34-735: List of parliaments of England List of acts of the Parliament of England The First Protectorate Parliament was summoned by the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell under the terms of the Instrument of Government . It sat for one term from 3 September 1654 until 22 January 1655 with William Lenthall as the Speaker of the House . During the first nine months of the Protectorate , Cromwell with
68-631: A Royal Parliament until the Reform Act 1832 . In the list below, the name of the constituency (as specified in Section X of the Instrument of Government , with minor spelling changes) is followed by the number of seats allocated. The Boroughs in each county follow the county constituency (indicated by boldface and an * after the constituency name). Those areas marked ** were divisions of a traditional county. The Instrument of Government also made provision for members from Jersey and Guernsey , without defining
102-684: A declaration declaring itself to be the parliament of the Commonwealth of England. This was the first time that it had been formally described as a parliament. The parliament became a subject of ridicule very quickly after its establishment. A newswriter called them " Pettifoggers , Innkeepers, Millwrights, Stockingmongers and such a rabble as never had hopes to be of a Grand Jury". In particular, its members were singled out for their alleged low social status, their puritanism and their relative lack of political experience. These criticisms were seen to be encapsulated by one of its members, Praise-God Barebone ,
136-563: A district, where the elections were to take place is marked in capitals. The First Protectorate Parliament was preceded by the Barebones Parliament and succeeded by the Second Protectorate Parliament . From Cromwell:The Oliver Cromwell Website: a select bibliography of books and articles : List of parliaments of England This is a list of parliaments of England from the reign of King Henry III , when
170-637: A leather seller, Fifth Monarchist and lay preacher from Fleet Street in London. Before its dissolution the assembly had become known as Barebone's Parliament. Despite contemporary slanders, the assembly's members were mainly drawn from the richest five per cent of the population, and few tradesmen were represented. Nor was it solely composed of Fifth Monarchists, despite the impression that hostile contemporary pamphlets give. Twelve or thirteen members can be identified as Fifth Monarchists, some of whom had served with Harrison. These were contrasted with about fifteen of
204-465: A seat. All the traditional counties were represented ( Durham for the first time). In addition some well established sub-divisions of counties were given separate representation. There were substantial changes in the number of seats many constituencies received, particularly amongst the counties. This was the first systematic redistribution of Parliamentary seats in English history and would not be matched for
238-471: Is Independent , Anabaptist , etc., as who is for Christ and who is for Cromwell", most of the sects welcomed the decision. S. R. Gardiner conjectured that the Council of Officers consulted congregational churches in each county, asking them to send names of suitable candidates for the new assembly. However, no copy of any letter of consultation survives, and although some churches did send in nominations, there
272-428: Is no evidence that a mass consultation took place. By 3 May the Council of Officers had had over a hundred names submitted by its members. By 23 May an initial list of nominations was ready, which was then added to and refined over the next few weeks. The assembly met for the first time on 4 July in the council chamber at Whitehall . Cromwell opened proceedings with a speech around two hours long. He began by summing up
306-693: Is to them, is hardly accepted of any". Attendance also began to fall. Over one hundred members were present at most votes in July, dropping to an average turnout of 70 by October. Various bills inflamed conflict between the radical and moderate members – bills to abolish the Court of Chancery, regulate legal fees, and speed up settlement of cases in the Court of Admiralty all became bogged down in conflict. At this point, however, radical members were still mainly outnumbered in votes by moderate and conservative members. This changed during November and December when debate returned to
340-636: The Curia Regis developed into a body known as Parliament, until the creation of the Parliament of Great Britain in 1707. For later parliaments, see the List of parliaments of Great Britain . For the history of the English Parliament, see Parliament of England . The parliaments of England were traditionally referred to by the number counting forward from the start of the reign of a particular monarch, unless
374-639: The 1st Parliament of Great Britain . Barebones Parliament List of parliaments of England List of acts of the Parliament of England Barebone's Parliament , also known as the Little Parliament , the Nominated Assembly and the Parliament of Saints , came into being on 4 July 1653, and was the last attempt of the English Commonwealth to find a stable political form before the installation of Oliver Cromwell as Lord Protector . It
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#1732851955977408-535: The "series of Providences" that had brought them to this point, starting with the Short Parliament and singling out 1648 as the "most memorable year that ever this nation saw". In a much-analysed passage, Cromwell is supposed to have declared: "God doth manifest it to be the day of the Power of Jesus Christ". This has sometimes been adduced as evidence that Cromwell shared Harrison's Fifth Monarchist beliefs, welcoming
442-430: The House and demanded that the assembly abdicate its powers, criticising radical members for threatening the wellbeing of the Commonwealth by fomenting disagreement. Rous and around 40 members walked out and went to Cromwell at Whitehall, presenting a document signed by nearly 80 members that declared: "Upon a Motion this day made in the House, that the sitting of this Parliament any longer as now constituted, will not be for
476-458: The Instrument, in the whole number of four hundred, Jersey and Guernsey being left out, because not governed by our laws, but by municipal laws of their own; and we differed but little in the particular distribution." The Lord Protector and his Council were given power to provide for the representation of Scotland and Ireland, which was done by later legislation giving 30 seats to each country. This
510-488: The King's death, it was a Parliament he originally summoned. An attempt has been made to set out the different phases of the Parliament in the second table in this section and in subsequent sections. The phases are explained in a note. These parliaments included representatives of Scotland and Ireland. On 29 April 1707, the Parliament of Great Britain was constituted. The members of the 2nd Parliament of Queen Anne became part of
544-481: The Lord for a blessing". On 29 April, Cromwell set up a small Council of State of thirteen members, responsible for foreign policy and administration of the country. The Council of Officers remained responsible for decisions about the new form of government. John Lambert argued in favour of lodging power in the hands of ten or twelve men. Thomas Harrison , drawing on his Fifth Monarchist beliefs, argued that their duty
578-513: The Parliament as soon as it was allowed under the terms of the Instrument of Government , having failed to get any of the 84 bills passed. The Instrument of Government specified the numbers of members of parliament that boroughs and counties in England and Wales would send to the Parliament, totalling 400. By omission from the list, rotten boroughs were abolished. A few boroughs not previously enfranchised, notably Leeds and Manchester , received
612-568: The Protector for Elections in Scotland of 27 June 1654. The Burgh, amongst those in a district, where the elections were to take place is marked in capitals. The shire of Merse is a historic name for Berwickshire. Provision for representation of the counties (marked *) and boroughs of Ireland was made by An Ordinance by the Protector for Elections in Ireland of 27 June 1654. The Borough, amongst those in
646-750: The Rump made little progress. The enactment of a Navigation Act to aid merchants led to the First Anglo-Dutch War in 1652. There was an expectation that a new parliament should be called; however, the Rump made no moves towards its dissolution. The forced dissolution of the Rump Parliament on 20 April 1653 left a gap in the legislature, with no blueprint to fill it. Cromwell and the Council of Officers claimed to be "led by necessity and Providence to act as we have done, even beyond and above our own thoughts and desires, so we shall ... put ourselves wholly upon
680-521: The Rump's Hale Commission pushed for progressive reform. By early September, Cromwell was already said to have been growing frustrated with the assembly's in-fighting between different groups. A newswriter reported him saying to a confidant that he was "more troubled now with the fool than before now with the knave". He also wrote to his son-in-law Charles Fleetwood complaining that the members "being of different judgements, and of each sort most seeking to propagate their own, that spirit of kindness that
714-490: The aid of the Council of State , drew up a list of 84 bills to present to Parliament for ratification. But the members of Parliament had their own and their constituents' interests to promote and in the end not enough of them would agree to work with Cromwell, or to sign a declaration of their acceptance of the Instrument of Government , to make the constitutional arrangements in the Instrument of Government work. Cromwell dissolved
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#1732851955977748-426: The assembly as the start of Christ's kingdom on earth. However, the first published version of the speech records this sentence as "God doth manifest it to be a day of the Power of Jesus Christ", considerably softening the impact, and implying that he merely thought it to be a spiritually joyful occasion. Cromwell then asked a written 'instrument' to be read out, drawn up by the Council of Officers and investing power in
782-435: The assembly was quickly echoed by petitions from churches around the country. Another contentious issue the assembly debated during its early weeks was the trial of John Lilburne , which again did little to unite opinion. A third issue, reform of the legal system, again split the members, with Fifth Monarchists arguing that only laws contained in scripture should be reflected in the temporal legal system, while former members of
816-407: The assembly. The assembly then adjourned before sitting in full on the following day. On that day they elected Francis Rous, initially as chairman (he was not known as Speaker until a month later). Henry Scobell was appointed as Clerk. Cromwell and four other officers – Lambert, John Desborough , Harrison and Matthew Tomlinson – were then co-opted as members. On 12 July, the assembly published
850-575: The members of the assembly voted to dissolve it. It was preceded by the Rump Parliament and succeeded by the First Protectorate Parliament . Following the execution of King Charles , the Rump Parliament was the last remaining element of the English government. It had little or no claim to representation of the populace and held elections only to replace members. The mood of the country was for long-needed reforms to be carried out but
884-496: The more active members of the assembly, who were more moderate Independents. Although it is misleading to divide the assembly into two parties, an analysis of its entire membership along moderate and radical lines identifies 76 members as religious moderates and 47 as radicals, with a further 21 either impossible to identify or not participating in the assembly. Only four regicides, Anthony Stapley , John Carew , Thomas Harrison , and Cromwell himself, were appointed. Thomas Harrison
918-468: The numbers or arrangements for the election of such members. It is not clear that any were actually elected, as they are not mentioned in the Journal of the House of Commons for this Parliament. It is also notable that when on 6 and 7 October 1654 the House of Commons debated "the distribution of the number of members to serve in future Parliaments", Guibon Goddard MP recorded in his journal that "we agreed with
952-476: The parliament was notable enough to come to be known by a particular title, such as the Good Parliament or the Parliament of Merton . The Long Parliament , which commenced in this reign, had the longest term and the most complex history of any English Parliament. The entry in the first table below relates to the whole Parliament. Although it rebelled against King Charles I and continued to exist long after
986-405: The question of how to select the group's representatives, agreeing that members should be chosen by the council, all of whom were free to put forward nominations. Power would be vested in each member by Cromwell in his role as commander-in-chief of the army. Although there was negative reaction from some churches, with a member of a congregation in London declaring "the question is not so much now who
1020-447: The question of tithes. On 6 December the committee of the assembly appointed to consider the question presented their report, covering the question of how unfit ministers were to be ejected, naming commissioners who would have the job of enacting this, and retaining support for tithes in prescribed circumstances. The first clause of the report was voted against by 56 votes to 54 in a defeat for the moderates. Two days later, moderates came to
1054-499: Was an assembly entirely nominated by Oliver Cromwell and the Army's Council of Officers . It acquired its name from the nominee for the City of London , Praise-God Barebone . The Speaker of the House was Francis Rous . The total number of nominees was 140, 129 from England, five from Scotland and six from Ireland (see the list of MPs ). After conflict and infighting, on 12 December 1653,
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1088-421: Was the first time Scotland and Ireland were represented in a Westminster Parliament. Notes: Brecknockshire is attributed 3 seats in the text of the Instrument of Government linked to by this article, but other on-line versions say 2 and that is consistent with the total of 400 seats for England and Wales. Provision for representation of the shires (marked *) and burghs of Scotland was made by An Ordinance by
1122-562: Was the leader of the Fifth Monarchists and John Carew was also a Fifth Monarchist. On 13 July, the assembly began debating tithes – which were objected to by many sects on the grounds that they were a remnant of Catholicism, that they supported a professional rather than voluntary clergy, and that their economic burden fell unequally. There was general consensus that tithes were objectionable, but little agreement about what mechanism for generating revenue should replace them. Debate within
1156-715: Was to accelerate the coming of the kingdom of Christ by putting power into the hands of godly men. Another Fifth Monarchist, John Rogers (Fifth Monarchist) , proposed the idea of an assembly numbering 70 based on the Jewish Sanhedrin . The Council of Officers settled on an assembly of 140 representatives, double the Sanhedrin model, which may signify a practical compromise to emulate the Sanhedrin while accommodating members from across England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The Scottish and Irish delegates were English soldiers serving in those countries. The Council of Officers then settled
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