Rump Parliament
Encyclopedia
The Rump Parliament is the name of the English Parliament after Colonel Pride
purged the Long Parliament
on 6 December 1648 of those members hostile to the Grandees' intention to try King Charles I
for high treason
.
"Rump" normally means the hind end of an animal; its use meaning "remnant" was first recorded in the above context. Since 1649, the term "rump parliament" has been used to refer to any parliament left over from the actual legitimate parliament.
that the Parliament—then controlled by the Presbyterian faction—was ready to come to an agreement with the King that would restore him to his throne (though without effective power) and negate the power of the Army, they resolved to shatter the power of both King and Parliament. Pride's Purge
brought the Parliament to heel, under the direct control of the Army; the remaining Commons (the Rump) then on 13 December 1648 broke off negotiations with the King. Two days later, the Council of Officers of the New Model Army
voted that the King be moved from the Isle of Wight
, where he was prisoner, to Windsor
"...in order to the bringing of him speedily to justice". In the middle of December the King was moved from Windsor to London.
On 4 January 1649, the Commons passed an ordinance to set up a High Court of Justice to try Charles I for high treason
in the name of the people of England. The Lords rejected it, and as it did not receive Royal Assent
, Charles asked at the start of his trial on 20 January in Westminster Hall "I would know by what power I am called hither. I would know by what authority, I mean lawful authority
", to which there was no strong legal answer under the constitutional arrangements of the time. He was convicted with fifty-nine Commissioners (Judges) signing the death warrant.
The execution of Charles I was delayed to 30 January, so that the House of Commons could pass an emergency act, the "Act prohibiting the proclaiming any person to be King of England or Ireland, or the Dominions thereof", that made it an offence to proclaim a new King, and to declare the representatives of the people, the House of Commons, as the source of all just power. Parliament voted to abolish the House of Lords
on 6 February and to abolish the monarchy on 7 February; an act abolishing the kingship
was formally passed by Parliament on 17 March, followed by an act to abolish the House of Lords on 19 March. The establishment of a Council of State was approved on 14 February and on 19 May an Act Declaring England a Commonwealth was passed. It became treason
to say that the House of Commons (without the Lords or the King) was not the supreme authority of the land.
before the Purge
. Though nine new members were admitted to the Rump parliament, the vast majority of the Rumpers were transferred from the long parliament.
Most Rumpers still regarded many purged colleagues as “members of parliament” and remained hopeful that the excluded members would get be readmitted. “The Rump did not think of itself as a corporate political entity distinct in membership, aims and character from the long parliament”. Despite the rump’s lack of distinctiveness, there were a variety of reasons why people wanted to be a part of the Rump Parliament. Some members stayed in the Rump Parliament because they genuinely supported revolutionary changes, while others were only there for financial advantage, civilian power, or to satisfy their relish for political activity. Because of the varied energies within the Rump, the parliament divided into two categories, front benchers and back benchers, meaning, those who attended parliament regularly and those who did not.
Only about 1/3 of the Rump Parliament became front benchers who were consistently present and engaged in their parliamentary position. The other 2/3 were back benchers, or essentially, part timers who had inconsistent attendance. Within the active third of the rump, there were many family allegiances, local allegiances and most importantly, common interest groups. The majority of active rumpers could fit into one of the two common interest categories:
Although lawyers and merchants were a minority compared to the large amount of rural land lords that occupied the Rump Parliament, their interest groups’ energy and cohesiveness was able largely influence Rump politics.
(1649–1653), the Rump passed a number of acts in the areas of religion, law, and finance. Most of the members of the Rump wanted to promote "godliness", but also to restrict the more extreme puritan sects like the Quakers and the Ranters. An Adultery Act of May 1650 imposed the death penalty for incest and adultery and 3 months imprisonment for fornication; the Blasphemy Act of August 1650 was aimed at curbing extreme religious "enthusiasm". To stop extreme evangelicals from preaching, they formed a Committee for the Propagation of the Gospel, which issued licenses to preach. To allow Puritans freedom of worship, they repealed the Elizabethan requirement of compulsory attendance at an Anglican Church. As lawyers were overrepresented in the Rump Parliament, the Rump did not respond to the popular requests made by the Levellers
to change the expensive legal system.
The Rump raised revenue through the sale of Crown lands and Church property, both of which were popular. However, revenue raised through excise levies and through an Assessment Tax on land were unpopular as they affected everyone who owned property. The proceeds from confiscated Royalist estates were a valuable source of income, but it was a two edged sword. It ingratiated Parliament to people like John Downes
who were making a fortune from the business but it did nothing to heal the wounds of the Civil War.
’s patience ran out. On 20 April he attended a sitting of Parliament and listened to one or two speeches. Then he stood up and harangued the members of the Rump. This speech does not survive but has often been paraphrased, for instance in the Book of Days:
He then declared "you are no Parliament" and called in a troop of soldiers, under the command of Major-General Thomas Harrison, ordering them to clear the chamber. According to Dickens and Belloc
, he then turned to the Speaker's Mace
, the symbol of Parliamentary power, declared it a "fool's bauble", and ordered the troops "here, carry it away".
A more detailed record of the event is recounted by Thomas Salmon in his Chronological Historian (London, 1723, 106), thus:
Salmon does not cite his own sources but the version is sufficiently detailed to suggest that he had access to descriptions of the event that were certainly current in his time, and were probably derived from eye-witness descriptions. It is therefore probably at least accurate in general tone, if not precise detail.
Within a month of the Rump's dismissal, Oliver Cromwell on the advice of Harrison and with the support of other officers in the Army, sent a request to Congregational churches in every county to nominate those they considered fit to take part in the new government. On 4 July a Nominated Assembly, nicknamed the "Assembly of Saints" or Barebone's Parliament (named after one of its members), took on the role of more traditional English Parliaments.
, the third (and eldest surviving) son of Oliver Cromwell, was appointed Lord Protector
after his father's death. He called the Third Protectorate Parliament
in 1659. However, along with the Army, it was unable to form a stable government and after seven months the Army removed him. On 6 May 1659, it reinstalled the Rump Parliament. The Rump Parliament issued a declaration establishing a "Commonwealth without a king, single person, or house of lords". However after a few months divisions in the Commonwealth were settled by force of arms. On 12 October the Rump voted to declare the seven commissioners' responsibility for the Army void and appointed Charles Fleetwood
commander-in-chief under the Speaker of the House. The next day on 13 October 1659 the Army in London under the command of John Lambert
assisted by Charles Fleetwood
excluded the Rump from Parliament by locking the doors to the Palace of Westminster
and stationing armed guards outside. Lambert and Fleetwood created a 23 member Committee of Safety
to govern the country in place of the Rump with General Fleetwood and Lambert directly under him, commander of the Army in England and Scotland.
Sir Arthur Haselrig
appealed to other Army generals to support the Rump against Fleetwood and Lambert. Fearing anarchy because of the conflict within Parliament and the general anger at the decisions the Rump had made, General George Monck, commander-in-chief of the English army in Scotland, declared that he was ready to uphold Parliament's authority and march at the head of his army to London, holding true to a statement in his book, "Observations Upon Military and Political Affairs" in which he said he valued the stability of his nation and the power of Parliament over his own life. On top of his military position Monck was in a particularly powerful position because of his former relationship with and endorsement from Oliver Cromwell, many imbued him with the power to affect who the next king would be. Lambert marched north against Monck in November 1659, but Lambert's army began to melt away, and he was kept in suspense by Monck till his whole army deserted and he returned to London almost alone. On 24 December 1659 the chastened Fleetwood approached the Speaker, William Lenthal, asking him to recall the Rump. The same day Lenthall took possession of the Tower and appointed commissioners for its government. The Rump met again on 26 December 1659. Parliament declared Monck commander-in-chief in England as well as Scotland.
In January 1660, Monck marched into England, as Lambert's supporters in the Army were cashiered and his authority crumbled. When Sir Thomas Fairfax
emerged from retirement to declare his support for Monck, Army support for Monck became almost unanimous. Monck entered London in February 1660 and he allowed the Presbyterian members, 'secluded' in Pride's Purge
of 1648, to re-enter parliament on 21 February 1660 on the condition that the restored Long Parliament would agree to dissolve themselves once general elections had been held. The Long Parliament dissolved itself on 16 March 1660, after preparing legislation for the Convention Parliament that formally invited King Charles II
to be the English monarch in what has become known as the Restoration
(of the House of Stuart).
Pride's Purge
Pride’s Purge is an event in December 1648, during the Second English Civil War, when troops under the command of Colonel Thomas Pride forcibly removed from the Long Parliament all those who were not supporters of the Grandees in the New Model Army and the Independents...
purged the Long Parliament
Long Parliament
The Long Parliament was made on 3 November 1640, following the Bishops' Wars. It received its name from the fact that through an Act of Parliament, it could only be dissolved with the agreement of the members, and those members did not agree to its dissolution until after the English Civil War and...
on 6 December 1648 of those members hostile to the Grandees' intention to try King Charles I
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
for high treason
High treason
High treason is criminal disloyalty to one's government. Participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplomats, or its secret services for a hostile and foreign power, or attempting to kill its head of state are perhaps...
.
"Rump" normally means the hind end of an animal; its use meaning "remnant" was first recorded in the above context. Since 1649, the term "rump parliament" has been used to refer to any parliament left over from the actual legitimate parliament.
Treaty of Newport
In September of 1648, at the end of England’s second Civil War, the Long Parliament was concerned with the increasing radicalism in the New Model Army. The Long Parliament began negotiations with King Charles I. The members wanted to restore the king to power but wanted to limit the authority he had. Charles I conceded militia power among other things but he later admitted, “it was only so he could escape.” In November the negotiations began to fall through and the New Model Army seized power. Charles I was then taken into the Army’s custody to await trial for treason.Pride's Purge
The New Model Army wanted to prevent the Treaty of Newport from reinstating King Charles I. Thomas Fairfax organized a military coup in 1648 by issuing a command to Commissary General Ireton. Ireton intended to only dissolve the Long Parliament; however, he was persuaded to purge it instead. He then ordered Colonel Thomas Pride to stop the signing of the Treaty of Newport. Pride prevented 231 known supporters of the treaty from entering the House and imprisoned 45 of them. The remaining free members then became The Rump Parliament.Execution of Charles I and the abolition of the Monarchy
When it became apparent to the leaders of the New Model ArmyNew Model Army
The New Model Army of England was formed in 1645 by the Parliamentarians in the English Civil War, and was disbanded in 1660 after the Restoration...
that the Parliament—then controlled by the Presbyterian faction—was ready to come to an agreement with the King that would restore him to his throne (though without effective power) and negate the power of the Army, they resolved to shatter the power of both King and Parliament. Pride's Purge
Pride's Purge
Pride’s Purge is an event in December 1648, during the Second English Civil War, when troops under the command of Colonel Thomas Pride forcibly removed from the Long Parliament all those who were not supporters of the Grandees in the New Model Army and the Independents...
brought the Parliament to heel, under the direct control of the Army; the remaining Commons (the Rump) then on 13 December 1648 broke off negotiations with the King. Two days later, the Council of Officers of the New Model Army
New Model Army
The New Model Army of England was formed in 1645 by the Parliamentarians in the English Civil War, and was disbanded in 1660 after the Restoration...
voted that the King be moved from the Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
, where he was prisoner, to Windsor
Windsor, Berkshire
Windsor is an affluent suburban town and unparished area in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. It is widely known as the site of Windsor Castle, one of the official residences of the British Royal Family....
"...in order to the bringing of him speedily to justice". In the middle of December the King was moved from Windsor to London.
On 4 January 1649, the Commons passed an ordinance to set up a High Court of Justice to try Charles I for high treason
High treason
High treason is criminal disloyalty to one's government. Participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplomats, or its secret services for a hostile and foreign power, or attempting to kill its head of state are perhaps...
in the name of the people of England. The Lords rejected it, and as it did not receive Royal Assent
Royal Assent
The granting of royal assent refers to the method by which any constitutional monarch formally approves and promulgates an act of his or her nation's parliament, thus making it a law...
, Charles asked at the start of his trial on 20 January in Westminster Hall "I would know by what power I am called hither. I would know by what authority, I mean lawful authority
Authority
The word Authority is derived mainly from the Latin word auctoritas, meaning invention, advice, opinion, influence, or command. In English, the word 'authority' can be used to mean power given by the state or by academic knowledge of an area .-Authority in Philosophy:In...
", to which there was no strong legal answer under the constitutional arrangements of the time. He was convicted with fifty-nine Commissioners (Judges) signing the death warrant.
The execution of Charles I was delayed to 30 January, so that the House of Commons could pass an emergency act, the "Act prohibiting the proclaiming any person to be King of England or Ireland, or the Dominions thereof", that made it an offence to proclaim a new King, and to declare the representatives of the people, the House of Commons, as the source of all just power. Parliament voted to abolish the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
on 6 February and to abolish the monarchy on 7 February; an act abolishing the kingship
Act abolishing the kingship
The act abolishing the kingship was an Act of the Rump Parliament that abolished the monarchy in England in the aftermath of the Second English Civil War....
was formally passed by Parliament on 17 March, followed by an act to abolish the House of Lords on 19 March. The establishment of a Council of State was approved on 14 February and on 19 May an Act Declaring England a Commonwealth was passed. It became treason
Treasons Act 1649
The Treasons Act 1649 or Act declaring what offences shall be adjudged Treason was passed 17 July 1649 on by Rump Parliament parliament during the Commonwealth of England...
to say that the House of Commons (without the Lords or the King) was not the supreme authority of the land.
Rump Parliament's membership, attendance, and allegiances
Although an exact number hasn't been pinned down, it is estimated that there were about 210 members of the Rump Parliament. This was approximately a fifty percent decrease from the 470 member enrollment of the Long ParliamentLong Parliament
The Long Parliament was made on 3 November 1640, following the Bishops' Wars. It received its name from the fact that through an Act of Parliament, it could only be dissolved with the agreement of the members, and those members did not agree to its dissolution until after the English Civil War and...
before the Purge
Purge
In history, religion, and political science, a purge is the removal of people who are considered undesirable by those in power from a government, from another organization, or from society as a whole. Purges can be peaceful or violent; many will end with the imprisonment or exile of those purged,...
. Though nine new members were admitted to the Rump parliament, the vast majority of the Rumpers were transferred from the long parliament.
Most Rumpers still regarded many purged colleagues as “members of parliament” and remained hopeful that the excluded members would get be readmitted. “The Rump did not think of itself as a corporate political entity distinct in membership, aims and character from the long parliament”. Despite the rump’s lack of distinctiveness, there were a variety of reasons why people wanted to be a part of the Rump Parliament. Some members stayed in the Rump Parliament because they genuinely supported revolutionary changes, while others were only there for financial advantage, civilian power, or to satisfy their relish for political activity. Because of the varied energies within the Rump, the parliament divided into two categories, front benchers and back benchers, meaning, those who attended parliament regularly and those who did not.
Only about 1/3 of the Rump Parliament became front benchers who were consistently present and engaged in their parliamentary position. The other 2/3 were back benchers, or essentially, part timers who had inconsistent attendance. Within the active third of the rump, there were many family allegiances, local allegiances and most importantly, common interest groups. The majority of active rumpers could fit into one of the two common interest categories:
- Members of Parliament who were professional lawyers and cooperated to oppose the reformation of the English Legal System. Some of the best known lawyer allies were Bulstrode WhitelockeBulstrode WhitelockeSir Bulstrode Whitelocke was an English lawyer, writer, parliamentarian and Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of England.- Biography :...
and Sir Thomas Widdrington, and Nicholas LechmereNicholas LechmereSir Nicholas Lechmere , of Hanley Castle in Worcestershire, was an English Judge and Member of Parliament.A nephew of Sir Thomas Overbury, Lechmere was educated at Wadham College, Oxford, and called to the bar as a member of Middle Temple in 1641. On the outbreak of the Civil War, he sided with...
and Lisliborne Long. - Members who were particularly concerned with commercial matters and politics in the city of London. Three remarkable pairs of allies in this category are Jon Venn and Miles CorbetMiles CorbetMiles Corbet was an English politician, recorder of Yarmouth and Regicide.-Life:He was the son of Sir Thomas Corbet of Sprowston, Norfolk and the younger brother of Sir John Corbet, 1st Baronet, MP for Great Yarmouth from 1625 to 1629...
, Isaac Pennington and Thomas Atkin, and Frances Allen and Richard Salwey.
Although lawyers and merchants were a minority compared to the large amount of rural land lords that occupied the Rump Parliament, their interest groups’ energy and cohesiveness was able largely influence Rump politics.
Political changes that the Rump Parliament made during the Commonwealth of England
During the time of the Commonwealth of EnglandCommonwealth of England
The Commonwealth of England was the republic which ruled first England, and then Ireland and Scotland from 1649 to 1660. Between 1653–1659 it was known as the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland...
(1649–1653), the Rump passed a number of acts in the areas of religion, law, and finance. Most of the members of the Rump wanted to promote "godliness", but also to restrict the more extreme puritan sects like the Quakers and the Ranters. An Adultery Act of May 1650 imposed the death penalty for incest and adultery and 3 months imprisonment for fornication; the Blasphemy Act of August 1650 was aimed at curbing extreme religious "enthusiasm". To stop extreme evangelicals from preaching, they formed a Committee for the Propagation of the Gospel, which issued licenses to preach. To allow Puritans freedom of worship, they repealed the Elizabethan requirement of compulsory attendance at an Anglican Church. As lawyers were overrepresented in the Rump Parliament, the Rump did not respond to the popular requests made by the Levellers
Levellers
The Levellers were a political movement during the English Civil Wars which emphasised popular sovereignty, extended suffrage, equality before the law, and religious tolerance, all of which were expressed in the manifesto "Agreement of the People". They came to prominence at the end of the First...
to change the expensive legal system.
The Rump raised revenue through the sale of Crown lands and Church property, both of which were popular. However, revenue raised through excise levies and through an Assessment Tax on land were unpopular as they affected everyone who owned property. The proceeds from confiscated Royalist estates were a valuable source of income, but it was a two edged sword. It ingratiated Parliament to people like John Downes
John Downes (regicide)
Colonel John Downes was a commissioner who signed the death warrant of Charles I of England. After the English Restoration he was found guilty of regicide and was imprisoned until he died....
who were making a fortune from the business but it did nothing to heal the wounds of the Civil War.
Oliver Cromwell
In 1653, after learning that Parliament was attempting to stay in session despite an agreement to dissolve, and having failed to come up with a working constitution, CromwellOliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
’s patience ran out. On 20 April he attended a sitting of Parliament and listened to one or two speeches. Then he stood up and harangued the members of the Rump. This speech does not survive but has often been paraphrased, for instance in the Book of Days:
You have sat too long for any good you have been doing lately ... Depart, I say; and let us have done with you. In the name of God, go!
He then declared "you are no Parliament" and called in a troop of soldiers, under the command of Major-General Thomas Harrison, ordering them to clear the chamber. According to Dickens and Belloc
Hilaire Belloc
Joseph Hilaire Pierre René Belloc was an Anglo-French writer and historian who became a naturalised British subject in 1902. He was one of the most prolific writers in England during the early twentieth century. He was known as a writer, orator, poet, satirist, man of letters and political activist...
, he then turned to the Speaker's Mace
Ceremonial mace
The ceremonial mace is a highly ornamented staff of metal or wood, carried before a sovereign or other high official in civic ceremonies by a mace-bearer, intended to represent the official's authority. The mace, as used today, derives from the original mace used as a weapon...
, the symbol of Parliamentary power, declared it a "fool's bauble", and ordered the troops "here, carry it away".
A more detailed record of the event is recounted by Thomas Salmon in his Chronological Historian (London, 1723, 106), thus:
"[Cromwell] commanded the Speaker to leave the Chair, and told them they had sat long enough, unless they had done more good, crying out You are no longer a Parliament, I say you are no Parliament. He told Sir Henry VaneHenry Vane the YoungerSir Henry Vane , son of Henry Vane the Elder , was an English politician, statesman, and colonial governor...
he was a Jugler [sic]; Henry MartinHenry Marten (regicide)Sir Henry Marten was an English lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons in two periods between 1640 and 1653...
and Sir Peter WentworthPeter WentworthPeter Wentworth was a prominent Puritan leader in the Parliament of England. He was the elder brother of Paul Wentworth, and first entered as member for Barnstaple in 1571. He later sat for the Cornish borough of Tregony in 1572, and for the town of Northampton in the parliaments of 1586–7, 1589,...
, that they were Whoremasters; Thomas ChalonerThomas Chaloner (regicide)Thomas Chaloner was an English politician, commissioner at the trial of Charles I and signatory to his death warrant.He was born at Steeple Claydon, Buckinghamshire, and was the son of naturalist Sir Thomas Chaloner....
, he was a Drunkard; and AllenFrancis Allen (regicide)Francis Allen , was an English financier, politician and regicide who sided with parliament in the civil War against Charles I....
the Goldsmith that he cheated the Publick: Then he bid one of his Soldiers take away that Fool's Bauble the mace and Thomas Harrison pulled the Speaker of the Chair; and in short Cromwell having turned them all out of the House, lock'd up the Doors and returned to Whitehall."
Salmon does not cite his own sources but the version is sufficiently detailed to suggest that he had access to descriptions of the event that were certainly current in his time, and were probably derived from eye-witness descriptions. It is therefore probably at least accurate in general tone, if not precise detail.
Within a month of the Rump's dismissal, Oliver Cromwell on the advice of Harrison and with the support of other officers in the Army, sent a request to Congregational churches in every county to nominate those they considered fit to take part in the new government. On 4 July a Nominated Assembly, nicknamed the "Assembly of Saints" or Barebone's Parliament (named after one of its members), took on the role of more traditional English Parliaments.
End of the Rump Parliament
Richard CromwellRichard Cromwell
At the same time, the officers of the New Model Army became increasingly wary about the government's commitment to the military cause. The fact that Richard Cromwell lacked military credentials grated with men who had fought on the battlefields of the English Civil War to secure their nation's...
, the third (and eldest surviving) son of Oliver Cromwell, was appointed Lord Protector
Lord Protector
Lord Protector is a title used in British constitutional law for certain heads of state at different periods of history. It is also a particular title for the British Heads of State in respect to the established church...
after his father's death. He called the Third Protectorate Parliament
Third Protectorate Parliament
The Third Protectorate Parliament sat for one session, from 27 January 1659 until 22 April 1659, with Chaloner Chute and Thomas Bampfylde as the Speakers of the House of Commons...
in 1659. However, along with the Army, it was unable to form a stable government and after seven months the Army removed him. On 6 May 1659, it reinstalled the Rump Parliament. The Rump Parliament issued a declaration establishing a "Commonwealth without a king, single person, or house of lords". However after a few months divisions in the Commonwealth were settled by force of arms. On 12 October the Rump voted to declare the seven commissioners' responsibility for the Army void and appointed Charles Fleetwood
Charles Fleetwood
Charles Fleetwood was an English Parliamentary soldier and politician, Lord Deputy of Ireland from 1652–55, where he enforced the Cromwellian Settlement. At the Restoration he was included in the Act of Indemnity as among the twenty liable to penalties other than capital, and was finally...
commander-in-chief under the Speaker of the House. The next day on 13 October 1659 the Army in London under the command of John Lambert
John Lambert (general)
John Lambert was an English Parliamentary general and politician. He fought during the English Civil War and then in Oliver Cromwell's Scottish campaign , becoming thereafter active in civilian politics until his dismissal by Cromwell in 1657...
assisted by Charles Fleetwood
Charles Fleetwood
Charles Fleetwood was an English Parliamentary soldier and politician, Lord Deputy of Ireland from 1652–55, where he enforced the Cromwellian Settlement. At the Restoration he was included in the Act of Indemnity as among the twenty liable to penalties other than capital, and was finally...
excluded the Rump from Parliament by locking the doors to the Palace of Westminster
Palace of Westminster
The Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament or Westminster Palace, is the meeting place of the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom—the House of Lords and the House of Commons...
and stationing armed guards outside. Lambert and Fleetwood created a 23 member Committee of Safety
English Committee of Safety
The Committee of Safety, established by the Parliamentarians in July 1642, was the first of a number of successive committees set up to oversee the English Civil War against King Charles I, and the Interregnum.-1642–1644:...
to govern the country in place of the Rump with General Fleetwood and Lambert directly under him, commander of the Army in England and Scotland.
Sir Arthur Haselrig
Arthur Haselrig
Sir Arthur Haselrig, 2nd Baronet was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1640 and 1659. He was one of the five members of Parliament whom King Charles I tried to arrest in 1642, an event which led to the start of the English Civil War...
appealed to other Army generals to support the Rump against Fleetwood and Lambert. Fearing anarchy because of the conflict within Parliament and the general anger at the decisions the Rump had made, General George Monck, commander-in-chief of the English army in Scotland, declared that he was ready to uphold Parliament's authority and march at the head of his army to London, holding true to a statement in his book, "Observations Upon Military and Political Affairs" in which he said he valued the stability of his nation and the power of Parliament over his own life. On top of his military position Monck was in a particularly powerful position because of his former relationship with and endorsement from Oliver Cromwell, many imbued him with the power to affect who the next king would be. Lambert marched north against Monck in November 1659, but Lambert's army began to melt away, and he was kept in suspense by Monck till his whole army deserted and he returned to London almost alone. On 24 December 1659 the chastened Fleetwood approached the Speaker, William Lenthal, asking him to recall the Rump. The same day Lenthall took possession of the Tower and appointed commissioners for its government. The Rump met again on 26 December 1659. Parliament declared Monck commander-in-chief in England as well as Scotland.
In January 1660, Monck marched into England, as Lambert's supporters in the Army were cashiered and his authority crumbled. When Sir Thomas Fairfax
Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron
Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron was a general and parliamentary commander-in-chief during the English Civil War...
emerged from retirement to declare his support for Monck, Army support for Monck became almost unanimous. Monck entered London in February 1660 and he allowed the Presbyterian members, 'secluded' in Pride's Purge
Pride's Purge
Pride’s Purge is an event in December 1648, during the Second English Civil War, when troops under the command of Colonel Thomas Pride forcibly removed from the Long Parliament all those who were not supporters of the Grandees in the New Model Army and the Independents...
of 1648, to re-enter parliament on 21 February 1660 on the condition that the restored Long Parliament would agree to dissolve themselves once general elections had been held. The Long Parliament dissolved itself on 16 March 1660, after preparing legislation for the Convention Parliament that formally invited King Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
to be the English monarch in what has become known as the Restoration
English Restoration
The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...
(of the House of Stuart).
See also
- RegicideRegicideThe broad definition of regicide is the deliberate killing of a monarch, or the person responsible for the killing of a monarch. In a narrower sense, in the British tradition, it refers to the judicial execution of a king after a trial...
- List of Parliaments of England
- List of MPs not excluded from the English parliament in 1648
- List of Ordinances and Acts of the Parliament of England, 1642–1660
Links and references
- British Civil Wars: Rump Parliament
- Chambers' Book of Days:20 April With a censored version of Cromwell's speech.
- http://castorblog.com/archives/000275.html with an uncensored version of Cromwell's speech.
- Full text of the Act erecting a High Court of Justice for the Trial of Charles I 6 January 1649
- Full text of the Sentence of the High Court of Justice upon the King, 27 January, 1649
- Full text of The Death Warrant of Charles I, 29 January, 1649
- Full text of the Act appointing a Council of State, 13 February, 1649
- Full text of the Act abolishing the Office of King, 17 March, 1649
- Full text of the Act abolishing the House of Lords, 19 March, 1649
- Full text of the Act declaring England to be a Commonwealth, 19 May, 1649
- Full text of the Act declaring what Offences shall he adjudged Treason under the Commonwealth, 17 July, 1649
- Full text of the Declaration by Oliver Cromwell and the Council of Officers after putting an End to the Long Parliament, 22 April, 1653