F Flashcards
When and what was the Rump parliament?
1649-53
It was the parliament formed after Pride’s Purge with the remaining members - those who supported the trial and execution of the King. Conservative emphasis. 300 members but only 50 to 100 regular attenders.
What were some weaknesses of the Commonwealth?
- Scotland declared Charles II King of Scotland
- universal condemnation of regicide
- Levellers demanded further constitutional change
- Royalist uprising fuelled by resentment over the King’s death
- unpopularity due to taxation and centralisation of Gov (alienated public)
What are some statistics about the Rump?
211 members yet 50-60 active attendees
152 committees passed in 1649, compared to 12 in 1653. Same with number of acts passed - becomes inactive as time passes
51% of legislations was to do with security and finance, ad 30% with local government and the army
Reasons for Cromwell’s actions in Ireland
- religious reasons: providence, end of the world, Catholics as the anti-christ
- fear of the 1641 Irish Rebellion to take revenge for this (propaganda)
- strategic: due to the Catholicism of Ireland
- Garrisons contained English royalists as well as Irish so seen as the part of the alliance that Charles I created
What were the events at Dragheda?
- raised the controversial question as to denial of the ‘quarter’ - to show mercy or sparing lives of garrison within the town, thus allowing surrender
- Cromwell refused: “I forbade them to spare any that were arms in the town”
- Even those who surrendered were taken to a nearby windmill and were killed
Why else were the events at Dragheda controversial?
ignorance of the ‘law of warfare; which allowed people to surrender, had the idea hat more violence in the beginning means rebellion and backlash after
What was the Barebone’s parliament? (Nominated assembly, Little parliament)
- non elected parliament to follow the army’s will
- divided between radicals and conservatives, members became disillusioned
- army council nominated people they saw as “godly”
- had some religious radicals -> moderates combined to dissolve it
How successful was the Nominated Assembly?
- passed more than 30 laws and was preparing even more bills including: establishment of civil marriages, compulsory registration of births, preparation to get rid of tithes
- however, people didn’t take it seriously: seen as idealistic and radical and as composed of uneducated people
Evidence that the Nominated Assembly was radical
“Assembly of the Godly”, focus of radical hopes which the Rump never fulfilled, colourful characters like Barebone, moderates lost out to the radical minority which attended more regularly and who were more organised
What were some radical groups that were a threat?
Quakers, Seekers and Rangers, Congregationalists, Baptists, Muggletonians, Fifth Monarchists
What was Millenarism?
return of Jesus Christ - belief of a revolutionary change -> end of the world
What was Providence?
the concept that events are never random and isolated but are part of a larger divine plan => God’s will
Why did people object to the Nominated Assembly?
lack of social status and experience: artisans, preachers and low ranking tradesmen instead of educated nobles - no aristocracy = fallen social order
religious radicalism: fear of religious reform
distrust of Cromwell’s rule
What was the reality of the Nominated Assembly (against objection)?
the members were gentlemen who had been well educated and had political experience
What was Cromwell’s aim of healing and settling?
reconciling former enemies and reconstructing the pre-war institutions of everyday life (eg conflict between royalists and parliamentarians)
social and moral disorder needed to be solved and a religious settlement was needed
What was Cromwell’s aim of political stability?
essentially what the army offered to Charles in Heads of Proposals - power divided between a single person acting as executive, and a parliament with regular elections
gave Cromwell the power to set ordinances and executive orders, but these had to be approved by the parliament
WHat was Cromwell’s aim of Godly reformation?
to redeem the ‘blood and treasure’ lost in th Civil wars
godly reformation required a national church settlement that would lead by examples with liberty of conscience for Protestant sects
What were some of Cromwell’s ordinances he passed?
godly reformation - ordinances banned cock-fighting, horse racing, swearing and drunkenness
ending the anglo-dutch war
high court of justice created to try treason cases - to distinguish between former and currently active royalists
What was the instrument of government?
England’s first constitution, written by the army (General Lambert)
lots of money to the NMA, but Cromwell couldn’t dissolve parliament within 5 months and had to get the majority consent of the Council of the State when no parliament
parliament had more power for day to day law making
increased efficiency from the rump
WHat was the first issue of the Early Protectorate?
- parliament couldn’t change the instrument and 80 MPs refused to take the Oath of Recogniton & were excluded
- so the parliament introduced the ‘Government Bill’ and began writing the instrument line by line
- legitimacy according to Cromwell from the army, city of london and the sheriffs
- but in reality he lacked legitimacy which initiated the first 80 MPs refused
What was the Sealed Knot as a royalist threat?
a conspiracy commissioned by King Charles II, although had little support from ordinary men (most neutral), Treaty of Brussels signed with Spain against the Protectorate
authority was compromised when the ‘Ship Tavern conspiracy’ was discovered -> Sir Richard Willys became a double agent
What was the Penruddock uprising as a royalist threat?
a former colonel in Charles I’s army + exiles - gathered 200/400 royalist troops to attack Salisbury. but the support they expected didn’t;t occur and the force scattered and was defeated
How effective was Cromwell’s government in response to the Royalist threat?
swift reaction: raised some 4000 local militia troops, spy network was effective
but made Cromwell very paranoid
What were the Major Generals?
as a result of Cromwell;s paranoia, England and Wales to be split into 11 military districts, each governed by a Major General
paid for by a new ‘Decimation tax’ on Royalist estates
also they weren’t popular (widespread resentment), and failed to curb the cost of government, being more expensive
How did the Major generals end?
John Disbrowe tried to ensure the continuance of the bill and Cromwell withheld support
(fear of ambitious MGs challenging the Protector himself?)
What happened with the Second Protectorate parliament?
when the new parliament met in 1656, 100 members were declared ineligible - early signs that this purge created the desired results
-> first major difficulty: houses prosecution of Quaker James Nayler for blasphemy - strained relations between protector and parliament
Jan 1657: John Desborough introduced a bill to renew Decimation tax
What were the new Cromwellians?
traditionalists that believed in the virtues of the Old Constitution and social order -> the further Cromwell is from military, the better the government
included leading lawyers and civilians
What was the offer of Kingship?
The new Cromwellians sent the Humble Petition and advice - an alternate constitution that proposed that Cromwell should become King and in a way limit his power
this had validity and legality as it came from the parliament
during the spring of 1657 - rumours circulated that he was considering it = army petitions to reject it
in may he accepted a modified form, remaining the Lord Protector (no King title) and was empowered to maim his successor
What was Cromwell’ position as Protector like?
strengthened the civilian base of the Protectorate
republicans were swift to condemn an arrangement which subordinated the will of parliament on the whim of the party
Did the Humble petition solve Cromwell’s problems?
he had obligated to dismiss Lambert to take the oath of loyalty to the new constitution
the incident indicated that Cromwell had failed in his aim of establishing a gov sufficiently representative to be wildly accepted
Describe the Second session of Parliament (Jan-Feb 1658)
different from the earlier one - as the members excluded returned (mostly republican)
they were led by Arthur Haslrig who believed that all gov had been illegitimate since the dissolution of the Rump
depletion of his supporters in the lower House, the most able of whom he had transferred to the Other House
hee feared that the parliamentary onslaught might lead to his political and religious enemies combining he decided to end the sitting
dissolved parliament after a session of less than a month was to prevent it from considering a republican petition that called for the abandonment of the Protectorate and the restoration of the Rump
deepest worry was that the petition was rumored to have found favor with some of the troops
Why was Cromwell record as a Lord Protector paradoxical?
in a revolutionary position but he wasn’t a revolutionary
deemed military power but was reluctant to use it
hallway position - instrumental in removing the Stuart monarchy but unwilling to go further and create a new system
worst of both worlds: lacked authority and public acceptance associated with the monarchy but was the hope of those supporting the parliamentary cause
What challenges did Richard Cromwell face?
- lacked military experience and was unable to win the support of the army which limited his power
- republicans from the 1659 parliament attacked the protectorate were joined by radical groups, forcing Richard to revive the General Council of Officers
-> parliament tried to dissolve it but the military attempted a coup so Richard dissolved the parliament and resigned as Lord Protector
What was significant in the 3rd Protectorate parliament?
election of a significant minority pushing for the “Good old Cause”: republicans and want Godly reformation
What did General Monck do?
- intervention on behalf of the Rump in response to the Committee of Safety (end meetings of the Rump) -> back in commons Dec 1659
- arranged the return of Parliament members who were excluded during the Pride’s Purge following demonstrations and petitions and then dissolved the Long Parliament
- sent an agent to Charles to go to Protestant Breda instead of Catholic France and to issue a general declaration
How does the Rump transform 1659-60?
Dissolved by R. Cromwell when he resigns and its meetings are stopped when the Committee of Safety is created
December 1659: Rump is resorted into the Commons
February 1660: Monck arranged for the return of the members who were excluded during Pride’s Purge following demonstrations
March 1660: Monck dissolved the Long Parliament
What was involved in the declaration of Breda?
April 1660
- seemed to address all the hopes and fears of the nations but in reality it didn’t offer much
- paved the way for reconciliation and unity
- removed the fear of royal vengeance and referred the contentious issues ofCrown & Church lands and religious toleration to the parliament
Why was the monarchy restored/Why did the republic collapse?
- no clear replacement for Cromwell
- no way to reconcile army and parliament
- declaration of Breda
- Monck’s actions and ambiguity/not telling people what he was doing
- divisions in the NMA
- the Rump as politically bankrupt
