purge as members.
4) There were annual elections to the council and it was responsible for both home and foreign affairs.

Question 3

What challenge did the Levellers pose to the Rump parliament? (8)

Answer 3

1) The army remained far more radical in outlook than parliament and the 2) Levellers urged more radical measures.
3) They wanted a government based on ‘The Agreement of the People’ and army officers did put this forward but parliament rejected it.
4) This led to an outburst of Leveller protest with numerous pamphlets and petitions.
5) Leveller leaders were imprisoned but others tried to subvert the army.
6) About 1000 troops stationed at Salisbury, decided on mutiny and marched out in defiance against their orders.
7) They were finally cornered by Cromwell and his men at the graveyard at Burford and the leaders were shot while the men watched.
8) This show of forced cowed their mutineers and showed their lack of widespread support.
The Levellers remained very much a minority movement and their hopes of a revolution which would lead to a transfer of power were doomed to fail.

Question 4

Why was the Rump unpopular? (2)

Answer 4

1) The Rump was unable to solve the issue of finance. It needed the army to ensure its own safety and in case Charles II decided to invade. Scotland remained hostile. However the main issue, was that the taxation required to maintain the army was more than most people were willing to pay.
2) Moreover, the Rump had voted in March 1649 that it would dissolve itself and thus allow for fresh elections. The fact that it did not do this added to its discredit. The problem was that fresh elections would have resulted in a parliament that desired to restore the monarchy being elected and so the Rump continued to rule.

Question 5

What achievements did the Rump make? (5)

Answer 5

1) Weekly attendance at church was no longer required.
2) Church endowments were put to better uses.
3) Better preaching was encouraged in outlying areas.
4) The Navigation Act was passed to protect trade.
5) A review of the legal system was proposed.

Question 6

How and why did the Rump parliament come to an end? (3)

Answer 6

1) The Rump was finally dissolved forcibly dissolved by a troop of musketeers ordered in by Cromwell in April 1653.
2) Cromwell had lost patience with their slow progress over major reforms and especially with their apparent readiness to limit the franchise, while increasing the number of county MPs who were usually landowners.
3) He was supported by senior army officers and some of the MPs.

Question 7

How were MPs for the parliament after the dissolution of the Rump chosen? (4)

Answer 7

1) Cromwell finally fixed on an idea from Harrison that a parliament of godly men, known as saints should be chosen.

2) As the Rump had been forcibly closed, Cromwell had no power to call elections. It had been agreed in 1640, that the long parliament could only be dissolved with its own consent.
3) In any case, elections would not have produced the godly MPs which Cromwell wanted.
4) Thus the Council of Officers chose men to represent each county in accordance with the size and wealth of the area.
One MP was Praise-God Barebone and the parliament has been named after him by historians.

Question 8

What did Cromwell expect of Barebone’s parliament? (4)

Answer 8

1) It should sit for just over a year to November 1654 at most.
2) It should then pass power to another nominated body, which would draft a new constitution.
3) There would be elections by November 1655.
4) Reform was to concentrate on religion, the law and property.

Question 9

What religious problems did Barebone’s parliament encounter? (4)

Answer 9

1) Radicals wanted to get rid of tithes and the right of some laymen to appoint vicars and rectors to the parishes.
2) Some thought ministers should not be paid with public money.
3) Moderates protested that tithes and the rights to appoint were a form of property and could not be taken away from their owners.
4) They thought ministers needed to be paid from Parish endowments.

Question 10

What legal problems did Barebone’s parliament encounter? (2)

Answer 10

1) Radicals wanted to abolish the law entirely and have a straightforward short code in its place.
2) Moderates wanted some reform but not complete abandonment.

Question 11

What problems did Barebone’s parliament encounter with regard to property? (2)

Who prevailed in the Council of State elections?

Answer 11

1) Radicals wanted less concern about property rights.
2) Moderates who were often owners of property, were much more concerned to have their rights upheld.

The moderates largely prevailed and in November 1653 achieved a majority on the Council of State elections.

Question 12

How did Barebone’s parliament end? (5)

Answer 12

1) The moderates were unable to agree on what form of government they wanted and were frustrated by the failure to achieve much.
2) Hence on the 11th December, they voted to return their power to Cromwell and to dissolve themselves.
3) They have been accused of being incompetent and of low-class.
4) In fact, many of them were Gentlemen and of the 140 MPs, 100 were JPs.
5) Some felt that their attempts to get fairer salaries for godly preachers and less income for lazy priests had been misconstrued as an attack on property rights.

Question 13

How did the Instrument of government come about? (4)

Answer 13

1) The Instrument was drafted by John Lambert, a parliamentarian general.
2) He persuaded other army officers that it could be the basis for a new constitution.
3) The failure of Barebone’s parliament led to some urgency in setting up another government, for fear that anarchy would break out.
4) The instrument set out the powers to be exercised by the Protector, the Council and the parliament.

Question 14

What powers did the Lord Protector have? (4)

Who was appointed Lord Protector?

Answer 14

1) He was to hold his position for his lifetime and his successor would be chosen by the council.
2) He had some of the power of a monarch such as appointing magistrates and giving out pardons and honours.
3) He was better off than Charles I because he would be provided with enough funds to support the army, a navy and for government expenses. If more funds were needed then parliament were to be asked.
4) He was more restricted than Charles I had been in that he had to accept the advice given to him by the council and could not choose or get rid of councillors.

It was agreed that Oliver Cromwell be appointed as Lord Protector.

Question 15

What powers did the council have? (4)

Answer 15

1) It consisted of the Protector, seven army officers and eight civillians who were appointed for life.
2) It gave advice to the Protector.
3) Until the parliament met, it could govern with the Protector and issue ordinances.
4) It was helped by officials who were to be appointed by parliament and would run the administration.

Question 16

What was the make up of parliament and who was allowed to vote? (5)

What powers did parliament have? (3)

Answer 16

1) It had one chamber with 430 members.
2) Catholics could not vote in elections for MPs nor could they sit as MPs.
3) Those who could be identified as Royalists could not vote in the first three elections.
4) For the counties, voters had to have £200 per annum in property.
5) MPs must be over 21 and godly men of known integrity.

1) They were to draw up bills and then the Protector had 20 days in which to decide whether to give consent. If he did then the bills would become law. If he refused, bills could still be passed unless they were contrary to the Instrument.
2) They were to be called at least every three years and to sit for at least five months unless they agreed to be dissolved or prorogued.
3) They had no control over the army, finances or the church, so were less powerful than previously

Question 17

What provisions did the Instrument make in terms of religion? (4)

Answer 17

1) The Instrument made provision for reform of religion. There was to be more provision for preaching, in accordance with Puritan views.
2) Some guidelines were to be established for worship and belief so that there was no free-for-all.
3) There would be a public profession of the Christian faith as a basis for reform, but those who disagreed could still worship as they pleased.
4) It did not establish any criteria for deciding the fate of ministers of religion in the parishes.

Question 18

What ordinances did Cromwell pass before parliament met and what did they do? (2)

Answer 18

1) Even before parliament met, Cromwell passed two ordinances which set up two commissions known as triers and ejectors.
2) The former approved candidates for service in parish churches and the latter removed those in office who were deemed unworthy.

Question 19

When did the First Protectorate Parliament Sit?

What grievances came to the fore in the parliament? (3)

Why did Cromwell dissolve them?

Answer 19

1654-55

1) Some MPs questioned the legality and authority of the Instrument. They had some justification, considering the situation after the execution of the king was unprecedented and the source of authority in the realm had not been clearly defined.
2) Many of the MPs were men who had sat in the Rump and resented their dismissal, others were men who had royalist sympathies and resented the removal of the monarchy.
3) The MPs tended to come from the landed gentry, who were conservative, devoted to the interests of property and hostile to a standing army.
4) MPs were not biddable. They began to rewrite the constitution, increasing the power of parliament, cutting down the size of the army and limiting religious liberty.

These were all issues Cromwell felt strongly about. He was angered by the fact parliament claimed a standing army had to be authorised by them, so in January 1655, he dissolved parliament having achieved nothing.

Question 20

When did the Second Protectorate Parliament sit?

What was the result of the elections?

What action did Cromwell and the Council take?

Answer 20

The parliament had two session from September 1656 to June 1657 and from January to February 1658.

The elections again produced results which were unpalatable to the Council and Cromwell.

1) This time they took action and 100 MPs were excluded because they were not sufficiently god-fearing.
2) Another 50 withdrew in protest, so only around 250 MPs actually sat.

Question 21

What problems did the Second Protectorate Parliament encounter over taxation?

Answer 21

The first challenge came in the Militia bill put forward by Major-General John Desborough in January 1657.
This bill proposed the continuation of the Decimation Tax imposed by Cromwell on the better-off to pay for the Major-Generals.
The tax was often as much as a tenth of the income of the taxpayers and so was much resented.
The MPs rejected the bill 124-88 and so the rule of the Major-Generals came to an end.

Question 22

What problems did the Second Protectorate Parliament encounter over religion?

Why did Cromwell prorogue the parliament?

Answer 22

The second challenge arose from the case of James Nayler, a Quaker, who in 1656 re-enacted the entry of Christ into Jerusalem by riding into Bristol.
Many MPs saw this as blasphemy and wanted to put Nayler on trial.
In the past such procedures had been undertaken by the Lords, but the parliament decided they could act, found Nayler guilty and spent much time devising increasingly unpleasant ways in which he could be punished.
Cromwell was alarmed because he wished for religious toleration, even for Nayler.

Cromwell then prorogued the parliament to gain time to consider what he should do next.

Question 23

Who were the Major Generals?

Answer 23

The were eleven Major-Generals in total covering the whole of England and Wales. Some has very large areas to govern, one was responsible for the whole of Wales.
Their first duty was to maintain order and deal with any threats from royalist sympathisers.
To do this they used the local militias, which had the advantage of being cheaper than the New Model Army, because they were paid for by a tax on known royalists, whether they were in rebellion or not.
The tax, a tenth of the payer’s income was known as the Decimation and was the cause of much impoverishment of royalists.
They were also used to help enforce Cromwell’s agenda of ‘Godly Reformation’, by getting the JPs to be more proactive against drunkenness and blasphemy as well as preventing the performance of plays and ensuring that the Lord’s day was appropriately observed.
In addition they were to hurry up the work of the Commissions of Triers and Ejectors, so that a preaching ministry could be put in place.

Question 24

For what reasons did some people welcome the Major Generals? (4)

Answer 24

1) Godly Puritans were glad that at last something was being done to promote a better way of life.
2) They were able to ensure that order was maintained which pleased property owners, many of who were JPs that worked alongside the Major-Generals.
3) Their banning of some entertainments prevented potential conspirators from being able to meet.
4) Local gentry saw supporting them as a way of getting favour at Whitehall.

Question 25

For what reasons did some people dislike the Major Generals? (5)

Answer 25

1) They were imposed on the localities by central government.
2) They were seen as kill-joys who closed down ale-houses and stopped popular pursuits such as cock-fighting and horse-racing.
3) Some came from the lower ranks of society and so were despised by local gentry.
4) Royalists resented their powers, such as being forced to give bonds to the Major-Generals which would be forfeited if the royalists were involved in plotting.
5) Royalists had to get permission from them before they could travel away from their home and their movements were monitored to stop them plotting.

Question 26

What was the impact of the Major Generals? (2)

Answer 26

1) Their impact was variable as some were able to impose Puritan standards, while others were openly defied.
2) In the Second Protectorate Parliament, Desborough was unable to get funding for the Major-Generals and so they were no longer able to exercise their rule.

Question 27

How did the Major Generals come about? (6)

Answer 27

1) In 1655 there was royalist rebellion against the Protectorate.
2) It was planned to take place in a number of locations, but only the West country provided a real threat.
3) In Salisbury, the rising was led by Colonel John Penruddock and Sir Joseph Wagstaffe.
4) They marched west hoping to recruit more support, but were defeated by a troop of horse from the New Model Army in Devon.
5) Ten of the leaders were executed and 70 more of their followers were transported to Barbados.
6) To deal with discontent in the South-west, Cromwell sent Major-General John Desborough and then he decided to use the Major-Generals to head up local government all over the country.

Question 28

Why did the Rump Parliament send Cromwell to Ireland? (3)

Answer 28

1) Unrest in Ireland was nothing new and the country had been in rebellion since 1641.
2) Parliament believed they needed to assert their control, to prevent the royalists from gaining a foothold in Ireland, however the Irish believed that they would be able to make a better bargain with Prince Charles, now recognised by royalists as Charles II.
3) Cromwell was hostile to the Irish Catholics whom he blamed for killing Protestants in 1641 and for their support of Charles I.

Question 29

What happened at Drogheda in 1649 (2)

Answer 29

1) Drogheda was besieged from the 3-11th of September and then Cromwell’s forces took it by storm.
2) In the ensuing fighting about 3500 of the defenders at Drogheda were killed.

Question 30

What happened at Wexford in 1649? (3)

Answer 30

1) Cromwell arrived on the 2nd October with about 6000 men, and began to negotiate with the commander, David Sinnot.
2) The royalist troops surrendered, possibly influenced by what had happened at Drogheda.
3) The English army then attacked and killed up to 2000 men and sacked the town so viciously that it could not be used as a winter base by Cromwell’s men.

Question 31

Why was Cromwell criticised for his actions in Ireland?

Why did he feel his actions were justified?

Answer 31

1) He ordered ‘no quarter’ to be given to the defenders at Drogheda, when some of them had surrendered.
2) He almost seemed to celebrate the brutality of the slaughter when reporting back to London.

He claimed that what had happened to the Catholics and the royalists was a judgement from God and so was justified.

Question 32

What factors can be put forward to justify Cromwell’s actions as Wexford and Drogheda? (4)

Answer 32

1) The laws of warfare made it clear that if a garrison refused to surrender and fought on, then they could not expect mercy once they had been defeated.
2) Both Drogheda and Wexford had been defended by Irish Catholics and royalists and his task was to stop resistance in Ireland.
3) He was enraged at the sight of dead comrades in Drogheda and so would not spare the defenders.
4) He did not order the killing in Wexford but was overtaken by events.

Question 33

What happened after Cromwell’s campaign in Ireland?

Answer 33

Cromwell was able to establish English authority in Ireland, although there were still some areas of resistance.
In the spring of 1650, he returned to England to deal with the threat of Charles II who had been crowned king in Scotland.
Building on his achievements in Ireland, he defeated the Scots at Dunbar in September 1650 and Charles at Worcester in 1651.
Charles fled to France.
Cromwell was sure God had given him the victories over his enemies.
But in Ireland the memory of his actions has lived on to bedevil relationships between communities there.

Question 34

What was the Humble Petition and Advice?

Why was it issued?

Answer 34

This was parliament’s proffered solution, they petitioned Cromwell in March 1657 to accept a new constitution.

Towards the end of the first session of the Second Protectorate Parliament, the issue of the succession to Cromwell began to exercise the minds of MPs.
His health was beginning to decline and they worried about what would happen if he died.
They were also concerned about issues over the constitution, as once again the parliament had needed to be purged in order to achieve what the Protector desired.

Question 35

What did the new constitution proposed in The Humble Petition and Advice propose? (6)

Answer 35

1) Cromwell would become king and be succeeded by his son.
2) There would be no exclusions from parliament apart from those enforced by MPs.
3) The council would have less power.
4) There would be a second chamber.
5) There would be less religious tolerance.
6) The army would be reduced in size.

Question 36

In what ways did Cromwell like The Humble Petition and Advice? (4)

Answer 36

1) It had been drawn up by parliament and not the army.
2) A second chamber could help with the government.
3) The council tended to be dominated by army officers.
4) It guaranteed an undisputed transfer of power.

Question 37

Why did Cromwell dislike The Humble Petition and Advice? (5(

Answer 37

1) He was expected to accept it all rather than pick and choose.
2) He felt that he could hardly become king after executing Charles I and abolishing the monarchy.
3) The army was very much against the whole idea.
4) If it had been God’s will that Charles be overthrown and kingly rule be ended then he could not go against that.
5) Taking honours for himself and for his family made it seem as though he was motivated by self-interest.

Question 38

What was the outcome of The Humble Petition and Advice?

Answer 38

After some careful thought, he rejected the idea and resumed his role as Lord Protector, although he was now addressed as ‘Your Highness’ and the ‘Other House’ was set up as a second chamber.

Question 39

What happened in Cromwell’s last months?

Answer 39

The second session of the Second Protectorate Parliament met in January 1658, with many of the formerly excluded members now able to return to the Commons. Many of Cromwell’s supporters were now in the Other House so he faced much opposition in the commons, and dissolved parliament after only two weeks.

However, Cromwell retained the loyalty of the army and the economy was booming. In June Dunkirk was captured in a war where Cromwell was allied with the Spanish against the French, and this was due cause for celebration.

But in August, Elizabeth Claypole, Cromwell’s favourite daughter died and his health began to give way.

He suffered from malaria and possibly from a kidney or urinary infection and he died in September 1658, aged 59, after a short illness and to the dismay of his friends.

He was given an elaborate funeral in Westminster Abbey, modelled on that of James I in 1625.
His body had to be buried before the funeral as preparations were incomplete and the leading role in the procession and ceremonial was taken by an effigy of the late Lord protector.

Question 40

Give three facts about Richard Cromwell?

Answer 40

1) Richard was 31 and had spent much of his life as an obscure squire, but had been an MP for Huntingdon in the First Protectorate Parliament and for the University of Cambridge in the Second.
2) In 1657, his father had made him a member of the Council of State, presumably to give him more experience of government.
3) Richard’s main challenge was lack of support in the army.