Commonwealth and Protectorate Flashcards
What problems did the Rump parliament face in the wake of the execution of the king? (8)
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.
How did the Rump act to establish a new form of government? (4)
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.
What challenge did the Levellers pose to the Rump parliament? (8)
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.
Why was the Rump unpopular? (2)
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.
What achievements did the Rump make? (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.
How and why did the Rump parliament come to an end? (3)
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.
How were MPs for the parliament after the dissolution of the Rump chosen? (4)
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.
What did Cromwell expect of Barebone’s parliament? (4)
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.
What religious problems did Barebone’s parliament encounter? (4)
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.
What legal problems did Barebone’s parliament encounter? (2)
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.
What problems did Barebone’s parliament encounter with regard to property? (2)
Who prevailed in the Council of State elections?
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.
How did Barebone’s parliament end? (5)
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.
How did the Instrument of government come about? (4)
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.
What powers did the Lord Protector have? (4)
Who was appointed Lord Protector?
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.
What powers did the council have? (4)
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.
What was the make up of parliament and who was allowed to vote? (5)
What powers did parliament have? (3)
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
What provisions did the Instrument make in terms of religion? (4)
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.
What ordinances did Cromwell pass before parliament met and what did they do? (2)
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.
When did the First Protectorate Parliament Sit?
What grievances came to the fore in the parliament? (3)
Why did Cromwell dissolve them?
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.
When did the Second Protectorate Parliament sit?
What was the result of the elections?
What action did Cromwell and the Council take?
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.
What problems did the Second Protectorate Parliament encounter over taxation?
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.
What problems did the Second Protectorate Parliament encounter over religion?
Why did Cromwell prorogue the parliament?
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.
Who were the Major Generals?
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.
For what reasons did some people welcome the Major Generals? (4)
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.
