Oliver Cromwell and republican rule, 1653-1660
Early life The rule of the major-generals, 1655-56, and the Second
• Born into landed gentry in East Anglia and embarked on a life dedicated Protectorate Parliament
to God’s service. Illustration of Cromwell in 1658 • Royalist rising in Wiltshire led by John Penruddock, easily defeated
• Served as an MP for Huntingdon in 1628 until a crisis about the spending highlights need for greater control of the provinces.
of money broke out, to which Cromwell voiced his opinion but was • Imposed military rule over the country by splitting into 11 districts
forced by more powerful MPs to back down. under the command of a major-general with the help of a new mil
• He therefore had to become a farmer, which was humiliating and he fell • Some neglected many of their duties, and others did things like clo
into depression, from which he recovered through prayer. alehouses and ban entertainment like plays and horse races.
• He soon inherited a house and became MP for Cambridge in 1640, • Cromwell also established Commissions of Triers and Ejectors to
remaining outspoken about his sympathy for the poor and humble, and supervise the quality of preaching and flexibility of belief in the Ch
had great military success due to his willingness to recognise and reward • He was then offered the Crown by parliament in 1657, due to his
talent regardless of their social status. achievements but also because they wanted to define and limit his
power by law. Cromwell refused it.
Nominated Assembly, 1653 • The Second Protectorate Parliament, were also desperate to replac
• After dissolving the rump, Cromwell asked the various churches and
highly unpopular major-generals.
radical groups to nominate an assembly of good men to consider and
formulate a government of 140 men, which would become known as the The Humble Petition and Advice, 1657
Nominated Assembly. • The new constitution (THPAA) presented to Cromwell by the Secon
• It was nicknamed the ‘Barebones Parliament’ after one of its more Protectorate Parliament was based on the restoration of monarch
radical, highly religious members, Nicholas Barbon. However, the • Consisted of: government by a king (or Lord Protector), Lords and
majority of its members were lesser gentry, who were conservative by Commons to govern with him, hereditary succession, parliament c
nature and uninterested in godly reforms. the army, regular elections and limited religious toleration.
• A number of relatively progressive reforms were made, e.g. civil • Cromwell ended up rejecting the Crown due to his desire for ‘godly
marriage was allowed, and regulations on the treatment of lunatics was reformation’ in which men are free to find God in their own way, a
introduced. belief that God had chosen the army as means to achieve this.
• However, the radical minority of Fifth Monarchists felt that they could • He would also face severe backlash from most of his supporters.
not work with the conservative gentry, and the assembly was dissolved.
The First Protectorate Parliament, 1654-55 What image is the illustration projecting?
• John Lambert and the Army Council produced the Instrument of
Government, which was the legal document that established the
Protectorate and was the basis of Cromwell’s power. Conclusion Death of Cromwell, succession of Richard and Monck’s
• It made Cromwell Lord Protector, who would be supported by a Council What were the causes of political instability in intervention
of State and a chamber parliament of 460 members. this period? • Cromwell died in 1658 and was succeeded by his son Richard, who
• Parliament was to be elected every three years by voters who had over quickly summoned the Third Protectorate in 1659.
1. Uncooperating of the Fifth Monarchists
£200 in property, and it would sit for at least 5 months. Also, Cromwell • He was a civilian, and unlike his father, had no experience of warfa
and conservative gentry
would remain the head of the New Model Army. • The Council of Officers forced him to resign later that year and the
• Freedom of worship for all except Catholics and upon Cromwell’s death, 2. Cromwell’s personal aims and hatred
recalled the Rump, who continued with their previous failures.
a new Protector would be chosen by Council of State. from the excluded MPs • With ruling minority disintegrating rapidly, Monck, who was a
• The initial successes included: banning bear-bating and cock-fighting, 3. Dysfunctional military rule professional soldier who had fought for the Royalists in the Civil W
improving postal services, allowing road maintenance. It also prohibited 4. Parliament’s desire for a king and and later with Cromwell at Dunbar and later in the Anglo-Dutch W
drunkenness. Cromwell’s refusal of the Crown took initiative.
• However, Cromwell was distracted by his own concern for the army, and 5. Richard’s and the Rump’s inept • When it became clear Richard Cromwell would not be an effective
faced resentment from the MPs who he had excluded from power in the leadership leader, he marched his forces to London to restore a free Parliame
dissolution of the rump. They succeeded in destabilizing parliament by the understanding that the ultimate outcome would be the restora
refusing to recognize the IOG, forcing him to dissolve it in 1655. of the Stuarts.
