The role of Oliver Cromwell, 1653-60 Flashcards
Cromwell’s early life
- Born into landed gentry
- Protestant raised - educated by Puritan, Thomas Beard - converted
Cromwell as an MP
- For Huntingdon
- Objected to public spending by the local council - Privy Council against him
- Elected to Long Parliament in 1640
Nominated Assembly
1653 - Rump gone - Cromwell advised by Colonel Lambert to introduce Constitution
- Listened to the suggestion of Colonel Harrison - to ask churches and radical groups to nominate an assembly of good men to consider and formulate a govt
Govt put together by 4 generals + Cromwell - several more names added - also people from Scotland, Wales, Ireland
‘Barebones parliament’ - majority of members lesser gentry
Why was the Nominated Assembly nicknamed the ‘Barebones’ Parliament?
After one of its more radical members, ‘Praise-God’ Nicholas Barbon
Lesser gentry
Conservative by nature - didn’t want ‘Godly reformation’
What moderate and relatively progressive reforms were enacted by the Nominated Assembly?
- Dutch War continued to secure trade routes
- Legal measures - to help debtors
- Lunatic regulation
- Civil marriage allowed not within church
What radicalism was there in the Nominated Assembly?
Minority of Fifth Monarchists
Why is Cromwell’s leadership of the Nominated Assembly a balancing act?
Wants to deliver reforms without alienating more conservative members
- Abolishing titles went badly w/ landowners
What happened in December 1653?
More moderate members of the assembly met and dissolved it.
Instrument of Govt
- Produced by John Lambert in 1653
- Constitutional document that established protectorate
- Based on Heads of the Proposals issued by Ireton in 1647
Cromwell = Lord Protector (1-person rule)
Council of State - Cromwell + 21 members
Upon Cromwell’s death - new Protector would be elected by the Council of State
- There would be a state Church - freedom of worship granted for all except Catholics and the supporters of bishops
- This govt would rule over England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland
First Protectorate Parliament
1654-55:
- Single-chamber parliament - 460 members
- Elected every 3 yrs - required at least owning more than £200 worth of property
- Sit for minimum of 5 months
- Cromwell still head of NMA
How successful was the First Protectorate Parliament?
- Some initial success - 84 ordinances - banned bear-baiting and cock fighting
- Improving postal services
- Improving roads
- Prohibiting blasphemy and drunkenness
But Cromwell still faced issues - faced bitter resentment from the republican MPs whom he had excluded from power after dissolution of Rump - Rump destabilised his first parliament by refusing to recognise the Instrument of Govt - Cromwell dissolved it in Jan 1655.
John Penruddock
Spring 1655 - Royalist rising - led by Penruddock - Wiltshire
Cromwell - easily defeated it
What did the defeat of the Wiltshire royalist uprising in 1655 lead Cromwell to do?
- He decided it showed that greater control of the provinces was needed
Therefore: - Centralised military rule - 11 districts - each under command of a major general
- Local govt, security, reformation of manners
How were major-generals to be assisted in their roles in 1655?
A New Militia - to be paid for by 10% tax on Royalists
- Mixed effectiveness - closing down of 200 alehouses
- Lincolnshire - Major-General Whalley supposed traditional entertainments including stage plays and horse racing
Commission of Triers and Ejectors
- Established by Cromwell - to supervise the running of the Church - with emphasis on quality of preaching and flexibility of belief
What, in 1657, was a measure of Cromwell’s achievements?
- Offered Crown in 1657 - by second parliament, elected on a reasonably broad franchise
- By offering the Crown, they sought to direct his power into traditional channels, which would define and limit this power by law
Why were the major-generals unpopular, despite their efficient, military nature?
- The restrictions imposed on social activities and replacement of the local elites by outsiders imposed by central govt was unpopular
Second Protectorate Parliament
1656-58:
- Determined on the replacement of major-generals - Cromwell recognised need to compromise and accepted the idea of a new constitution
The Humble Petition and Advices
1657:
- Offered Cromwell the Crown
- Govt by king
- Lords and Commons govern w/ protector
- Hereditary succession
- Parliament control + officers of state to be approved by parliament
- Regular elections and limited religious toleration
What was the reaction of the Humble Petition and Advice?
- Welcomed by some Royalists - the term ‘king’ = traditional laws and courts systems
Edward Hyde - said it was welcomed by some royalists as a step towards a Stuart Restoration.
How did Cromwell react to the Humble Petition and Advice?
- Sympathised w/ the idea - it would have done much to restore stability and made provision for succession
Prevented by 2 considerations:
- Prevented by desire for ‘godly reformation’
- His belief that God had chosen the army as means of achieving this - opposition of the army, including many of those closes to him, that led Cromwell to rejecting it
If he was declared king, he would have faced a severe backlash.
When did Cromwell die?
Sept 1658 - succeeded by Richard
What did Richard Cromwell do upon his succession?
Jan 1659 - summoned Third Protectorate Parliament
