While the crowd that had witnessed the execution of Charles I was leaving the spot (S448), the remnant of the
House of Commons met. This "Rump Parliament" (S447), composed of only about fifty members, claimed the
right to act for the whole nation. A few days later it abolished the House of Lords as "useless and dangerous."
Next, for similar reasons, it abolished the office of king, and declared that "The People are, under God, the origin of al just power."
England was now a commonwealth or republic, governed, in name at least, by a Council of State. Of this
Council John Bradshaw (S448) was president, and the poet Milton was foreign secretary, while General Fairfax
with Oliver Cromwel had command of the army. The real power was in the army, and the true head of the army
was Cromwel. Without him the so-caled republic could not have stood a day.
451. Radical Changes.
Al members of the House of Commons, with those who held any civil or military office, were required to swear
alegiance to the Commonwealth "without King, or House of Lords." The use of the English church service was
forbidden, and the statues of Charles I in London were puled down and demolished.
The Great Seal of England (S145) had already been cast aside, and a new one adopted, having on one side a
map of England and Ireland, on the other a representation of the House of Commons in session, with the words,
"In the first year of freedom, by God's blessing restored 1648."[1]
[1] 1648 Old Style would here correspond to 1649 New Style. (See S545, note 2.)
452. Difficulties of the New Republic.
Shortly after the establishment of the Commonwealth, General Fairfax (S442) resigned his command, and
Cromwel became the sole leader of the military forces of the country. But the new government, even with his
aid, had no easy task before it.
It had enemies in the Royalists, who, since the King's execution, had grown stronger; in the Presbyterians, who
hated both the "Rump Parliament" (S450) and the Parliamentary army; finaly, it had enemies in its own ranks, for there were half-crazy fanatics. "Levelers,"[1] "Come-outers,"[2] and other "cattle and creeping things," who www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/17386/pg17386.html
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would be satisfied with nothing but destruction and confusion.
[1] "Levelers": a name given to certain radical republicans who wished to reduce al ranks and classes to the same level with respect to political power and privileges. [2] "Come-outers": those who abandoned al
established ways in government and religion.
Among these there were socialists, or communists, who, like those of the present day, wished to abolish private
property, and establish "an equal division of unequal earnings," while others declared and acted out their belief in the coming end of the world. Eventualy Cromwel had to deal with these crack-brained enthusiasts in a decided
way, especialy as some of them threatened to assassinate him in order to hasten the advent of the personal reign
of Christ and his saints on earth.
453. The Late King's Son proclaimed King in Ireland and Scotland; Dunbar; Worcester (1649-1651).
An attempt of the English Puritan party (S378) to root out Catholicism in Ireland (1641) had caused a horrible
insurrection. The Royalist party in Ireland now proclaimed Prince Charles, son of the late Charles I, King.
Parliament deputed Cromwel to reduce that country to order, and to destroy the Royalists. Nothing could have
been more congenial to his "Ironsides" (S445) than such a crusade. They descended upon the unhappy island
(1649), and wiped out the rebelion in such a whirlwind of fire and slaughter that the horror of the visitation has
never been forgotten. To this day the direst imprecation a southern Irishman can utter is, "The curse of Cromwel
on ye!"[3]
[3] At Drogheda and Wexford, Cromwel, acting in accordance with the laws of war of that day, massacred the
garrisons that refused to surrender.
Several years later (1653-1654), Cromwel determined to put in practice a stil more drastic policy. He resolved
to repeople a very large section of southern Ireland by driving out the Roman Catholic inhabitants and giving their
lands to English and Scotch Protestants. It seemed to him the only effectual way of overcoming the resistance
which that island made to English rule. By the use of military power, backed up by an Act of Parliament, his
generals forced the people to leave their houses and emigrate to the province of Connaught on the west coast.
Part of that district was so barren and desolate that it was said, "it had not water enough to drown a man, trees enough to hang him, or earth enough to bury him." Thousands were compeled to go into this dreary exile, and
hundreds of families who refused were shipped to the West Indies and sold to the planters as slaves for a term of
years,—a thing often done in that day with prisoners of war.
In Scotland also Prince Charles was looked upon as the legitimate sovereign by a strong and influential party. He
found in the brave Montrose,[1] who was hanged for treason at Edinburgh, and in other loyal supporters far
better friends than he deserved. The Prince came to Scotland (1650); while there, he was crowned and took the
oath of the Covenant (S438). It must have been a bitter pil for a man of his free and easy temperament. But
worse was to come, for the Scottish Puritans made him sign a paper declaring that his father had been a tyrant
and that his mother was an idolater. No wonder the caricatures of the day represented the Scots as holding the
Prince's nose to a grindstone. Later, Prince Charles ralied a smal force to fight for him, but it was utterly
defeated at Dunbar (1650).
[1] See "The Execution of Montrose," in Aytoun's "Lays of the Scottish Cavaliers." Prince Charles basely abandoned Montrose to his fate.
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Twelve months afterward, on the anniversary of his defeat at Dunbar, the Prince made a second attempt to
obtain the crown. At the battle of Worcester Cromwel again routed his forces and brought the war to an end.
Charles escaped in Shropshire, where he hid for a day in an oak at Boscobel. After many narrow escapes he at
length succeeded in getting out of the country.
454. Cromwel expels Parliament.
Cromwel now urged the necessity of dissolving the "Rump Parliament" (S450) and of electing a Parliament
which should realy represent the nation, reform the laws, and pass a general act of pardon. In his despatch to the
House of Commons after the victory of Worcester, he caled the battle a "crowning mercy." Some of the
republicans in that body took alarm at this phrase, and thought that Cromwel used it to foreshadow a design to
place the crown on his own head. For this reason, perhaps, they hesitated to dissolve.
But at last they could not withstand the pressure, and a bil was introduced (1653) for summoning a new
Parliament of four hundred members, but with the provision that al members of the present House were to keep
their seats, and have the right to reject newly elected members.
Cromwel, with the army, believed this provision a trick on the part of the "Rump" (S450) to keep themselves in perpetual power.
Sir Harry Vane, who was a leading member of the House of Commons, and who had been governor of the
colony of Massachusetts, feared that the country was in danger of faling into the hands of Cromwel as military
dictator. He therefore urged the immediate passage of the bil as it stood. Cromwel heard that a vote was about
to be taken. Putting himself at the head of a squad of soldiers, he suddenly entered the House (1653). After
listening to the debate for some time, he rose from his seat and charged the Commons with injustice and
misgovernment. A member remonstrated. Cromwel grew excited, saying: "You are no Parliament! I say you are
no Parliament!" Then he caled in the musketeers. They dragged the Speaker from his chair, and drove the
members after him.
As they passed out, Cromwel shouted "drunkard," "glutton," "extortioner," with other opprobrious names. When al were gone, he locked the door and put the key in his pocket. During the night some Royalist wag nailed a
placard on the door, bearing the inscription in large letters, "The House to let, unfurnished!"
455. Cromwel becomes Protector; the "Instrument of Government" (1653).
Cromwel summoned a new Parliament, which was practicaly of his own choosing. It consisted of one hundred
and thirty-nine members, and was known as the "Little Parliament."[1] The Royalists nicknamed it "Barebone's Parliament" from one of its members, a London leather dealer named Praise-God Barebone. Notwithstanding
the irregularity of its organization and the ridicule cast upon it, the "Barebone's Parliament" proposed several reforms of great value, which the country afterwards adopted.
[1] A regularly summoned Parliament, elected by the people, would have been much larger. This one was
chosen from a list furnished by the ministers of the various Independent churches (S422). It was in no true sense
a representative body.
A council of Cromwel's leading men now secured the adoption of a constitution entitled the "Instrument of
Government."[1] It made Cromwel Lord Protector of England, Ireland, and Scotland.
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[1] "Instrument of Government": The principal provisions of this constitution were: (1) the government was vested in the Protector and a council appointed for life; (2) Parliament, consisting of the House of Commons only, was
to be summoned every three years, and not to be dissolved under five months; (3) a standing army of thirty
thousand was to be maintained; (4) al taxes were to be levied by Parliament; (5) the system of representation
was reformed, so that many large places hitherto without representation in Parliament now obtained it; (6) al
Roman Catholics, and those concerned in the Irish rebelion, were disfranchised forever.
Up to this time the Commonwealth had been a republic, nominaly under the control of the House of Commons,
but as a matter of facct governed by Cromwel and the army. Now it became a republic under a Protector, or
President, whowas to hold his office for life.
A few years later (1657), Parliament offered the title of King to Cromwel, and with it a new constitution caled
the "Humble Petition and Advice." The new constitution provided that Parliament should consist of two houses, since the majority of influential men felt the need of the restoration of the Lords (S450). For, said a member of
"Barebone's Parliament," "the nation has been hopping on one leg" altogether too long. Cromwel had the same feeling, and endeavored to put an end to the "hopping" by trying to restore the House of Lords, but he could not get the Peers to meet. He accepted the new constitution, but the army objected to his wearing the crown, so he
simply remained Lord Protector.
456. Emigration of Royalists to America.
Under the tyranny of the Stuart Kings, John Winthrop and many other noted Puritans had emigrated to
Massachusetts and other parts of New England. During the Commonwealth the case was reversed, and numbers
of Royalists fled to Virginia. Among them were John Washington, the great-grandfather of George Washington,
and the ancestors of Jefferson, Patrick Henry, the Lees, Randolphs, and other prominent families, destined in
time to take part in founding a republic in the New World much more democractic than anything the Old World
had ever seen.
457. Cromwel as a Ruler; Puritan Fanaticism.
When Cromwel's new Parliament (S455) ventured to criticize his course, he dissolved it (1654) quite as
peremptorily as the late King had done (S431). Soon afterwards, fear of a Royalist rebelion led him to divide
the country into eleven military districts (1655), each governed by a major general, who ruled by martial law and
with despotic power. Al Royalist families were heavily taxed to support Cromwel's standing army, al Catholic
priests wre banished, and no books or papers could be published without permission of the government.
Cromwel, however, though compeled to resort to severe measures to secure peace, was, in spirit, no
oppressor. On the contrary, he proved himself the Protector not only of the realm but of the Protestants of
Europe. When they were threatened with persecution, his influence saved them. He showed, too, that in an age
of bigotry he was no bigot. Puritan fanaticism, exasperated by the persecution it had endured under James and
Charles, often went to the utmost extremes, even as "Hudibras"[1] said, to "kiling of a cat on Monday for catching of a rat on Sunday."
[1] "Hudibras": a burlesque poem by Samuel Butler (1663). It satirized the leading persons and parties of the Commonwealth, but especialy the Puritans.
It treated the most innocent customs, if they were in any way associated with Catholicism or Episcopacy, as
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serious offenses. It closed al places of amusement; it condemned mirth as ungodly; it made it a sin to dance
round a Maypole, or to eat mince pie at Christmas. Fox-hunting and horse-racing were forbidden, and bear-
baiting prohibited, "not because it gave pain to the bear, but because it gave pleasure to the spectators."
In such an age, when a man could hardly claim to be religious unless he wore sad-colored raiment, talked
through his nose, and quoted Scripture with great frequency, Cromwel showed exceptional moderation and
good sense.
458. Cromwel's Religious Toleration.
He favored the toleration of al forms of worship not directly opposed to the government as then constituted. He
befriended the Quakers, who were looked upon as the enemies of every form of worship, and who were treated
with cruel severity both in England and America. He was instrumental in sending the first Protestant missionaries
to Massachusetts to convert the Indiands, then supposed by many to be a remnant of the lost tribes of Israel; and
after an exclusion of many centuries (S222), he permitted the Jews to return to England, and even to build a
synagogue in London.
On the other hand, there are few of the cathedral or parish churches of England which do not continue to testify
to the Puritan army's destructive hatred of everything savoring of the rule of either Pope or bishop.[1] The empty
niches, where some gracious image of the Virgin or the figure of some saint once looked down; the patched
remnants of briliant stained glass, once part of a picture teling some Scripture story; the mutilated statues of
noted men; the tombs, hacked and hewed by pike and sword, because they bore some emblem or expression of
the old faith,—al these stil bear witness to the fury of the Puritan soldiers, who did not respect even the graves
of their ancestors, if those ancestors had once thought differently from themselves.
[1] But part of this destruction occurred under Henry VIII and Edward VI (SS352, 364)
459. Victories by Land and Sea; the Navigation Act (1651).
Yet during Cromwel's rule the country, notwithstanding al the restrictions imposed by a stern military
government, grew and prospered. The English forces gained victories by land and sea, and made the name of the
Protector respected as that of Charles I had never been.
At this period the carrying trade of the world, by sea, had falen into the hands of the Dutch, and Amsterdam had
become a more important center of exchange than London. The Commonwealth passed a measure caled the
"Navigation Act"[2] (1651) to encourage British commerce. It prohibited the importation or exportation of any goods into England or its colonies in Dutch or other foreign vessels.
[2] The Navigation Act was renewed later. Though aimed at the Dutch, this measure damaged the export trade
of the American colonies for a time.
Later, war with the Dutch broke out partly on account of questions of trade, and partly because Royalist plotters
found protection in Holand. Then Cromwel created such a navy as the country had never before possessed.
Under the command of Admiral Blake, "the sea king," and Admiral Monk, the Dutch were finaly beaten so
thoroughly (1653) that they bound themselves to ever after salute the English flag wherever they should meet it
on the seas. A war undertaken in aliance with France against Spain was equaly successful. Jamaica was taken
as a permanent possession by the British fleet, and France, in return for Cromwel's assistance, reluctantly gave
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the town of Dunkirk to England (1658), and the flag of the English Commonwealth was planted on the French
coast. But a few years later (1662), the selfish and profligate Charles II sold Dunkirk back to Louis XIV in order
to get money to waste on his pleasures.
460. Cromwel's Death; his Character (1658).
After being King in everything but name for five years, Cromwel died (September 3, 1658) on the anniversary
of the victories of Dunbar and Worcester (S453). During the latter part of his career he had lived in constant
dread of assassination, and wore concealed armor. At the hour of his death one of the most fearful storms was
raging hat had ever swept over England. To many it seemed a fit accompaniment to the close of such a life.
In one sense, Cromwel was a usurper and a tyrant; but, at heart, his object was his country's welfare. In such
cases the motive is al in al. He was a lonely man of rough exterior and hard manner.[1] He cared little for the
smooth proprieties of life, yet he had that dignity of bearing which high moral purpose gives. In al that he did he
was eminently practical. In an age of isms, theories, and experiments, he was never confused and never faltered
in his course. To-day a colossal bronze statue of the great soldier and ruler stands in the shadow of the Houses
of Parliament, where the English people, more than two hundred and forty years after his burial, voted to erect it.
[1] Cromwel was always a lonely man, and had so few real friends that Walter Scott may have expressed his
true feeling when he makes him say in his novel of "Woodstock": "I would I had any creature, were it but a dog, that folowed me because it loved me, not for what it could make of me."
461. The Times needed Such a Man.
There are emergencies when an ounce of decision is worth a pound of deliberation. When the ship is foundering
or on fire, or when the crew have mutinied, it wil not avail to sit in the cabin and discuss how it happened.
Something must be done, and that promptly. Cromwel was the man for such a juncture. He saw clearly that if
the country was to be kept together, it must be by decided measures, which no precedent, law, or constitution
justified, but which stood justified none the less by exigencies of the crisis, by his own conscious rectitude of
purpose, and by the result.
If there is any truth in Napoleon's maxim, that "The tools belong to him that can use them," then Cromwel had a God-given right to rule; for, first, he had the ability; and, next, though he used his power in his campaign in
Ireland (S453) with merciless severity, yet the great purpose of his life was to establish order and justice on what
seemed to him the only practical basis.
462. Summary.
Cromwel's original object appears to have been to organize a government representing the wil of the nation
more completely than it had ever been represented before. He strongly favored the restoration of the House of
Lords, he endeavored to reform the laws, and he sought to secure religious toleration for the great body of
Protestants. One who knew Cromwel intimately said, "A larger soul, I think, hath seldom dwelt in a house of
clay, than his was."
Circumstances, however, were often against him; he had many enemies, and in order to secure peace he was
obliged to resort to the exercise of absolute power. Yet the difference in this respect between Cromwel and
Charles I was immense: the latter was despotic on his own account, the former for the advantage of those he
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governed.
RICHARD CROMWELL—September 3, 1658-April 22, 1659
463. Richard Cromwel's Incompetency.
Richard Cromwel, Oliver's eldest son, now succeeded to the Protectorate (S455). He was an amiable
individual, as negative in character as his father had been positive. With the extreme Puritans (S457), known as
the "godly party," he had no sympathy whatever. "Here," said he to one of them, pointing to a friend of his who stood by, "is a man who can neither preach nor pray, yet I would trust him before you al." Such frankness was not likely to make the new ruler popular with the army, made up of men who never lacked a Scripture text to
justify either a murder or a massacre. Moreover, the times were perilous, and caled for a decided hand at the
helm. After a brief reign of less than eight months the military leaders requested Richard to resign, and soon
afterwards recaled the "Rump Parliament" (S447).
464. Richard retires.
The Protector retired not only without remonstrance, but apparently with a sense of relief at being so soon eased
of a burden too heavy for his weak shoulders to carry. To the people he was hereafter familiarly known as
"Tumbledown-Dick," and was caricatured as such on tavern signboards.
The nation pensioned him off with a moderate alowance, and he lived in obscurity to an advanced age, carrying
about with him to the last a trunk filed with the congratulatory addresses and oaths of alegiance which he had
received when he became Protector.
Years after his abdication it is reported that he visited Westminster, and when the attendant, who did not
recognize him, showed him the throne, he said, "Yes; I have not seen that chair since I sat in it myself in 1659."
465. The "Convention Parliament."
The year folowing Richard Cromwel's withdrawal was ful of anxiety and confusion. The army of the
Commonwealth had turned Parliament out of doors (1659). There was no longer any regularly organized
government, and the country drifted helplessly like a ship without a pilot.
General Monk, then commander in chief in Scotland, now marched into England (1660) with the determination
of caling a new Parliament, which should be ful, free, and representative of the real political feeling of the nation.
When he reached London with his army, the members of the "Rump Parliament" (S447) had resumed their
sessions.
At Monk's invitation the Presbyterian members, whom Colonel Pride had driven from their seats eleven years
before (S447), now went back. This assembly issued writs for the summoning of a "Convention Parliament" (so
styled because caled without royal authority), and then dissolved by their own consent. Thus ended that
memorable "Long Parliament" (S439), which had existed nearly twenty years. About a month later the
Convention, including ten members of the House of Lords, met, and at once invited Charles Stuart, then in
Holand, to return to his kingdom. He had made certain promises, caled the "Declaration of Breda,"[1] which
were intended to smooth the way for his return.
[1] The Declaration of Breda, made by Charles in Holand (1660) promised: (1) free pardon to al those not
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excepted by Parliament; (2) liberty of conscience to al whose views did not disturb the peace of the realm; (3)
the settlement by Parliament of al claims to landed property; (4) the payment of arrears to Monk's army.
466. Summary.
Richard Cromwel's government existed in name only, never in fact. During his so-caled Protectorate the country
was under the control of the army of the Commonwealth or of that "Rump Parliament" which represented nothing but itself.
The period which elapsed after Oliver Cromwel's death was one of waiting and preparation. It ended in the
meeting of the free national Parliament, which put an end to the republic, and restored royalty in the person of
Charles II.
CHARLES II—1660-1685
467. The Restoration of Monarchy; Accession of Charles; a New Standing Army, 1660.
The English army heard that Charles was coming, with sulen silence; the ex-members of the "Rump Parliament"
(S465), with sulen dread; the rest of the nation, with a feeling of relief. However much they had hated the
despotism of the two Stuart Kings, James I and Charles I, four fifths of the people stood ready to welcome any
change which promised to do away with a government maintained by bayonets.
Charles II was received at Dover with the wildest demonstrations of joy. Bels pealed, flags waved, bonfires
blazed al the way to London, and the King said, with characteristic irony, "It must have been my own fault that I did not come before, for I find no one but declares that he is glad to see me."
The existence of the late Republic and the Protectorate (SS450, 455) was as far as possible ignored. The House
of Lords was restored (SS450, 455). The new reign was dated, not when it actualy began, but from the day of
Charles I's execution twelve years before. The troops of the Commonwealth were speedily disbanded, but the
King retained a picked guard of five thousand men, which became the nucleus of a new standing army.
468. The King's Character.
The sovereign who now ascended the throne was in every respect the opposite of Cromwel. Charles II had no
love of country, no sense of duty, no belief in man, no respect for woman. Evil circumstances and evil
companions had made him "a good-humored lad but hard-hearted voluptuary." For twelve years he had been a
wanderer, and at times almost a beggar. Now the sole