The 3rd civil war, 1949-51
CROMWELL IN IRE:
•captured Drogheda (Sept 49’) - massacred 3500 People, including 2700 royalists
•transporting Irish catholics as slaves to West Indies
•Giving Catholics lands to Protestant settlers and exiling the Irish to poor in West Ireland
CROMWELL IN SCO:
Kirk party insisted new king should accept the Covenant and agree to establish Pres Church gov in 3 kingdoms:
•C forced to sign treaty of Breda (1650)
•Kiel’s party power over the king was weakened following defeat of Scottish army at Dunbar (Sept 50’)
•Cromwell returned from IRE in May 1650.
WHY DID C INVADE SCOTLAND?
•Scotland had declared Charles’s son king and Charles was prepared to go any lengths to win support:
•he denounces parent religious beliefs
•he signed national covenant - commuting to the Pres settlement
Failure of Levellers and Diggers and Godly society
PUTNEY DEBATES
PD: series of discussions between factions of NMA and Levellers concerning new constitution.(Nov 47’)
•During summer 47’, attempts by ‘Grandees’ Cromwell and ireton to negotiate settlement with King Charles in aftermath of 1st civil war had lost them support of military
•Levellers criticised IRETON for servility in his negotiations with King and parliament, caused Grandees for betraying interests of common soldiers
•Committee formed to finalise constitutional proposals. Cromwell vetoes demands made by radicals who called for overthrow of monarchy
•PD ended in deadlock (15th Nov 47’)
THE QUAKERS
- Radical beliefs, such as men and women were spiritual equals and women could speak out during worship
- Quaker’s were pacifists and refused to take legal oaths. Believed everyone had light of Christ within them
- includes idea that prescience of God exists in everyone. Quakers rejected elaborate religious ceremonies
MUGGLETONIANS
- Having created man, God took a step back and took no interest in everyday doings
- Also that God had made man in his image
- Also That mans greatest enemy was not the devil, who did not exist
BAPTISTS
Member of a group of Protestant Christians who share basic belief of most Protestants but who insist that only believers should be baptised and that it should be done by immersion rather than sprinkling of water
5Th MONARCHISTS
- 4 kingdoms or eras in history would be followed by a 5th kingdom, signifying the Millenium, The 1000 year reign of Christ
- expected a physical return of Jesus as king
Rump as an experiment in radical republicanism
- Main threat to the regimes security came from within England. The republic was pulled in two directions. Radical groups expected further reform, but a growing number of MPs and Army officers were recoiling from further revolution
- Cromwell was physical embodiment of contradictions inherent in newly coined ‘commonwealth’.
- Early in 1649 he tried to persuade former friends and allies who had deserted him over King’s execution to support the new regime
Creation of the commonwealth
Within days of the King’s execution, the Rump resolved to abolish both the HoL and institution of monarchy itself. During 50s, attempts to incorporate Scotland + IRE into commonwealth with ENG.
•Under commonwealth regime and after Cromwell’s protectorate after 1953, the 3 nations were ruled by a single government for the 1st time
•Rump was solely responsible for governing without traditional hierarchy of nobles, or bishops.
•Council of state appointed (Feb 49’) to implement domestic and foreign policy. After the defeat of Royalist cause at Worcester (1651) the Rump came under scrutiny of army radicals and quickly grew to resent what it regarded as the Army’s unwanted interference in political process
Parliament of saints
Rump is dissolved:
•Rump May have started out as a radical experiment, but the social conservatism of the majority of members was revealed as it cracked down on radicals in army
•49-51’, Cromwell won a series of military victories against enemies of new regime - those in Ireland being brutal and bloody
•Cromwell expected Rump to take advantage of these signs of God’s Providence to push through religious inspired reformist legislation. HOWEVER Rump only showed distrust towards the growing power of army.
•Cromwell became so frustrated that on 20th April 53’, dissolved Rump by going into commons
Barebones Parliament - July 53’
In its place Cromwell established a Nominated Assembly in July 53’.
•The 144 members of this parliament were not elected, but selected by Army officers for their “godly” religious fervour
•This hand picked group went some way in satisfying Cromwell’s wishes, but ultimately it scared the conservative within him for its measures for legal and social reform+hostility to the army
Why did the Rump Parliament fail? PART 1
- 1st major problem was Rebellion. Ireland had been in rebellion since 1641 and Parliament sent 12,000 troops to end it.
- After Irish were neutralised, Scottish rebellion occurred. The Scots were angered at Charles’s execution. Scots claimed Charles II king of SCO. This led to battle of Worcester where Charles fled to France
Why did the Rump Parliament fail - PART 2
- Although Scots were defeated, Pres religion continued. Cromwell accepted Quakers mostly, Puritans also had a big threat. Cromwell wanted religious tolerance and stability.
- Cromwell became the sole leader of New Model Army to created to defeat Charles I In 1640. When Rump was not doing what he wanted, he dissolved in 53’. Army now controlled gov with Cromwell at top as Lord Protectir
- 1658, Cromwell died and Richard continued as Lord Protector, however he had none of traits of his father. NMA was unstable and failing
1st protectorate parliament and limits of religious toleration
16th Dec 53’, Cromwell becomes Lord Protector
AIMS: (HEALING AND SETTLING) this involved reconciling former enemies and the pre-War institutions of everyday life. The civil war had town into the community - problems had to be addressed before the country could return to normal
POLITICAL STABILITY:C wanted political settlement that the Army had offered to Charles in 47’. The heads of proposals was to be divided between a single person acting as executive and a parliament that had to face regular elections. Settlement would be approved by P, bridging gap between ancient continuation and new one.
•GODLY REFORMATION: most intangible of Cromwell’s aims, and the one he valued most, was GR. Cromwell believe that he and the Army had been entrusted by God with providential mission. He frequently compared England’s troubles with those of the ancient Israelites, whose sufferings marked them out as God’s people and prepared them the promised Land
The instrument of government
•A lord protector would hold executive power in a role akin to Pres of USA
•Council of state of up to 21 members would handle finance + control of armed forces
•A Parliament would have to sit for at least 5 months and be subject to re-election every 5 years
ALSO TACKLED: •liberty of worship for all but Roman Catholics and extreme sectarians was guaranteed
•electoral reform maintained a property qualification but extended suffrage down towards emergent middle classes
•annual budget of £200,000 was allocated to Lord protector to cover cost associated with administering justice
The 1st protectorate Parliament
Called by Cromwell after instrument was approved, and it sat between Sept 54’ and its dissolution on 22nd Jan 55’ Cromwell dissolved because:
•The Parliament brought forward recreated attempts to amend Instrument to return executive power to itself
•a powerful minority faction of commonwealthsmen led by Haselrig strong opposed Cromwell’s dissolution of Rump and saw his actions as dangerous drift toward arbitrary kingship
•godly reformation was not pursued and instead appeared that toleration would be narrowed, due to pres majority
•electoral reform had redistributed power away from towns and into counties, so it became much more difficult to manage Parliamentary business as county MPs were a more dispersed and diverse group
Why did Cromwell’s first government fail?
We’re ‘4 fundamentals’ that were non-negotiable
•in the end…around 80 MPs refused to take the Oath of Recognition and were excluded from Parliament, but this did not halt the attack of the Instrument. In Dec, Parliament introduced a ‘gov bill’ and began rewriting the instrument
•MPs demanded the power to make constitutional amendments and to choose the Lord protectors successor
•In 22nd Jan 55’ he dissolved P, which had failed to pass a single act
