political failure 1640-60 Flashcards
Cromwell - thesis
inability to compromise with different political groups, alongside his radical aims (‘Godly’ nation, ‘healing and settling’) and illegitimacy of how cromwell derived and maintained his power, created conflict with parl + key individuals (e.g. Haselrig or Lambert). Cromwell was an army general who used force to provide himself with power. He didn’t follow through with the constitutions- jumped from body to body – NA, IoG, HP+A
Cromwell - examples
His radical aims conflicted with moderates: Nominated Assembly: 13 5th Mns vs 18 moderate Rump MPs = conflict over aims of a ‘Godly’ nation and religious toleration → this conflict led to failure of NA
He tried to assert power over parliament, or set out laws without any legitimacy which created more conflict:
→ cromwell forcibly dissolved Rump parl 20th april ‘53 and since then asserted his own positions - but he was aware of this illegitimacy and so when worried he just dissolved parl (e.g in NA)
→ his positions in different constitutions (eg IoG) were just seen as an alternative monarch which angered republicans. For ex, in IoG, as ‘Lord Protector’, cromwell had control of army, could call Parl when needed and control over 3 nations BUT didn’t have the legitimacy of a King- was not elected
→ this illegitimacy created resentment: MPs like Bradshaw and Haselrig opposed the IoG because they argued that they fought in the CW to protect the privileges of Parl, yet OC has given himself so much power- created conflict and political instability→ EG: when the IoG first met, MPs began attacking IoG’s legitimacy and the ‘Commonwealthsmen’ claimed OC’s dissolution of the Rump was unlawful and also objected to his control of miliarity etc and set out to deny the govt the political and econ support it needed. (led to the Oath of Recognition)
Major-G:
→ set this up as military rule to est control and a ‘Godly’ nation - this created resentment (^ tax and expanding control of central govt) as cromwell did not have the power to exert this control so used the army
Use of force to get some form of legitimacy:
→ IoG derived its authority from the Army Officers’ Council and so was v unpopular amongst MPs (so on IoG’s first meet- MPs began attacking its legitimacy)
→ IoG so illegitimate that OC had to introduce an ‘Oath of Recognition’ to reduce opposition - were required to accept his 4 fundamentals. 100 were excluded.
General lack of legitimacy:
→ George Cony case, 1654: merchant refused to pay custom duties on imported silk- arguing only Parl had the jurisdiction to impose taxes. OC made an example of Cony by imprisoning him
counter argument for Cromwell contributing to political failure
CA: his successor, RC, could not deal with any of the chaos and led to 3PP failing very quickly. Shows that OC was actually effective at attempting to maintain harmony and reasons for political failure was actually outside of his power and was down to external conditions: individuals/groups (growing opposition from the army and from Haselrig), financial problems- increasing tax= hostility from the PN and so local govt not complying with cromwell’s constitutional needs.
army thesis
the army helped in many occasions (battles to protect England from external and internal threats) which maintained their powerful stance and also gave them a reason to demand for changes, like religious toleration and army pay. They tried to use military intervention in parl to get what they wanted. (i.e. their constant intervention made political harmony impossible)
army- exampples
Pride’s purge: 6 Dec ‘48)
→ (after revoke of no addresses) NMA scared of losing all influence and power so Colonel Pride + NMA stopped 180 MPs entering parl
→ leading to few MPs left-70- (only those who wanted a settlement)- know as Rump Parl
→ this led to trial and execution of Charles II
Successful intervention in scotland and ireland to suppress threats:
→ Siege of wexford (sept ‘49) and Drohega (oct ‘49)
→ Battle of dunbar (sept ‘51) and worcester (sept ‘50)
Lambert forcibly dissolved the Nominated Assembly to put power back in the hands of cromwell (with the Instrument of Govt)
Major-Generals: 1655-57
→ clear use of force for Cromwell to maintain control and try and establish a ‘Godly’ nation + MGs of lower social status
→ Decimation tax (10% royalists income) to fund this meant tax increased (by mid 1650s, avg annual tax peaked at £1.75 mill - 1 mill more than in PR - angered PN) and increased hostility from royalists= unpopularity → shown in defeat of Militia bill (124-88) and led to failure of FPP
Their opposition prevented Cromwell accepting the crown
Reason for failure of 3PP: Jan-april ‘59
→ RC could not control the army + their demands
Conflict between the army (Lambert) and Haselrig in the first return of the Rump
Lambert: forcibly dissolving the rump: 14th oct ‘59
→ wrote the Darby petition (to increase army power EG)
→ set up the Committee of Safety- this made it obvious that the army opposed the Rump and made it harder for political stability to be a possibility
? Monck returning power back to Rump? Involved military intervention
republicans- thesis
Republicans, including key invds like Haselrig and Bradshaw, fought in the CW on Parl side to protect the privileges of parliament. Thus, deep resentment formed with the illegitimacy of OC which made political harmony impossible and actions of Republicans contributed to political failure as a result.
republicans - examples
When IoG first met, Sept 1654, MPs (esp Republicans) demanded an alteration of the constitution→ clear opposition leading to inability to work together
After being excluded from the first PP by OC, republicans were allowed back into SPP (Jan 1658)- as a result of being shunned initially, led by Haselrig, the republicans immediately attacked the HP+A blaming it for high tax and too much power to the Protector, maintaining army’s illegitimate influence in politics etc.. → shows clear opposition and led to political failure → OC ended session early in Feb ‘58
Increasing power of republicans: 3PP: clear opposition to power of RC and sought to control army led to RC’s self-imposed exile:
→ (although republicans were the minority, against 549 MPs) led by Haselrig, the republicans denounced the amount of power that the protector had- bc of RC insistence on continuing as Commander-in-Chief, republicans sought to decrease the power of the army + argued that local militias should be under Parl control and that Council of Army Officers should sit only with the permission of Parl → made RC fearful of another CW and so he went into exile. SO shows that republican opposition = political failure
Conflict over power: return of the Rump (May-Oct ‘59)
→ rump led by opposing powers- haselrig vs lambert: lambert introduced HP+Address of the Officers which attempted to increase army power- haselrig did NOT accept any decrease in power of the commons = conflict
lambert- thesis
introduced radical ideas/plans and often used military force to put this into effect (e.g. IoG and committee of safety) which caused political turmoil and conflict
lambert- examples
Instrument of Govt:
→ Dec 1653: Lambert (w/ approval from cromwell) carried out the military coup of the NA to put forward the IoG - this instantly made the IoG illegitimate as they used military force to try and achieve authority.
Conflict over power: return of the Rump (May-Oct ‘59)
→ rump led by opposing powers- haselrig vs lambert: lambert introduced HP+Address of the Officers which attempted to increase army power- haselrig did NOT accept any decrease in power of the commons = conflict
Committee of Safety: oct-dec ‘59
→ Lambert crushed Booth’s rising and used this as a platform to establish his Committee of Safety. After drawing up the ‘Derby petition’ which increased army power (e.g. all army leaders should be promoted to the rank of General) and after opposition from Haselrig, all Parl buildings were surrounded by soldiers who denied entry to Rump MPs. Power now laid w/ Council of Officers who tried to est military rule by appointing a ‘Committee of Safety’
religious - thesis
Religion created the grounds for tensions to emerge, based on the conflicted views on how religion should be expressed in England, as Cromwell wanted a ‘Godly nation’ compared to many moderate MPs who aimed for religious uniformity. Cromwell’s methods to ensure this Godly nation often caused an increase of opposition and contributed to political failure of the Protectorates.
religious- example
Root and Branch petition- Dec 1640: complete eradication of the episcopacy, signed by 15,000 londoners —> deliberately antagonising charles: ‘No bishop, no king’
Irish rebellion- Oct 1641: brutal massacre of around 3,000 protestants in Ulster by Irish catholics—> parl refused to give charles the army to stop the rebellion w/ fear he would use it against them —> also seemed like charles was set up after a forged doc stated he supported this — increased fears of absolutism etc.
John Biddle case: 1654:
→ Biddle was charged with blasphemy after denying the holy trinity and divinity of christ and so parliamentary committee decided for his imprisonment.
→ This was an example of Parl trying to assert their right over religion over OC, and MPs desire to reject OC’s vision of religious toleration and instead enforce religious uniformity→ contributed to OC’s decision to dissolve FPP as soon as the IoG allowed
James Nayler case: 1656:
→ Mps showed their opposition to religious toleration by subjecting Nayler to brutal punishment after ‘blasphemous acts’ (MPs saw this as a consequence of religious toleration)
→ major factor in Cromwell dissolving the first protectorate parliament
Nominated assembly:
→ conflict between 13 5th monarchists and 18 rump members
→ led to cromwell dissolving NA because he was worried the extreme 5M would destroy all religious foundations
Major-Generals:
→ Cromwell’s ‘Godly’ nation- he tried to use force to establish this which was seen as military rule and created a lot of opposition from the PN, which contributed to its failure.
→ The NMA also had strong ties with religious radicals and this worried some moderates/conservatives that the religious radicalism would be encouraged (justified by the sharp increase in Quakers at the time), which worried them about the stability in England, which enhanced their opposition to MG and led to failure of FPP.
financial- thesis
financial issues often meant an increase in tax for the political nation, which ultimately created more resentment and led to the local govt not complying with rules/laws which contributed to political failure
financial- examples
Rump:
→ deficit of £700,000 by 1653- had to increase monthly assessments from £90,000-120,000 by dec’52 (upset PN)
Major-Generals: 1655-57
→ clear use of force for Cromwell to maintain control and try and establish a ‘Godly’ nation + MGs of lower social status
→ Decimation tax (10% royalists income) to fund this meant tax increased (by mid 1650s, avg annual tax peaked at £1.75 mill - 1 mill more than in PR - angered PN) and increased hostility from royalists= unpopularity → shown in defeat of Militia bill (124-88) and led to failure of FPP
3PP:
→ deep resentment from Army who wanted their arrears payed: total was now £900,000 but the protectorate had a total debt of £2.5 million SO RC had to call parl (3PP) (jan-april ‘59)
illegitimacy/its origin - thesis
this allowed for Parl to undermine the authority of Cromwell and often led to lack of efficiency of the Parl/assembly OC was leading → political failure
illegitimacy/its origin - examples
The formation of the Rump parl after pride’s purge: 6th Dec ‘48
→ after revoke of no addresses, as NMA scared of losing all influence and power so Colonel Pride + NMA stopped 180 MPs entering parl→ leading to few MPs left-70- (only those who wanted a settlement)- know an Rump Parl→ this led to his trial and then execution
→ these conflicting parties meant lack of reform was going to be able to happen- made them ineffective: failure of the Hale Commission (Jan ‘52) which sought to investigate legal reforms and contradictory reforms in religion: Toleration act (‘50) followed by Act against Blasphemy and Adultery (‘50)
George Cony case, 1654:
→ merchant refused to pay custom duties on imported silk- arguing only Parl had the jurisdiction to impose taxes. OC made an example of Cony by imprisoning him
John Biddle case: 1654:
→ Biddle was charged with blasphemy after denying the holy trinity and divinity of Christ and so parliamentary committee decided for his imprisonment.
→ This was an example of Parl trying to assert their right over religion over OC, and MPs desire to reject OC’s vision of religious toleration and instead enforce religious uniformity→ contributed to OC’s decision to dissolve FPP as soon as the IoG allowed
James Nayler case: 1656:
→ Mps showed their opposition to religious toleration by subjecting Nayler to brutal punishment after ‘blasphemous acts’ (MPs saw this as a consequence of religious toleration)
→ major factor in Cromwell dissolving the first protectorate parliament
Nominated Assembly:
→ 13 fifth M vs 18 Rump – difficult to reform
Conflict over power: return of the Rump (May-Oct ‘59)
→ rump led by opposing powers- haselrig vs lambert: lambert introduced HP+Address of the Officers which attempted to increase army power- haselrig did NOT accept any decrease in power of the commons = conflict
