Commonwealth of England: Difference between revisions

{{Short description|Republican rule in England, 1649–1660}}

{{distinguish|text=the [[Commonwealth of Nations]]}}

| image    = Flag of The Commonwealth.svg

| caption  = One of the various [[Flags of the English Interregnum|flags of the Commonwealth]]

The '''Commonwealth of England''' was the political structure during the period from 1649 to 1660 when the [[Kingdom of England]], later along with [[Kingdom of Ireland|Ireland]] and [[Kingdom of Scotland|Scotland]],{{sfn|Schultz|2010}} were governed as a republic after the end of the [[Second English Civil War]] and the [[High Court of Justice for the trial of Charles I|trial]] and [[execution of Charles I]]. The republic's existence was declared through "An Act declaring England to be a [[Commonwealth]]",<ref>[[Wikisource:An Act declaring England to be a Commonwealth]]</ref> adopted by the [[Rump Parliament]] on 19&nbsp;May 1649. Power in the early Commonwealth was vested primarily in the Parliament and a [[English Council of State|Council of State]]. During the period, fighting continued, particularly in Ireland and Scotland, between the parliamentary forces and those opposed to them, in the [[Cromwellian conquest of Ireland]] and the [[Anglo-Scottish war of 1650–1652]].

The Commonwealth period is better remembered for the military success of [[Thomas Fairfax]], Oliver Cromwell, and the [[New Model Army]]. Besides resounding victories in the [[English Civil War]], the reformed Navy under the command of [[Robert Blake (admiral)|Robert Blake]] defeated the Dutch in the [[First Anglo-Dutch War]] which marked the first step towards England's [[Command of the sea|naval supremacy]]. In Ireland, the Commonwealth period is remembered for [[Cromwellian conquest of Ireland|Cromwell's conquest of Ireland]], which continued and completed the policies of the Tudor and Stuart periods.

== 1649–1653 ==

=== Rump Parliament ===

==== Structure ====

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 [[regicide]]s. This left 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.

==== Issues and achievements ====

==== Reforms ====

Though the [[Church of England]] was retained, episcopacy was suppressed and the [[Act of Uniformity 1558]] was repealed in September 1650.<ref>27 September 1650 "Act for the Repeal of several Clauses in Statutes imposing Penalties for not coming to Church" {{harv|Firth|Rait|1911|pp=423–425}}</ref> Mainly on the insistence of the Army, many independent churches were tolerated, although everyone still had to pay [[tithe]]s to the established church.

==== Dismissal ====

=== Barebone's Parliament, July–December 1653 ===

==Protectorate, 1653–1659==

===First Protectorate Parliament===

===Rule of the Major-Generals and Second Protectorate Parliament===

Having decided that Parliament 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, 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 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 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.

=== Richard Cromwell and the Third Protectorate Parliament ===

On the death of Oliver Cromwell in 1658, his son, [[Richard Cromwell]], inherited 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 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 the stage for the return of the Monarchy a year later.

==1659–1660==

[[Category:Former countries in Europe]]

[[Category:Former republics]]