The failure to achieve a settlement, 1646-49

Question 1

What were the Newcastle Propositions and in what year were they presented to Charles?
What were their demands? (3)

What was his response?

Answer 1

Charles received these proposals for a settlement in July 1646.
The propositions insisted on:
1) The establishment of Presbyterianism
2) The settlement of religion by parliament
3) Parliamentary control of raising money, the army and choice of ministers

Charles at first delayed his response, despite having lost the war, he was no more ready to accept these terms than he had been in 1642.

Question 2

What factors were helpful to the king in the hope of reaching a favourable settlement? (3)

Answer 2

1) Many people in England were very concerned about the religious threat to stability from the radicals and saw the king as the best protection against this.
2) The Scots were more intent on getting Presbyterianism in England than in the political details.
3) Parliament was divided in its aims and had continued to use the county committees for local government, which was unpopular as the members were often of a low social standing.

Question 3

What was local opinion towards the reaching of a settlement? (3)

Answer 3

1) Evidence from the localities suggests that the people resented the continued high taxation and many supported restoring the king.
2) The county committees were seen as overbearing and self-interested.
3) The behaviour of the county committees was blamed for the prevailing ill-feeling in some counties.

Question 4

How did Charles eventually answer the Newcastle Propositions? (4)
When was he handed over to the parliamentarians and where was he held?

What was the problem?

Answer 4

The king was handed over to the parliamentarians in early 1647 and held in Holdenby House in Northamptonshire.
From here he attempted to get the demands of the propositions reduced, he wanted:
1) The control of the militia by parliament to be for ten years and not twenty.
2) Presbyterian worship to be established for three years only.
3) His own freedom of worship to be guaranteed.
4) Appointments in government and the army to be made by him.

The problem was that Charles had delayed too long and was too late with his concessions. The increasing power of radicals in the army was to make the kind of settlement Charles wished for impossible.

Question 5

What role did Oliver Cromwell play in the reaching of a settlement? (3)

Answer 5

1) He was determined to ensure that the war had not been fought in vain, but in the early stages he was not committed to the removal of the king.
2) His sympathies gradually came to rest more with the army than with the scots.
3) He had little sympathy with Presbyterian ideas because the ministers in the Scottish kirk had similar authority to the bishops in England.

Question 6

What role did the Scots play in the reaching of a settlement? (3)

Answer 6

1) The Scots had the upper hand while they had possession of Charles and their aims were clear.
2) They wished to see the implementation of Presbyterianism in England.
3) The Scots ended up surrendering Charles to the army in 1647, which lessened their ability to control events.

Question 7

What role did the army play in the reaching of a settlement?

What did the army possess real power? (6)

Answer 7

1) The army had clearly won the war for the parliamentarians and so had a right to influence the peace.
2) The army was united in its opposition to parliaments aim of disbanding it with only 8 weeks back pay.
3) The army could use force to achieve its aims and did so in seizing Charles at Holdenby in June 1647.
4) The army was able to secure the Solemn Engagement, under which it would not disband until there was an agreement over pay and a settlement with Charles I.
5) Cromwell now decided to join the army, thus enhancing their control of events.
6) The London mob showed their support for the army and its aims which meant that no settlement could be reached that did not take the army into account.

Question 8

What divisions existed among the army? (2)

Answer 8

1) Some of the troops were moderate in their outlook, while some were far more radical.
2) In general, the officers were less resolved on a radical settlement that the men who served in the army.

Question 9

What ideas did the radicals have about parliament? (3)

Answer 9

1) It was generally agreed that there should be regular parliaments, but the radicals wanted to get rid of the MPs that they saw as corrupt.
2) The attempts by MPs to disband the army with minimal pay meant that some wanted fresh elections.
3) It was also suggested that parliaments should not last longer than two years or should at least have fixed terms.

Question 10

What ideas did the radicals have about religion? (5)

Answer 10

1) Radicals demanded for religious tolerance.
2) End to the rule of Bishops.
3) No acceptance of Presbyterianism.
4) No enforcement of the book of common prayer.
5) Freedom to worship as one wished.

Question 11

What was the reaction to radicalism? (3)

Answer 11

1) Conservatives were alarmed by the growth of radicalism as they saw it as bringing in anarchy with no recognition of any kind of law and order.
2) Radicals were seen as a threat to the property and security of the ruling classes.
3) The reaction was blow out of proportion because in reality, true radicals were small in number, but their literature such as pamphlets were widely published and read.

Question 12

Name four radical documents put forward by the radicals.

Including the year in which they were published, who they were drawn up by and what they called for.

Answer 12

1) The Representation of July 1647, drawn up by the army - a new parliament and Church reform featured.
2) The Heads of Proposals of August 1647, drawn up by the army officers and less radical - king to be restored with limited control.
3) ‘The Case of the Army Truly Stated’ of October 1647, drawn up by ordinary soldiers and with more extreme demands and attacking senior offices.
4) ‘The Agreement of the People’ of October 1647, drawn up by the soldiers but in a more moderate manner, although it ignored the king.

Question 13

Who were the Levellers?

How were they viewed by others? (2)

Answer 13

The Levellers were a radical group who argued for complete freedom to worship and to believe however and whatever people wished.

1) This was seen as extremely dangerous to anyone who believed that authority was essential to the church and to the state.
2) Levellers were opposed by landowning classes but also by supporters of parliament, who feared anarchy.

Question 14

Name three Leveller leaders and give a brief background.

Answer 14

1) John Lilburne had fought for parliament but disliked the enforced Presbyterianism of the solemn league and covenant. Hence he left and joined a radical group in London and began to write pamphlets urging his ideas. He was arrested and imprisoned and claimed that he had been detained unjustly without a proper trial.
2) Richard Overton was a prolific pamphleteer and was arrested and imprisoned for his activities.
3) William Walwyn was another keen writer of pamphlets who, like his comrades was arrested and imprisoned

Question 15

What Leveller petition was launched in 1646?

What was its purpose and what demands did the petition make? (5)

How did parliament respond?

Answer 15

'A remonstrance of many thousand citizens'
The arrest of Leveller leaders led to this petition being launched supporting them and asking for reforms.  
Their demands included:
1) Annual elections for parliament,
2) Removal of unreasonable laws,
3) Confiscation of crown revenue,
3) An end to military service and, 
5) A free press.

Parliament initially ignored this petition, but some MPs were alarmed at the extent of its contents and that there was growing support for the levellers in the army. This was seen as a severe threat as the army could use force to ensure its wishes were carried out.

Question 16

What were the Putney debates of 1647? (5)

Answer 16

1) These discussions were held in St Mary’s Church, Putney in London.
2) Cromwell felt that the Levellers were a threat to the established order, after their petition had been rejected they had drawn up ‘The case of the Army Truly Stated’ and the ‘Agreement of the People’ with the backing of many ordinary soldiers.
3) The commander of the army, Fairfax was unwell so Cromwell agreed to meet some members of the army and some Leveller representatives at Putney.
4) The main disagreement came between Colonel Rainsborough, who believed that everybody, no matter how poor had a right to play a part in government, whereas Henry Ireton believed that only the Landowners and the Merchants who had a stake in the country should be involved in government.
5) Consequently very little progress was made.

Question 17

What took place at Corkbush Field in Ware? (4)

Answer 17

1) Cromwell decided to call the whole army together in order for the proposals to be discussed, but arranged for the gathering to take place at three separate locations, so that leading agitators were divided up.
2) In one of these meetings at Corkbush, a colonel was arrested for disobeying orders while other soldiers proved to be mutinous.
3) One of the soldiers was shot in front of the others which seemed to be enough to bring the others to heel.
4) Charles I had just escaped from army control, so Cromwell had a good reason to end the debates.

Question 18

What was the impact of the levellers? (6)

Answer 18

1) They were a minority pressure group rather than a movement.
2) They had little support outside London.
3) Cromwell soon restored discipline in the army.
4) They did have some influence in raising issues.
5) Their political and social ideas were simpler to dismiss than their demands for religious toleration.
6) They made negotiations even harder as they added another strand to the mix.

Question 19

How did Charles come to get in contact with the Scots after escaping army control? (2)

Answer 19

1) Charles I escaped to the Isle of Wight in November 1647 and opened negotiations with the Scots.
2) This was a mutually beneficial situation – Charles hoped the Scots would be more sympathetic to his demand than parliament had been and the Scots expected that Charles would agree to enforce Presybyterianism, unlike the army.

Question 20

What was The Engagement of 1647? (5)

Answer 20

1) Charles agreed with the Scots that he would allow Presbyterian worship in England for three years, after which their would be a decision about whether it should continue.
2) In the meantime, radicals such as separatists and Anabaptists would be supressed by the Scots if necessary.
3) The English army were to be disbanded and Charles would rely on the scots to defend him. Charles viewed this as a good deal.
4) He did not anticipate that after the three years the English would accept Presbyterianism and he had an army on which he could rely.
5) There was also much support across the country for a restoration of royal government.

Question 21

How did parliament react to The Engagement of 1647? (3)

Answer 21

1) Where Chares had miscalculated was that his dealings and agreement with the Scots would be viewed as treacherous by parliament.
2) As a result parliament agreed not to make any further approaches to the King and drew closer to the soldiers in the army and their views.
3) In the long run, this led them to contemplate that they could manage without a king completely, which previously had been unthinkable.

Question 22

What outbreaks of fighting occurred in 1648? (5)

Answer 22

1) The army put down protests in Norwich and Kent that urged that a settlement should be made with the King.
2) There were royalist risings in Cornwall, Essex, Wales and Yorkshire. Cromwell was sent to Wales and Fairfax to Essex to deal with the unrest.
3) A Scottish army invaded in July but had been slow to muster and was held up by parliamentary troops in Yorkshire.
4) Cromwell dealt with the Welsh and then moved North to deal with the Scots, he defeated them by the end of August.
5) Fairfax captured Colchester after a siege.

Question 23

What was the reaction to Charles’ involvement in the Second Civil War? (5)

Answer 23

1) Charles was considered a ‘man of blood’ who was responsible for the Second Civil War and therefore the resulting loss of life.
2) They further believed that that this defeat showed that God was on their side and that it was God’s will that Chalres should be called to account.
3) The army were now hard to resist – they prevented parliament from engaging in negotiations with Charles and drew up statements about how he had abused his power and deserved to be brought to judgement.
4) This was a crucial turning point as Charles was no longer able to hide behind the idea that he had been misled by his ‘evil advisors’.
5) He alone was responsible for his agreement with the Scots and the events that followed and so he alone would pay the price.

Question 24

What was Pride’s Purge and in what year did it take place? (2)

What issues did the rump consider? (3)

Answer 24

Pride’s Purge occurred in 1648.

1) An army officer, Colonel Pride, acted to make parliament obey the army and stationed his troops outside of the houses of parliament and refused to allow MPs who favoured a settlement with Charles to enter, while others stayed away in protest.
2) This left what became known as ‘the Rump’ parliament to deliberate in the House of commons.

1) They debated the issue of whether to have a king at all.
2) They also debated whether to have Charles I or one his children restored.
3) Some MPs favoured the idea of restoring Henry, Charles’s youngest son, whose upbringing they could control.

Question 25

What was Cromwell’s decision over Charles I, and for what reasons did he make it? (4)

Answer 25

1) The key factor which led to the execution of Charles was the determination of Oliver Cromwell, that God’s will could only be fulfilled by the trial of the king.
2) Charles himself had driven Cromwell to this belief because of his slippery nature in negotiations and his refusal to make the concessions demanded of him.
3) Charles continued to believe that he was indispensable and that some kind of accommodation would be made.
4) Cromwell wrestled in his mind about what should be done, but once he had decided that providence demanded the trial, he pursued it with the determination and vigour and had little time for opponents who were unsure that putting the king on trail was the right way to go.

Question 26

When did the trial of Charles begin, and of what was he accused? (3)

How did the trial play out? (3)

Answer 26

The trial began on the 20th January 1649, and Charles was accused of:

1) Trying to establish a tyranny.
2) Overthrowing the rights of the people
3) Waging war on them.

1) However Charles refused to recognise the authority of the court and would not plead guilty.
2) This mattered very little as Cromwell was now determined to have the king convicted.
3) On 27th January, the verdict was given that Charles had broken the covenant between King and the people and so was condemned to death.

Question 27

How did the execution of Charles I play out and when did it take place? (4)

Answer 27

The execution of Charles took place on 30th January 1649.

1) Charles was beheaded on a scaffold set up outside the Banqueting House in Whitehall.
2) He made a speech about his actions and affirming his support for the liberties of the subject.
3) He died with courage and dignity and was much more admired for his death than for much of his life.
4) However, the legality of his trial was very much questionable and this added to the problems which now faced Cromwell and his supporters.