99-471: Sir Thomas Honywood (15 January 1586 – 26 May 1666) was an English soldier during the English Civil War and later a Member of Parliament and also called to Parliament as Thomas, Lord Honywood . He was seated at Marks Hall , Essex . The eldest son of Robert Honywood and grandson of Mary Honywood , Honywood was born at Betchworth Castle , Surrey. He was the half-brother of Sir Robert Honywood . He
198-546: A Roman Catholic French princess, Henrietta Maria . Parliament refused to assign him the traditional right to collect customs duties for his entire reign, deciding instead to grant it only on a provisional basis and negotiate with him. Charles, meanwhile, decided to send an expeditionary force to relieve the French Huguenots , whom French royal troops held besieged in La Rochelle . Such military support for Protestants on
297-603: A "Committee of Safety" was appointed, of which Fleetwood and Lambert were members. Lambert was appointed major-general of all the forces in England and Scotland, Fleetwood being general. Lambert was now sent, by the Committee of Safety, with a large force to meet George Monck , who was in command of the English forces in Scotland, and either negotiate with him or force him to come to terms. It
396-481: A Baptist merchant after whom the Assembly got its derogatory nickname. Many were well educated. The assembly reflected the range of views of the officers who nominated it. The Radicals (approximately 40) included a hard core of Fifth Monarchists who wanted to be rid of Common Law and any state control of religion. The Moderates (approximately 60) wanted some improvements within the existing system and might move to either
495-648: A brief period of rule under his son, Richard Cromwell , the Protectorate Parliament was dissolved in 1659 and the Rump Parliament recalled, starting a process that led to the restoration of the monarchy in 1660. The term Commonwealth is sometimes used for the whole of 1649 to 1660 – called by some the Interregnum – although for other historians, the use of the term is limited to the years prior to Cromwell's formal assumption of power in 1653. In retrospect,
594-473: A charge of treason. The members had learned that he was coming and escaped. Charles not only failed to arrest them but turned more people against him. In the summer of 1642, these national troubles helped to polarise opinion, ending indecision about which side to support or what action to take. Opposition to Charles also arose from many local grievances. For example, imposed drainage schemes in The Fens disrupted
693-447: A court case, attainder did not require a legal burden of proof to be met, but it did require the king's approval. Charles, however, guaranteed Strafford that he would not sign the attainder, without which the bill could not be passed. Furthermore, the Lords opposed the severity of a death sentence on Strafford. Yet increased tensions and a plot in the army to support Strafford began to sway
792-495: A fact that they themselves noticed and many urged Cromwell to call another Parliament to give his rule legitimacy. Unlike the prior Parliament, which had been open to all eligible males in the Commonwealth, the new elections specifically excluded Catholics and Royalists from running or voting; as a result, it was stocked with members who were more in line with Cromwell's own politics. The first major bill to be brought up for debate
891-461: A military dictatorship. Instead, he ruled through a "nominated assembly" which he believed would be easy for the Army to control since Army officers did the nominating. Barebone's Parliament was opposed by former Rumpers and ridiculed by many gentries as being an assembly of inferior people. Over 110 of its 140 members were lesser gentry or of higher social status; an exception was Praise-God Barebone ,
990-476: A practical means of compelling them. From the thirteenth century, monarchs ordered the election of representatives to sit in the House of Commons , with most voters being the owners of property, although in some potwalloper boroughs every male householder could vote. When assembled along with the House of Lords , these elected representatives formed a Parliament. So the concept of Parliaments allowed representatives of
1089-597: A resurgence of Protestant power, struck first , and all Ireland soon descended into chaos. Rumours circulated that the King supported the Irish, and Puritan members of the Commons soon started murmuring that this exemplified the fate that Charles had in store for them all. On 4 January 1642, Charles, followed by 400 soldiers, entered the House of Commons and attempted to arrest five members on
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#17330850251131188-676: A secret message sent by Monck, Charles II issued the Declaration of Breda , which made known the conditions of his acceptance of the crown of England. Monck organised the Convention Parliament , which met for the first time on 25 April. On 8 May it proclaimed that King Charles II had been the lawful monarch since the execution of Charles I in January 1649. Charles returned from exile on 23 May. He entered London on 29 May, his birthday. To celebrate "his Majesty's Return to his Parliament" 29 May
1287-558: A single kingdom. Many English Parliamentarians were suspicious of such a move, fearing that such a new kingdom might destroy old English traditions that had bound the English monarchy. Because James had described kings as "little gods on Earth", chosen by God to rule in accordance with the doctrine of the Divine Right of Kings , and Charles shared his father's position, the suspicions of the Parliamentarians had some justification. At
1386-478: A tactic learned while fighting in the Dutch army, where cavalry would charge at full speed into the opponent's infantry, firing their pistols just before impact. However, with Oliver Cromwell and the introduction of the more disciplined New Model Army , a group of disciplined pike men would stand its ground, which could have a devastating effect. The Royalist cavalry had a tendency to chase down individual targets after
1485-552: A three-year fixed-term (which the Lord Protector was required to abide by) and to reserve for the Parliament the sole right of taxation. The second, as a concession to Cromwell, was to make the Lord Protector a hereditary position and to convert the title to a formal constitutional Kingship. Cromwell refused the title of King, but accepted the rest of the legislation, which was passed in final form on 25 May 1657. A second session of
1584-679: The Cromwellian conquest of Ireland and the Anglo-Scottish war of 1650–1652 . In 1653, after dissolution of the Rump Parliament, the Army Council adopted the Instrument of Government , by which Oliver Cromwell was made Lord Protector of a united "Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland", inaugurating the period now usually known as the Protectorate . After Cromwell's death, and following
1683-632: The Earl of Lindsey , was to die fighting for the King at the Battle of Edgehill . In early January 1642, a few days after failing to capture five members of the House of Commons, Charles feared for the safety of his family and retinue and left the London area for the north country. Further frequent negotiations by letter between the King and the Long Parliament, through to early summer, proved fruitless. On 1 June 1642
1782-531: The English Civil War , the reformed Navy under the command of Robert Blake defeated the Dutch in the First Anglo-Dutch War which marked the first step towards England's naval supremacy . In Ireland, the Commonwealth period is remembered for Cromwell's conquest of Ireland , which continued and completed the policies of the Tudor and Stuart periods. The Rump was created by Pride's Purge of those members of
1881-624: The English Lords and Commons approved a list of proposals known as the Nineteen Propositions . In these demands, the Parliament sought a larger share of power in the governance of the kingdom. Before the end of the month the King rejected the Propositions. As the summer progressed, cities and towns declared their sympathies for one faction or the other: for example, the garrison of Portsmouth commanded by Sir George Goring declared for
1980-521: The Levellers ; Presbyterians who were willing to countenance the trial and execution of the King; and later admissions, such as formerly excluded MPs who were prepared to denounce the Newport Treaty negotiations with the King. Most Rumpers were gentry , though there was a higher proportion of lesser gentry and lawyers than in previous parliaments. Less than one-quarter of them were regicides . This left
2079-658: The Long Parliament who did not support the political position of the Grandees in the New Model Army . Just before and after the execution of King Charles I on 30 January 1649, the Rump passed a number of acts of Parliament creating the legal basis for the republic. With the abolition of the monarchy, Privy Council and the House of Lords , it had unchecked executive and legislative power. The English Council of State , which replaced
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#17330850251132178-568: The Magnum Concilium (the House of Lords , but without the Commons , so not a Parliament), Charles finally bowed to pressure and summoned another English Parliament in November 1640. The new Parliament proved even more hostile to Charles than its predecessor. It immediately began to discuss grievances against him and his government, with Pym and Hampden (of ship money fame) in the lead. They took
2277-629: The Restoration . He married Hester Manning (d.1681) daughter of London merchant John La Motte, on 13 May 1634 at All Hallows, London Wall , London and the widow of London merchant John Manning (d.1634). He was succeeded by their son John Lamotte Honywood ; their daughter Elizabeth Honywood married Sir John Cotton. He died at his son-in-law's home, Cotton House, in Westminster . English Civil War Parliamentarian victory 1643 1644 1645 1646 England The English Civil War
2376-565: The Thirty Years' War which began in 1618 and concluded in 1648. The war was of unprecedented scale for the English. During the campaign seasons, 120,000 to 150,000 soldiers would be in the field, a higher proportion of the population than were fighting in Germany in the Thirty Years' War . The main battle tactic came to be known as pike and shot infantry. The two sides would line up opposite one another, with infantry brigades of musketeers in
2475-466: The Tonnage and Poundage Act 1640 . On 3 May, Parliament decreed The Protestation , attacking the 'wicked counsels' of Charles's government, whereby those who signed the petition undertook to defend 'the true reformed religion', Parliament, and the king's person, honour and estate. Throughout May, the House of Commons launched several bills attacking bishops and Episcopalianism in general, each time defeated in
2574-539: The trial and execution of Charles I . The republic's existence was declared through "An Act declaring England to be a Commonwealth ", adopted by the Rump Parliament on 19 May 1649. Power in the early Commonwealth was vested primarily in the Parliament and a Council of State . During the period, fighting continued, particularly in Ireland and Scotland, between the parliamentary forces and those opposed to them, in
2673-524: The "Eleven Years' Tyranny". During this period, Charles's policies were determined by his lack of money. First and foremost, to avoid Parliament, the King needed to avoid war. Charles made peace with France and Spain, effectively ending England's involvement in the Thirty Years' War . However, that in itself was far from enough to balance the Crown's finances. Unable to raise revenue without Parliament and unwilling to convene it, Charles resorted to other means. One
2772-429: The "Great Rebellion". Some historians, notably Marxists such as Christopher Hill (1912–2003), favoured the term " English Revolution ". Each side had a geographical stronghold, such that minority elements were silenced or fled. The Royalist areas included the countryside, the shires, the cathedral city of Oxford, and the less economically developed areas of northern and western England. Parliament's strengths spanned
2871-492: The 1648 Second English Civil War resulted in the execution of Charles I in January 1649, and establishment of the Commonwealth of England . In 1650, Charles II was crowned King of Scotland, in return for agreeing to create a Presbyterian church in both England and Scotland. The subsequent Anglo-Scottish War ended with Parliamentarian victory at Worcester on 3 September 1651. Both Ireland and Scotland were incorporated into
2970-399: The Army and divisions quickly developed in the Parliament. One faction called for a recall of the Rump Parliament and a return to the constitution of the Commonwealth, while another preferred the existing constitution. As the parties grew increasingly quarrelsome, Richard dissolved it. He was quickly removed from power, and the remaining Army leadership recalled the Rump Parliament, setting
3069-486: The Church more ceremonial, replacing the wooden communion tables with stone altars. Puritans accused Laud of reintroducing Catholicism, and when they complained he had them arrested. In 1637, John Bastwick , Henry Burton , and William Prynne had their ears cut off for writing pamphlets attacking Laud's views – a rare penalty for gentlemen , and one that aroused anger. Moreover, the Church authorities revived statutes from
Thomas Honywood - Misplaced Pages Continue
3168-654: The Church. In the spring of 1639, King Charles I accompanied his forces to the Scottish border to end the rebellion known as the Bishops' War , but after an inconclusive campaign, he accepted the offered Scottish truce: the Pacification of Berwick . This truce proved temporary, and a second war followed in mid-1640. A Scots army defeated Charles's forces in the north, then captured Newcastle . Charles eventually agreed not to interfere in Scotland's religion. Charles needed to suppress
3267-624: The Commonwealth, and Britain became a unitary state until the Stuart Restoration in 1660. The term English Civil War appears most often in the singular, but historians often divide the conflict into two or three separate wars. These were not restricted to England alone, as Wales (having been annexed into the Kingdom of England ) was affected by the same political instabilities. The conflicts also involved wars with Scotland and Ireland and civil wars within them. Some historians have favoured
3366-656: The Continent potentially alleviated concerns about the King's marriage to a Catholic. However, Charles's insistence on giving command of the English force to his unpopular royal favourite George Villiers, the Duke of Buckingham , undermined that support. Unfortunately for Charles and Buckingham, the relief expedition proved a fiasco (1627), and Parliament, already hostile to Buckingham for his monopoly on royal patronage , opened impeachment proceedings against him. Charles responded by dissolving Parliament. This saved Buckingham but confirmed
3465-583: The Elder , a member of the King's Privy Council, who refused to confirm it in Parliament out of loyalty to Charles. On 10 April 1641, Pym's case collapsed, but Pym made a direct appeal to the Younger Vane to produce a copy of the notes from the King's Privy Council, discovered by the Younger Vane and secretly turned over to Pym, to the great anguish of the Elder Vane. These notes contained evidence that Strafford had told
3564-729: The English Book of Common Prayer to Scotland in the middle of 1637. This was violently resisted. A riot broke out in Edinburgh, which may have been started in St Giles' Cathedral , according to legend, by Jenny Geddes . In February 1638, the Scots formulated their objections to royal policy in the National Covenant . This document took the form of a "loyal protest", rejecting all innovations not first tested by free Parliaments and General Assemblies of
3663-462: The Irish Catholic gentry to pay new taxes in return for promised religious concessions. In 1639, Charles had recalled Wentworth to England and in 1640 made him Earl of Strafford, attempting to have him achieve similar results in Scotland. This time he proved less successful and the English forces fled the field at their second encounter with the Scots in 1640. Almost the whole of Northern England
3762-628: The King in 1638. The fines imposed on people who refused to pay ship money and standing out against its illegality aroused widespread indignation. During his "Personal Rule", Charles aroused most antagonism through his religious measures. He believed in High Anglicanism , a sacramental version of the Church of England , theologically based upon Arminianism , a creed shared with his main political adviser, Archbishop William Laud . In 1633, Charles appointed Laud Archbishop of Canterbury and started making
3861-491: The King's ministers. Finally, the Parliament passed a law forbidding the King to dissolve it without its consent, even if the three years were up. These laws equated to a tremendous increase in Parliamentary power. Ever since, this Parliament has been known as the Long Parliament . However, Parliament did attempt to avert conflict by requiring all adults to sign The Protestation , an oath of allegiance to Charles. Early in
3960-433: The King, but when Charles tried to acquire arms from Kingston upon Hull , the weaponry depository used in the previous Scottish campaigns, Sir John Hotham , the military governor appointed by Parliament in January, refused to let Charles enter the town, and when Charles returned with more men later, Hotham drove them off . Charles issued a warrant for Hotham's arrest as a traitor but was powerless to enforce it. Throughout
4059-403: The King, "Sir, you have done your duty, and your subjects have failed in theirs; and therefore you are absolved from the rules of government, and may supply yourself by extraordinary ways; you have an army in Ireland, with which you may reduce the kingdom." Pym immediately launched a Bill of Attainder stating Strafford's guilt and demanding that he be put to death. Unlike a guilty verdict in
Thomas Honywood - Misplaced Pages Continue
4158-466: The Long Parliament, the house overwhelmingly accused Thomas Wentworth, Earl of Strafford , of high treason and other crimes and misdemeanors. Henry Vane the Younger supplied evidence of Strafford's claimed improper use of the army in Ireland, alleging that he had encouraged the King to use his Ireland-raised forces to threaten England into compliance. This evidence was obtained from Vane's father, Henry Vane
4257-526: The Lords. Charles and his Parliament hoped that the execution of Strafford and the Protestation would end the drift towards war, but in fact, they encouraged it. Charles and his supporters continued to resent Parliament's demands, and Parliamentarians continued to suspect Charles of wanting to impose episcopalianism and unfettered royal rule by military force. Within months, the Irish Catholics, fearing
4356-560: The Parliament after only a few weeks; hence its name, "the Short Parliament ". Without Parliament's support, Charles attacked Scotland again, breaking the truce at Berwick, and suffered comprehensive defeat. The Scots went on to invade England, occupying Northumberland and Durham . Meanwhile, another of Charles's chief advisers, Thomas Wentworth, 1st Viscount Wentworth , had risen to the role of Lord Deputy of Ireland in 1632, and brought in much-needed revenue for Charles by persuading
4455-513: The Parliament met in 1658; it allowed previously excluded MPs (who had been not allowed to take their seats because of Catholic and/or Royalist leanings) to take their seats, however, this made the Parliament far less compliant to the wishes of Cromwell and the Major-Generals; it accomplished little in the way of a legislative agenda and was dissolved after a few months. On the death of Oliver Cromwell in 1658, his son, Richard Cromwell , inherited
4554-570: The Privy Council, took over many of the executive functions of the monarchy. It was selected by the Rump, and most of its members were MPs. However, the Rump depended on the support of the Army with which it had a very uneasy relationship. After the execution of Charles I, the House of Commons abolished the monarchy and the House of Lords. It declared the people of England "and of all the Dominions and Territories thereunto belonging" to be henceforth under
4653-642: The Republican period. Still, the memory of the Parliamentarian cause, dubbed the Good Old Cause by the soldiers of the New Model Army, lingered on. It would carry through English politics and eventually result in a constitutional monarchy . The Commonwealth period is better remembered for the military success of Thomas Fairfax , Oliver Cromwell , and the New Model Army . Besides resounding victories in
4752-410: The Rump as basically a conservative body whose vested interests in the existing land ownership and legal systems made it unlikely to want to reform them. For the first two years of the Commonwealth, the Rump faced economic depression and the risk of invasion from Scotland and Ireland. By 1653 Cromwell and the Army had largely eliminated these threats. There were many disagreements amongst factions of
4851-448: The Rump on 20 April 1653, for reasons that are unclear. Theories are that he feared the Rump was trying to perpetuate itself as the government, or that the Rump was preparing for an election which could return an anti-Commonwealth majority. Many former members of the Rump continued to regard themselves as England's only legitimate constitutional authority. The Rump had not agreed to its own dissolution; their legal, constitutional view that it
4950-449: The Rump. Some wanted a republic, but others favoured retaining some type of monarchical government. Most of England's traditional ruling classes regarded the Rump as an illegal government made up of regicides and upstarts. However, they were also aware that the Rump might be all that stood in the way of an outright military dictatorship . High taxes, mainly to pay the Army, were resented by the gentry. Limited reforms were enough to antagonise
5049-412: The ability and authority to collect and remit the most meaningful forms of taxation then available at the local level. So, if the king wanted to ensure smooth revenue collection, he needed the gentry's cooperation. For all of the Crown's legal authority, its resources were limited by any modern standard to the extent that if the gentry refused to collect the king's taxes on a national scale, the Crown lacked
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#17330850251135148-446: The centre. These carried matchlock muskets, an inaccurate weapon which nevertheless could be lethal at a range of up to 300 yards. Musketeers would assemble three rows deep, the first kneeling, second crouching, and third standing. At times, troops divided into two groups, allowing one to reload while the other fired. Among the musketeers were pike men, carrying pikes of 12 feet (4 m) to 18 feet (5.5 m) long, whose main purpose
5247-418: The centuries de facto powers of enough significance that monarchs could not simply ignore them indefinitely. For a monarch, Parliament's most indispensable power was its ability to raise tax revenues far in excess of all other sources of revenue at the Crown's disposal. By the 17th century, Parliament's tax-raising powers had come to be derived from the fact that the gentry was the only stratum of society with
5346-449: The conflicts in the three kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland had similarities, each had their own specific issues and objectives. The First English Civil War was fought primarily over the correct balance of power between Parliament and Charles I . It ended in June 1646 with Royalist defeat and the king in custody. However, victory exposed Parliamentarian divisions over the nature of
5445-494: The court. He also led a regiment at the Battle of Worcester in 1651. He was created D.C.L. at Oxford University on 9 September 1651. Sir Thomas was elected to Parliament as member for Essex in the First and Second Parliaments of the Protectorate , and in 1658 was raised to Cromwell's new Upper House . However, he was distrusted by the hardline Puritans and considered "rather soft in his spirit". He retired from public life after
5544-399: The executive function formerly held by the King and his Privy Council, was forcibly dissolved by Cromwell on 20 April, and in its place a new council, filled with Cromwell's own chosen men, was installed. Three days after Barebone's Parliament dissolved itself, the Instrument of Government was adopted by Cromwell's council and a new state structure, now known historically as The Protectorate,
5643-708: The first personal union of the Scottish and English kingdoms . As King of Scots, James had become accustomed to Scotland's weak parliamentary tradition since assuming control of the Scottish government in 1583, so that upon assuming power south of the border, the new King of England was affronted by the constraints the English Parliament attempted to place on him in exchange for money. Consequently, James's personal extravagance, which resulted in him being perennially short of money, meant that he had to resort to extra-parliamentary sources of income. Moreover, increasing inflation during this period meant that even though Parliament
5742-552: The first several months of 1654 preparing for the First Protectorate Parliament by drawing up a set of 84 bills for consideration. The Parliament was freely elected (as free as such elections could be in the 17th century) and as such, the Parliament was filled with a wide range of political interests, and as such did not accomplish any of its goals. Having passed none of Cromwell's proposed bills, he dissolved it as soon as law would allow. Having decided that Parliament
5841-411: The gentry, who regarded the common law as reinforcing their status and property rights. The Rump passed many restrictive laws to regulate people's moral behaviour, such as closing down theatres and requiring strict observance of Sunday . Laws were also passed banning the celebration of Easter and Christmas. This antagonised most of the gentry. Cromwell, aided by Thomas Harrison , forcibly dismissed
5940-491: The governance of a "Commonwealth", effectively a republic. In Pride's Purge , all members of parliament (including most of the political Presbyterians ) who would not accept the need to bring the King to trial had been removed. Thus the Rump never had more than two hundred members (less than half the number of the Commons in the original Long Parliament). They included: supporters of religious independents who did not want an established church and some of whom had sympathies with
6039-459: The impression that Charles wanted to avoid Parliamentary scrutiny of his ministers. Having dissolved Parliament and unable to raise money without it, the king assembled a new one in 1628. (The elected members included Oliver Cromwell , John Hampden , and Edward Coke .) The new Parliament drew up a Petition of Right , which Charles accepted as a concession to obtain his subsidy. The Petition made reference to Magna Carta , but did not grant him
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#17330850251136138-659: The industrial centres, ports, and economically advanced regions of southern and eastern England, including the remaining cathedral cities (except York, Chester, Worcester). Lacey Baldwin Smith says, "the words populous, rich, and rebellious seemed to go hand in hand". Many officers and veteran soldiers had fought in European wars, notably the Eighty Years' War between the Spanish and the Dutch, which began in 1568, as well as earlier phases of
6237-436: The initial charge, leaving their forces scattered and tired, whereas Cromwell's cavalry was slower but better disciplined. Trained to operate as a single unit, it went on to win many decisive victories. The English Civil War broke out in 1642, less than 40 years after the death of Queen Elizabeth I . Elizabeth had been succeeded by her first cousin twice-removed , King James VI of Scotland , as James I of England, creating
6336-448: The issue. On 21 April, the Commons passed the Bill (204 in favour, 59 opposed, and 250 abstained), and the Lords acquiesced. Charles, still incensed over the Commons' handling of Buckingham, refused his assent. Strafford himself, hoping to head off the war he saw looming, wrote to the king and asked him to reconsider. Charles, fearing for the safety of his family, signed on 10 May. Strafford
6435-433: The king failed to issue a proper summons, the members could assemble on their own. This act also forbade ship money without Parliament's consent, fines in distraint of knighthood, and forced loans. Monopolies were cut back sharply, the courts of the Star Chamber and High Commission abolished by the Habeas Corpus Act 1640 , and the Triennial Act respectively. All remaining forms of taxation were legalised and regulated by
6534-418: The livelihood of thousands after the King awarded a number of drainage contracts. Many saw the King as indifferent to public welfare, and this played a role in bringing much of eastern England into the Parliamentarian camp. This sentiment brought with it such people as the Earl of Manchester and Oliver Cromwell , each a notable wartime adversary of the King. Conversely, one of the leading drainage contractors,
6633-492: The military governor of Scotland, General George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle . The ordinance declared that "the people of Scotland should be united with the people of England into one Commonwealth and under one Government" and decreed that a new " Arms of the Commonwealth ", incorporating the Saltire , should be placed on "all the public seals, seals of office, and seals of bodies civil or corporate, in Scotland" as "a badge of this Union". Cromwell and his Council of State spent
6732-425: The opportunity presented by the King's troubles to force various reforming measures – including many with strong "anti- Papist " themes – upon him. The members passed a law stating that a new Parliament would convene at least once every three years – without the King's summons if need be. Other laws passed making it illegal for the king to impose taxes without Parliamentary consent and later gave Parliament control over
6831-401: The period of republican rule for England was a failure in the short term. During the 11-year period, no stable government was established to rule the English state for longer than a few months at a time. Several administrative structures were tried, and several Parliaments called and seated, but little in the way of meaningful, lasting legislation was passed. The only force keeping it together was
6930-441: The personality of Oliver Cromwell , who exerted control through the military by way of the "Grandees", being the Major-Generals and other senior military leaders of the New Model Army . Not only did Cromwell's regime crumble into near anarchy upon his death and the brief administration of his son, but the monarchy he overthrew was restored in 1660, and its first act was officially to erase all traces of any constitutional reforms of
7029-489: The policy of coastal counties and inland ports such as London paying ship money in times of need, but it had not been applied to inland counties before. Authorities had ignored it for centuries, and many saw it as yet another extra-Parliamentary, illegal tax, which prompted some prominent men to refuse to pay it. Charles issued a writ against John Hampden for his failure to pay, and although five judges including Sir George Croke supported Hampden, seven judges found in favour of
7128-499: The political settlement. The vast majority went to war in 1642 to assert Parliament's right to participate in government, not abolish the monarchy, which meant Charles' refusal to make concessions led to a stalemate. Concern over the political influence of radicals within the New Model Army like Oliver Cromwell led to an alliance between moderate Parliamentarians and Royalists, supported by the Covenanter Scots . Royalist defeat in
7227-471: The property-owning class to meet, primarily, at least from the point of view of the monarch, to sanction whatever taxes the monarch wished to collect. In the process, the representatives could debate and enact statutes , or acts . However, Parliament lacked the power to force its will upon the monarch; its only leverage was the threat of withholding the financial means required to implement his plans. Many concerns were raised over Charles's marriage in 1625 to
7326-671: The radical or conservative side depending on the issue. The Conservatives (approximately 40) wanted to keep the status quo , since common law protected the interests of the gentry, and tithes and advowsons were valuable property. Cromwell saw Barebone's Parliament as a temporary legislative body which he hoped would produce reforms and develop a constitution for the Commonwealth. However, members were divided over key issues, only 25 had previous parliamentary experience, and although many had some legal training, there were no qualified lawyers. Cromwell seems to have expected this group of amateurs to produce reform without management or direction. When
7425-441: The radicals mustered enough support to defeat a bill which would have preserved the status quo in religion, the conservatives, together with many moderates, surrendered their authority back to Cromwell, who sent soldiers to clear the rest of the Assembly. Barebone's Parliament was over. Throughout 1653, Cromwell and the Army slowly dismantled the machinery of the Commonwealth state. The English Council of State , which had assumed
7524-438: The rebellion in Scotland but had insufficient funds to do so. He needed to seek money from a newly elected English Parliament in 1640. Its majority faction, led by John Pym , used this appeal for money as a chance to discuss grievances against the Crown and oppose the idea of an English invasion of Scotland. Charles took exception to this lèse-majesté (offense against the ruler) and, after negotiations went nowhere, dissolved
7623-450: The right of tonnage and poundage , which Charles had been collecting without Parliamentary authorisation since 1625. Several more active members of the opposition were imprisoned, which caused outrage; one, John Eliot , subsequently died in prison and came to be seen as a martyr for the rights of Parliament. Charles avoided calling a Parliament for the next decade, a period known as the " personal rule of Charles I ", or by its critics as
7722-443: The ruling class but not enough to satisfy the radicals. Despite its unpopularity, the Rump was a link with the old constitution and helped to settle England down and make it secure after the biggest upheaval in its history. By 1653, France and Spain had recognised England's new government. Though the Church of England was retained, episcopacy was suppressed and the Act of Uniformity 1558
7821-661: The stage for the return of the Monarchy a year later. After the Grandees in the New Model Army removed Richard, they reinstalled the Rump Parliament in May 1659. Charles Fleetwood was appointed a member of the Committee of Safety and of the Council of State, and one of the seven commissioners for the army. On 9 June he was nominated lord-general (commander-in-chief) of the army. However, his power
7920-532: The summer, tensions rose and there was brawling in several places, the first death from the conflict taking place in Manchester . Commonwealth of England The Commonwealth of England was the political structure during the period from 1649 to 1660 when England and Wales , later along with Ireland and Scotland , were governed as a republic after the end of the Second English Civil War and
8019-559: The term The British Civil Wars . From the Restoration to the 19th century, the common phrase for the civil wars was "the rebellion" or "the great rebellion". The wars spanning all four countries are known as the Wars of the Three Kingdoms . In the early 19th century, Sir Walter Scott referred to it as "The Great Civil War". The 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica called the series of conflicts
8118-417: The time of Elizabeth I about church attendance and fined Puritans for not attending Anglican services. The end of Charles's independent governance came when he attempted to apply the same religious policies in Scotland. The Church of Scotland , reluctantly episcopal in structure, had independent traditions. Charles wanted one uniform Church throughout Britain and introduced a new, High Anglican version of
8217-419: The time, the Parliament of England did not have a large permanent role in the English system of government. Instead, it functioned as a temporary advisory committee and was summoned only if and when the monarch saw fit. Once summoned, a Parliament's continued existence was at the King's pleasure since it was subject to dissolution by him at any time. Yet in spite of this limited role, Parliament had acquired over
8316-461: The title, Lord Protector. Richard had never served in the Army, which meant he lost control over the Major-Generals that had been the source of his own father's power. The Third Protectorate Parliament was summoned in late 1658 and was seated on 27 January 1659. Its first act was to confirm Richard's role as Lord Protector, which it did by a sizeable, but not overwhelming, majority. Quickly, however, it became apparent that Richard had no control over
8415-537: Was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Royalists and Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms , the struggle consisted of the First English Civil War and the Second English Civil War . The Anglo-Scottish War of 1650 to 1652 is sometimes referred to as the Third English Civil War. While
8514-571: Was beheaded two days later. In the meantime, both Parliament and the King agreed to an independent investigation into the king's involvement in Strafford's plot. The Long Parliament then passed the Triennial Act 1640 , also known as the Dissolution Act, in May 1641, to which royal assent was readily granted. The Triennial Act required Parliament to be summoned at least once in three years. When
8613-529: Was given its shape. This new constitution granted Cromwell sweeping powers as Lord Protector , an office which ironically had much the same role and powers as the King had under the monarchy, a fact not lost on Cromwell's critics. On 12 April 1654, under the terms of the Tender of Union , the Ordinance for uniting Scotland into one Commonwealth with England was issued by the Lord Protector and proclaimed in Scotland by
8712-425: Was granting the King the same nominal value of subsidy, the income was actually worth less. This extravagance was tempered by James's peaceful disposition, so that by the succession of his son Charles I in 1625 the two kingdoms had both experienced relative peace, internally and in their relations with each other. Charles followed his father's dream in hoping to unite the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland into
8811-518: Was into this atmosphere that General George Monck marched south with his army from Scotland . Lambert's army began to desert him, and he returned to London almost alone. On 21 February 1660, Monck reinstated the Presbyterian members of the Long Parliament "secluded" by Pride, so that they could prepare legislation for a new parliament. Fleetwood was deprived of his command and ordered to appear before parliament to answer for his conduct. On 3 March Lambert
8910-451: Was not an efficient means of getting his policies enacted, Cromwell instituted a system of direct military rule of England during a period known as the Rule of the Major-Generals ; all of England was divided into ten regions, each was governed directly by one of Cromwell's Major-Generals, who were given sweeping powers to collect taxes and enforce the peace. The Major-Generals were highly unpopular,
9009-567: Was occupied and Charles forced to pay £850 per day to keep the Scots from advancing. Had he not done so they would have pillaged and burnt the cities and towns of Northern England. All this put Charles in a desperate financial state. As King of Scots, he had to find money to pay the Scottish army in England; as King of England, he had to find money to pay and equip an English army to defend England. His means of raising English revenue without an English Parliament fell critically short of achieving this. Against this backdrop, and according to advice from
9108-542: Was repealed in September 1650. Mainly on the insistence of the Army, many independent churches were tolerated, although everyone still had to pay tithes to the established church. Some small improvements were made to law and court procedure; for example, all court proceedings were now conducted in English rather than in Law French or Latin . However, there were no widespread reforms of the common law . This would have upset
9207-521: Was sent to the Tower, from which he escaped a month later. Lambert tried to rekindle the civil war in favour of the Commonwealth by issuing a proclamation calling on all supporters of the " Good Old Cause " to rally on the battlefield of Edgehill. However, he was recaptured by Colonel Richard Ingoldsby , a regicide who hoped to win a pardon by handing Lambert over to the new regime. The Long Parliament dissolved itself on 16 March. On 4 April 1660, in response to
9306-651: Was the Militia Bill, which was ultimately voted down by the House. As a result, the authority of the Major-Generals to collect taxes to support their own regimes ended, and the Rule of the Major Generals came to an end. The second piece of major legislation was the passage of the Humble Petition and Advice , a sweeping constitutional reform which had two purposes. The first was to reserve for Parliament certain rights, such as
9405-550: Was the head of a prominent Essex family and knighted on 22 November 1632. On the outbreak of the Civil War he declared for the parliamentary side, and was one of the Committee for Essex in 1648. In the same year, under the command of Thomas Fairfax , he led the Essex forces at the Siege of Colchester . In 1649, he was one of those named in the commission to try the King , but did not serve on
9504-423: Was to protect the musketeers from cavalry charges. Positioned on each side of the infantry were cavalry, with a right wing led by the lieutenant-general and left by the commissary general . Its main aim was to rout the opponents' cavalry, then turn and overpower their infantry. The Royalist cavaliers' skill and speed on horseback led to many early victories. Prince Rupert , commanding the king's cavalry, used
9603-537: Was to revive conventions, often outdated. For example, a failure to attend and receive knighthood at Charles's coronation became a finable offence with the fine paid to the Crown. The King also tried to raise revenue through ship money , demanding in 1634–1636 that the inland English counties pay a tax for the Royal Navy to counter the threat of privateers and pirates in the English Channel. Established law supported
9702-460: Was undermined in parliament, which chose to disregard the army's authority in a similar fashion to the pre–Civil War parliament. On 12 October 1659 the Commons cashiered General John Lambert and other officers, and installed Fleetwood as chief of a military council under the authority of the Speaker . The next day Lambert ordered that the doors of the House be shut and the members kept out. On 26 October
9801-445: Was unlawful was based on Charles' concessionary Act prohibiting the dissolution of Parliament without its own consent (on 11 May 1641, leading to the entire Commonwealth being the latter years of the Long Parliament in their majority view). The dissolution of the Rump was followed by a short period in which Cromwell and the Army ruled alone. Nobody had the constitutional authority to call an election, but Cromwell did not want to impose
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