Political Radicalism - Dissolution of Rump + Nominated Assembly Flashcards
Who were the Levellers
Wanted a property-based franchise which gave the vote to all households who contributed to poor relief.
Feared the RUmp was aiming to become as equally as tyrannical as the King
What opposition did the Leveller’s do to Rump?
‘England’s New Cjain’s Discovered’ (1649 Feb) - Lilburne accused the Army Grandees of returning England to slavery and having betrayed the cause of the war.
Lilburn appealed to the army, Londoners and others to reject the rule of the ‘new oppressor’. No change from king to parliament - a “mere change of persons”
The execution of Leveller leaders lead to a procession through London wearing red ribbons for leveler support
What was the Rump’s response to the Leveller resistance?
Lilburn and other leading levellers arrested - charged with treason
Two leveller mutinies were crushed by Cromwell in May 1649n - leaders executed
Rump handed out arrears to soldiers which largely pacified the grass-roots group of Leveller support within army
Movement effectively over
Who were the Diggers
Off-shoot of the Levellers (‘True levellers’)
Took the Leveller idea of equality and merged it with religious radicalism
April 1649 - community of True levellers founded in Surrey at St George’s Hill. Plots of common land “Work together. Eat bread Together”.
Give examples of DIgger failure
The community at St Georges Hill shut within 6 months
Although Digger communities were established elsewhere, also quickly dispersed
Winstanley’s pamphlets ‘Law and Freedom’ -challenged Cromwell to bring about genuine reform. However, political influence minimal, and movement fleeted
Why did the Levellers fail
Their approach for property caused anxiety among local landowners
Easy to attack them as disorderly as they went against social conventions
Who were the Quakers
Started by George Fox
God spoke to every believer through an individual light
No need for designated ministers for the ceremony
Military service was wrong - only God had the right to end life (Rump’s survival propped up by military support)
What happened to George Fox
One of the first radicals to be tried under the new Blashmpey Act - 6 months imprisonment in 1650
- Deep contradiction of the Liberty of conscious
Give some successes of the Quaker movement
The movement grew rapidly - targeted wide audiences
Utilised the press to produce large numbers of pamphlets
By 1660, there were over 20,000 Quakers in England
With regards to the Rump, give a fundamental reason why the Levellers and Diggers failed at creating godly society
Majority of the Rump Parliament were members of the gentry and therefore naturally conservative
What was the Toleration Act of 1650
Removed the requirement for people to attend church as long as they took part in regular religious service each week
How did the Rump utilise the media
Censorship of printed material introduced in order to limit radical pamphlets
Goverment newspaper ‘Mercisus Politicus’ was launched in order to defend Rump’s actions
Give 4 actions passed by the Rump that contradicted Cromwell’s liberty of conscious
Nothing was done to remove church tithes, and in April 1652, the Rump declared that the collection would continue - members of radical groups were therefore expected to pay towards the upkeep of the church they would never attend
Blasphemy Act 1650 - aimed at restricting radical religious sects, who could be subject to severe penalties
Levellers + Diggers effectively repressed
Act for the Propagation of the Gospel in Northern England and Wales was passed - Controlled the appointment of the clergy so that only approved ministers were allowed to preach
What was the Navigation Act 1651
Boosted national morale.
Even though it led to war with the Dutch Republic over commercial rivalry and fishing - it was popular because it brought England back onto the continental stage as a major player after a lull fo a decade
Opening stages of Anglo-Dutch war very much in England’s favour
Give 4 reasons why the Rump was successful
Navigation Act 1651
Rump managed to maintain stability and order, even in the face of economic distress, religious radicalism, threat of invasion from Ireland, and actual invasion from Scotland
Careful handling of local circumstances prevented serious opposition from the localities. Royalists typically treated gently with minimal purges from office
Managed to raise enough money to finance the army
Give 4 weaknesses of the Rump
The need to maintain a large standing army there were high taxes. Without reliable support from the nation, the army could not be dispensed, but as long as the army existed - the reliable support would not be forthcoming
Attendance of the RUmp was always low with only 70 active MP’s of 210
Rate of reform slowed. In 1649, 125 Acts were passed, reducing to just 51 by 1652
As time passed, Rump appeared more selfish and corrupt. Failed to dissolve itself despite promises to do so
In order to pay for the construction of new warships, the monthly assessment was raised to £………..
This assessment alone now raised as much money as…………………………………………
£90,000
Charle’s entire annual revenue
The rump was destined to fail because of the slow pace of……..
Reform
Why did the Levellers and Rump split despite being previously closely aligned in the execution of Charles
King’s death exposed the fragility of the political alliance
Core problem was public opinion - gauging the nation’s mood wasn’t say despite the Levellers claiming to do so
Offering the vote to all male householders who contributed to poor relief was not an option for a parliament that needed the support of the gentry.
Who led one of the mutinies in response to Leveller leading being imprisoned
One of the troopers - Roger Lockyer - was scented to death
Cromwell tried to spare him but overruled by Fairfax
Differing religious aims
What 3 developments enhanced Cromwell’s personal importance by 1652
- His victories aginst the irish and Scottish confirmed him as one of the greatest generals pf his time
- Resignation of Fairfax in 1650 and death of Ireton in 1651 strengthened Cromwell’s authority within the army
- Cromwell gained a unique insight into the opinions, beliefs, interests and fears of all 3 kingdoms. by 1653, Cromwell had a more direct knowledge of the British Isles than any monarch had ever had
Give 3 reasons why the army was losing patience with the rump
Failure to provide pensions for war widows and wounded soldiers
Failure to implement legal and social reform
The army didn’t understand that new elections could return a parliament hostile to the commonwealth
High taxation
What was the Act of Oblivion and was it successful
1651 - aimed at reconciling former royalists to the Commonwealth - but so many exceptions that largely failed
Fear of religious radicalism fueled increased………..amongst the rump and a lack of significant……….reform along the lines needed to create a………society - aggravating Cromwell
Conservatism
Religious
Godly
Give a piece of evidence that Cronwell’s ambitions was always to become king
Conversation with Bulstrode Whitelock
“What if a man should take upon him to be king”
However - Whitelock writing during the 1660s after the restoration. Could have manipulated the conversation in order to appear a man of moderation and escape persecution form, Charles II
When did Cromwell dissolve the Rump and what over
20 April 1653
A bill being hurriedly rushed through parliament
What was the Bill Cromwell prevented from occurring
Unkown as destroyed by Cromwell
However, most historians agree that the Bill provided fro a general election but that the Rump MP’s would judge the sustainability of the incoming MP’s and exclude any they thought unsuitable
This would explain Cromwell’s anger
How did Cromwell suspend the Rump?
Entered the commons chamber and lectured the MP’s at how poorly they’d performed
Then ordered the soldiers to forcibly dissolve the parliament
How was the Nominated Assembly set up
140 members were selected by Cromwell and officers
Cromwell avoided taking a seat in the Assembly as sensitive to the use of military intervention in civilian affairs
Give 4 reasons that suggest the Nominated Assembly wasn’t set up to fail
Chosen by Army Council
Cromwell avoided taking a seat
Passed significant reform - over half would sit in protectorate parliament
Majority not religious radicals
Give some evidence to suggest that the Nominated Assembly/Barebones Parliament wasn’t just group of religious zealots
Only 13 were 5th Monarchists
At least 80% considered themselves members of the gentry
117 were JP’s
Give some initial successes of the Nominated Assembly
Attendance record was exemplary - sat 6 days a week compared to the RUmp’s 12 hours
Directly addressed the reforms the rump had avoided including poor relied, religion, leal reform and tithes
Passed over 30 states in its 5-month existence
Why did the Nominated Assembly fail
Rift between the moderates and radicals
Radicals wanted an end to tithes, a national church and common law
Moderates wanted a national church to lead by example + preserve common law
What forced Cromwell’s hand to intervene in foreign policy
Foreign policy
Nominated Assembly with no experience of foreign policy or time to give it thought was paralysed by indecision for the end of the anglo-dutch war
Assembly couldn’t speak for England as along as Cromwell and the army refused to wield executive power
How was Cromwell installed as Lord Protector?
10 December - moderates narrowly defeated on their religious proposal to maintain tithes
12 Dec - moderates assembled early and voted to abdicate power and hand it back to Cromwell whilst the radicles were absent
Cromwell was able to accept power through the coup whilst plausibly denying any knowledge of it
We should guard against the temptation to assume that the Nominated Assembly’s failure was……………..
Just as we should guard against the temptation to see the commonwealth as nothing more than an episode before Cromwell took……….
Cromwell didn’t behave as if he’d thought the Commonwealth was………..from the…………
Inevitable
Power
Doomed
Start
More likely that the Assembly was shut down because its……………………..threatened to bring the cause of………..reform into disrepute
Chaotic proceedings
Radical
Give an action the Nominated Assembly passed which caused it to run into trouble and the effects
- Passed measure to carry out a purge of JP’s to remove men who’d been conservative members of the Rump.
Caused dismay among the localities because it cut across regional sensibilities
- Religious moderates were scared by the efficient organisation of the radical sectarians within barebones and the army officers were threatened by proposals to stop their pay for a year
Give 4 reasons that suggest the N.A was set up to fail
No experience of foreign policy at the time of an Anglo-Dutch war
Cromwell’s personal power ambitions (Bulstrode conversation)
Religious divisions (radicals vs moderates)
“Pack of weak senseless fellows” - Clarendon
Give 4 reasons that suggest the N.A WASN’T set up to fail
Cromwell didn’t take a seat so perhaps wasn’t motivated by personal power ambitions
Significant reforms - 30 statues in 3 months
Wide representation of people, majority cam from normal MP background
Half would go on to sit in the Parliament of the protectorate - capable and worthy men
