The Consolidation Of The Republic: Scotland + Dunbar; Campaigns In Ireland; Chales II + Worcester Flashcards
Who was the real power in the land after the king’s execution?
- the rump regarded itself as the legitimate power and in command of the army, it recognised that in practice, the NMA was the real power in the land
When did the rump vote to abolish the monarchy?
- February 1649 + the apparatus of monarchical government, thereby creating a republic
What else was abolished alongside the monarchy?
- House of Lords
What was the Engagement act in January 1650?
- all adult males had to declare loyalty to the commonwealth
- reinforced by the treason act later in July, which made it illegal to deny the authority of the regime as vested in the commons
- however in practice: it proved impossible to pass the engagement - even though it gave its establishment some form of legal basis, whether the Rump survived to be able to consolidate its position depended on how it met the threat it faced from Ireland and Scotland
Why was Ireland such an issue to the Rump?
- Ireland was a royalist stronghold
Why did the English dislike Ireland?
- long history of animosity due to Catholic influences
- the October-November rebellion in 1641 had intensified anti-catholic + anti-Irish sentiments in England, especially amongst radical Protestants
- English parliamentarian pamphlets had claimed that 200,000 Protestant settlers had been killed in Ireland - it was more likely to be 40,000, but this amplified the hatred nonetheless
Why did Cromwell despise the Irish?
- he had swallowed the propaganda stories of Irish atrocities against Protestant settlers in 1641
- explains why he condoned the massacre of Irish civilians at Drogheda (September 1649) and Wexford (October 1649)
What were Cromwell’s aims in Ireland?
- did not just have a revenge motive- he also wanted to seize complete Protestant and English control, which entailed stealing land from the Irish
- this was done through a process of “pacification”
How many soldiers did Cromwell arrive with in Ireland in 1649?
-10,000-20,000
- this was to suppress catholic royalist sympathisers
How did Cromwell justify the massacre at Drogheda and Wexford in October 1649?
- “divine providence”
How long did it take the English to defeat the Irish?
- 9 months
- Cromwell then established nominal authority over most of Ireland and ended royalist hopes of using it as a base
When was the subjugation of Ireland completed?
- may 1652
- Act of settlement in Ireland was brutal - involved a massive transfer of land from native Irish to English landlords and soldiers
What was the impact on Ireland?
- proportion of land owned by catholics in 1641= 63%
- this dropped to 16% by 1652
- huge proportions of the Irish population were forcibly settled in the inhospitable west
- war resulted in widespread famine
- parliamentarians transported around 10,000 Irish to the Caribbean
What was the significance of the Irish defeat?
- didn’t have a significance in England in terms of politics
Who was left in charge in Ireland in 1650?
Henry ireton
What was the situation like in Scotland?
- even though the Scot’s rebelled against Charles i and his laudian prayer book in the 1630s, they remained monarchists
- February 1649 - Charles II was immediately declared king
- Scot’s were shocked by the NMA’s execution of Charles I and disliked their radical Independent religion
- not all Scot’s had supported the engagement to restore Charles i
- realised that the only way to secure Presbyterianism was to defeat cromwell’s independent regime in England
What happened in September 1650 at the battle of Dunbar?
- cromwell’s original force of 16,300 had been reduced to 11,000
- he retreated to Dunbar and planned to ship his army back to England
- his weakened force was quickly pinned down by a Scottish army twice its size
- despite initial weakness- 3000 Scot’s eventually killed and 10,000 captured
- only 30 soldiers from the NMA were killed
What were the reasons for the NMA’s victory at Dunbar in September 1650?
- religious motivation at the core of the NMA gave them the confidence to launch such an attack
- the English sea power ensured that throughout the campaign, Cromwell’s forces could be resupplied
- England’s stronger economy meant that their army was better funded
What were the outcomes of the battle of Dunbar?
- ## Scots put Charles II in charge of their army
What happened at the battle of Worcester (England) in 1651?
- Charles II raised a royalist force of abut 20,000
- his forces faced obstacles: eg the desertion of invading forces meant that only 13,000 troops actually crossed the border
- the army of Scot’s attracted little support from the English
- Charles lacked foreign aid for his invasion
- after the battle, Charles fled for the continent, where he hid in an oak tree
- he then went into exile in France for 9 years
What were the outcomes of the battle of Worcester?
- the rump proceeded to declare that Scotland was fully under control of the rump
- Scottish Parliament was dissolved
- the power of the Presbyterian church was greatly reduced
- Scot’s were forced to pay for the upkeep of the English army occupying them
