Unit 5- Cromwell and the Protectorate Flashcards
how did Cromwell recall the Parliament and organise it?
-on behalf of the army council he announced that MPs would be elected through nomination and he issued a summons to 140 selected individuals.
-used entrusted individuals
-in its full form it was 140 members.
what names were the Parliaments of 1653 known by?
-Nominated Assembly
-Little Parliament
-Barebones
what MPs were in the nominated assembly?
-116 gentry
-119 members were JPs in their local communities
-40 members had attended University and another 40 had trained as lawyers.
-24 members had sat in a previous parliament
what was the date of dissolution set for the NA?
-1654 Nov.
what was wrong with the nominated assembly?
-from the beginning their were a sizeable majority which refused to be overawed by the military
-these were largely 5th monarchists and extreme sectarians who believed that Christs second coming was imminent and demanded the sweeping away of all man made laws
how did the NA end?
-the moderate and conservative members eventually grew exasperated with the sectarians and concluded that the only way to stop them was to end the Parliament.
-in December the moderates met in a secret session and excluded the wildest religious members and voted to end the session.
what proposals were made in the NA?
-reform of the law on debt
-humane treatment of the insane
-civil registration of births, deaths and marriages
-protection for travellers on the highways.
who created the new constitution and what was it?
-John Lambert
-called the instrument of government and established:
a lord protector with governmental powers, single chamber parliament of 400 members from England and Wales to be met every three years, known royalists were debarred from voting or standing for election etc.
-Cromwell was made lord protector
what type of ordinances did Cromwell draft before September 1654?
-financial reform, and the regularising of the two main types of taxation.
-religious organisation
-legal and administrative reforms first proposed by the rump
what happened in the first session of the Protectorate Parliament?
-gave priority to attacking the instrument led by Commonwealthsmen who challenged the right of the protector to exercise the civil and military authority granted by the instrument.
-also objected to the high cost of the standing army and that it be reduced from 50,000 to 30,000 as suggested in the constitution.
what did the Parliament do to Cromwell in the first protectorate? and what was passed?
-Cromwell tried to lessen his opposition by obliging MPs to take an oath of loyalty to the protectorate which resulted in the exclusion of 100 members and didn’t lessen the criticism of his regime.
-none of the ordinances that Cromwell had prepared were passed
-Parliament sought to reduce his power by introducing a new bill which would effectively take away his power given to him in the instrument, this was the final straw for Cromwell and he dissolved parliament in January 1655 after 5 months sitting.
when did Cromwell dissolve the first protectorate parliament?
-Jan 1655
was Cromwell religiously tolerant and how was this seen?
-unless a particular religious belief led to subversive public behaviour it should be tolerated
-An ordinance for appointing commissioners for approbation of public preachers.
-an ordinance for ejecting scandalous ignorant and insufficient ministers and schoolmasters
why was Cromwell against the Quakers?
-not opposed to their form of worship but worried for their public behaviour.
-on occasion he prevented their prosecution for example when James Nayler in 1656 when he rode into Bristol on a donkey surrounded by women in imitation of Christs entry into Jerusalem, Parliament punished him severely and Cromwell argued that parliament had gone beyond their rights to do so.
how did Cromwell’s relationship strain with Parliament?
-by his attempts at religious balance and he was more tolerant than they were.
-many started to fear what uncontrolled sectarianism might do
what problems did the royalist cause have?
-Charles II’s absence led to a lack of leadership and organisation and until 1658 the strength of Cromwells army made thoughts of an uprising unrealistic.
-as well there was little backing for the cause and most royalists were branded as delinquents and imposed heavy fines and the decimation tax.
what was Penruddocks rising?
-Wiltshire March 1655
-attempted by the sealed knot to prove their cause was still alive and encourage Penruddock to seize Salisbury an important administrative centre in wiltshire.
-200 to 400 members.
-after 2 days the force was scattered and defeated.
why did Penruddock fail?
-speed of Cromwell’s government to put it down
-ability of the authorities to raise 4000 troops
-no support nationally or locally
-John Thurloe’s espionage system.
who were the major generals?
-1655 England was divided into groups of counties and given a MG to administer military control and oversee the operation of local government.
-introduced the decimation tax to prevent further uprisings and fund the MGs
why were the major generals unpopular?
-interference with every-day life and attempt to impose moral behaviour on the inhabitants
-were a lower status than the gentry they over-looked
-few were local to the area they looked over.
what happened in the second session of the protectorate Parliament?
-Sept 1656
-at start ready attention to business and willingness to provide money for the war with Spain.
-first dificulty arose over Parliaments prosecution of Nayler over blasphemy.
-1657 Jan Desborough introduced a bill to fund the MGs and renew decimation tax, Parliament voted against this and in turn voted against the MGs
Who were the new Cromwellians?
-group of military figures such as General Monck
-and a group of civilian politicians, leading lawyers.
what was the humble petition and advice?
-proposed by New Cromwellians in March 1657
-suggested that Cromwell become King, be granted adequate finance, rule with a restored privy council and govern with regular parliaments which included an upper house.
-this was meant to limit his authority as him as king and the parliament would hold equal power.
what was Cromwells reaction to the humble petition and advice?
-since the offer of new constitution had come from Parliament he’d have legal authority that the instrument didn’t have so it attracted him.
-he had petitions from the army telling him not to accept and he didnt
-but in May he accepted a revisited version but he remained his highness lord protector.
