rump parliament Flashcards
the rump and establishment of the commonwealth
Parliament claimed that it was the continuation of the Long Parliament that had been elected back in 1640. Due to this, Parliament firmly believed that this entitled them to the obedience and loyalty of the whole nation. Unfortunately for Parliament, this was a baseless, hollow claim.
The Rump existed purely due to the military purge that had been enacted by the Council of the Army, thus the Rump was wholly dependent on the willingness of the army to support it
The army had become a formidable political force by 1649.
As a result, if the army chose to insist on a certain policy, it would be difficult for the Rump to reject it.
As a soldier cromwell was still technically subordinate to Fairfax, yet because Fairfax had withdrawn from public affairs by 1649, Cromwell’s influence grew.
February and March 1649, the Rump passed the following measures:
Abolition of the monarchy
Abolition of the House of Lords
Creation of a Council of State to act as government
A declaration that England was now a Commonwealth.
The Rump’s purpose was to preserve rather than to undermine the constitution.
The Council of the State acted as the executive in the government, in place of the
King and the Privy Council. There were yearly elections to it.
The Council would direct both domestic and foreign policy and ensure the security of
the Commonwealth.
In practice, the Council was dominated by the army due to the weakness of Parliament at this time.
cromwell vs levellers
The Levellers had hoped that the removal of the King would serve as prelude to social and religious reformation. they also accused cromwell of high treason
The speed and severity with which Cromwell dealt with the Levellers illustrated his determination to in support for the Commonwealth:
Settling their arrears of pay reduced levelers in the army
Himself and Fairfax pursued Leveller forces. After resistance, the mutineers surrendered
This marked the end of Leveller influence in the army,
Troops were concerned primarily about better pay. so when it was resolvd numbers reduced
Failed to gain substantial support in Parliament.
Never produced a co-ordinated plan of action for changing society.
never any commitment to the use of force.
ireland
the Earl of Ormonde, persuaded the Protestant royalists in southern Ireland to join with the Catholics in a league against the English Parliament. In March 1649, the Rump appointed Cromwell Lord Lieutenant and commissioned him to crush this Irish combination.
by the time that Cromwell arrived in August, the Protestant/Catholic alliance was already breaking up. Cromwell did want to be drawn into a long and arduous campaign; thus any resistance was met with contempt, disdain and brutality.
he hesitated because he had to discover ‘how God would
incline my heart to it’ Despite this, Cromwell was convinced the expedition was necessary given that the army would be advancing ‘God’s will’
The Battle of Rathmines was pivotal in allowing Cromwell and his forces to land in Ireland unopposed. after this battle Cromwell gained dublin and an extra 12,000 troops. after the battle he landed in dublin with15,000 troops with the intentions of his conquest of Ireland was to establish ‘truth, peace and the Gospel of Christ’
Scotland
Charles II hoped that his ‘crowning’ would in time result in a Scottish uprising on his behalf. In April 1650, Charles declared his willingness to enter into an agreement with the Scots.
After the execution of King Charles I, Charles II was exiled in the Netherlands. On 1st May 1650, Charles and the Scottish Covenanters agreed upon a treaty whereby Charles would be installed as King of Britain and Scotland whilst Charles would agree to establish a Presbyterian Church of England, and guarantee the rights of the Church of Scotland
Charles II’s willingness to take the Covenant and form an alliance with the Marquess of Argyll, the leading Covenanter, prompted the Rump into recalling Cromwell from Ireland.
Cromwell declared that he felt no personal animosity towards the majority of the Scots, whom he regarded as his protestant brothers.
Cromwell led 16,000 strong army up to Scotland and he entered the country unopposed. The main difficulty that Cromwell faced was the fact that the Scottish Army were
reluctant to give battle in the field. Instead, they preferred to lie in wait behind well-prepared defences. Cromwell attempted to take Edinburgh, yet he was rightly concerned by its formidable defences.
1) Cromwell defended regicide and the abolition of monarchy and the House of Lords
2) Argued morally and politically the Scots were wrong to support Charles Stuart
3) Stressed his toleration of Scottish Presbyterianism.
Scots lost 3000 dead & 10,000 captured; English just 20 dead at dunbar. Worcester itself fell and by nightfall the Scottish royalist army had been destroyed,
with 3000 dead, and over 7,000 prisoners. The rest, including Charles himself, fled. Worcester was Cromwell’s last battle, although he retained the office of Lord General until his death.
the Rump proceeded to declare that
Scotland was now totally under its authority. This meant that:
The separate Scottish Parliament was dissolved
The power of the Presbyterian Church was greatly reduced; it was ordered to tolerate the existence of the individual Protestant sects in Scotland
The Scots were required to pay for the upkeep of the English army of occupation
It was the Rumps belief that these measures would extinguish for good the embers of
royalism in Scotland.
achievements of the rump
Demands for reform of the law were heard from those who wanted the Rump to curb lawyers’ powers. The main objections to the current operation of the law were that it
is was:
The preserve of the privileged
Highly expensive
Slow in operation
In the hands of corrupt lawyers.
the Navigation Act. This Act required that all goods
imported into Britain from outside Europe were to be carried in British vessels.
The Rump was highly successful in regard to the amount of revenue that it gathered.
It raised finance through:
Taxation of goods
Sale of crown lands and Church property
Proceeds of confiscated royalist estates
Despite this, the Rump still struggled financially. Its revenue could not keep up with with the cost of the campaigns in Ireland, Scotland and the Anglo-Dutch war.
The majority of members were more concerned to enforce ‘godliness’ (living by a code of moral conduct in keeping with biblical precepts) on that nation than to allow ‘liberty
of conscience’.
Acts were introduced that imposed penalties on adultery, fornication and profane language.
Dissolution of the Rump
Although the Rump introduced religious, financial, social and economic reforms, these were ultimately not enough to make it genuinely popular with republicans and independents
The army grew frustrated when it appeared that, although the Rump had never been intended as a permanent body, the majority of its members were planning to perpetuate its sittings.
Cromwell, who had hoped that the Rump would be the means of creating a settled nation, showed where his authority resided when he marched into the House and
forcibly dispersed its members.
