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Experiment in government and Society, 1649-60 - Coggle Diagram
Experiment in government and Society, 1649-60
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The Rump and Radicals
The New GovernmentThose who carried out the execution of Charles faced problems in establishing a government to replace him.
Ireland was a royalist Stronghold and Scotland had immediately declared Charles II King in 1649.
The Rumps was now tasked with removing vestiges of Royalism:
- Legislation - Rump declared it had sole legislative authority.
- Council of State elected and acted as a government council similar to Privy council.
- House of Lords and Monarchy abolished in March 1649.
- 'Commonwealth and Free State' England was declared as in May 1949 - governed by a single Chamber Parliament.
The Failure of the Levellers and the Diggers and 'Godly Society'.RADICAL STATUS IN 1649:
- The Majority of the Rump remained as Gentry and therefore conservative despite the role of Levellers in encouraging Republican ideas and the execution of Charles.
- Arrests - Lilburne and the other leveller leaders were arrested and sent to the Tower of London.
- Emergence of other Radicals in 1650 - Diggers, Ranters and Fifth Monarchists.
The 'Godly Society'Both the Levellers and the Diggers aimed at creating an overhaul of society based on religious Principles:
- Diggers - created communities on common land where they intended to share resources and give people their 'ancient rights'.
- Communes were broken up by authorities but were a basis for 'godly society'.
The failure of the radical groupsRadical groups expected Religious toleration - this was mostly not forthcoming.RELIGIOUS ACTS PASSED BY THE RUMP
- The Toleration act of 1650 - Removed the requirement of people to attend church as long as they took part in a weekly religious service. Those in Groups that did not take part in regular services were penalised.
- Rump declared the collection of Tithes could continue in April 1652 - Radicals were expected to pay to upkeep parishes they never attended.
- Blasphemy Act of August 1650 - aimed at restricting religious sects, who could be subject to severe penalties.
- Censorship of printed material to limit radical pamphlets.
Mercurius Politicus - The government newspaper defended the actions of the Rump.
- Adultery Act of May 1650 - imposed the health penalty for adultery, rarely used. - Moral offences are no longer dealt with in regular courts.
- Act enforcing Sabbath - preserving Sunday as a s Holy day, thus excluding some radicals.
- Act for the propagation of the Gospel in Northern England and Wales - controlled the appointment of clergy allowing only approved ministers.
Many extreme Radicals were short-lived as a result of the Rump's actions.
HOWEVER, SOME SURVIVED:
- Quakers had spread rapidly in the North 165-52 under George fox.
- Baptists - distanced themselves from Levellers.
Proposed reforms to the law could not be agreed upon and the necessity to maintain a large standing army meant that the Rump was destined to fail.
The army became dissatisfied with the slow pace of reform and eventually Cromwell closed the Rump by force in April 1653.
Successes
- Measured religious freedom - Toleration Act repealed compulsory church attendance.
- Navigation Act, passed in 1651 - goods imported to England and its territories had to be carried by English ships, removed the Dutch monopoly on Freight trade across Europe.
- Army Victories in Ireland and Scotland.
- English legal proceedings rather than Latin was authorised.
- Hale of commission created in December 1651 - designed to investigate legal reform.
- Leveller threat suppression by the army - E.g Mutiny of Leveller soldiers at *Burford in May 1649 that resulted in several leaders being shot.
- Act against imprisonment for debt passed in September 1649.
Failures
- Many gentry refused to cooperate with the regime - leaving a smaller number of lesser gentry in charge.
- Shortfall in tax revenue - needed to maintain large standing army as without the support of the Political nation they could not dispense it, but as long as it existed political support would not come (catch 22).
- Despite the sale of Crown lands, the Shortfall totalled £700,000 in 1653.
- Monthly assessment raised to £90,000 to facilitate the construction of warships.
- Now raised as much as Charles's entire annual revenue.
- Rate of reform slowed - In 1649, 125 Acts were passed reducing to 51 in 1652.
- Corruption - time seemed more selfish and corrupt - failed to dissolve after promising to do so.
- Rejection of Hales commission recommendation for Criminal Law (reducing the use of the death penalty and allowing prisoners to use lawyers) in late 1652 - Despite meeting, 3 times weekly for a year.
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Monarchy restored
Political Vacuum after the death of Cromwell
- As soon as he succeeded his father, Richard summoned the brief 3rd protectorate (January 1659).
- He had no experience in warfare.
- He was unacceptable to the council of officers, which forced him to resign in 1659 and then recalled the rump.
- The newly restored Rump appeared to have learned nothing from its earlier failures - ruling minority began disintegrating rapidly.
- Army closed rump down with force in October.
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The Legacy of the English revolution by 1660Despite all the acts passed under the Republic being repealed, it left a legacy:
- Divine Right of Kings was questioned for the first time.
- Foreign trade and influence expanded due to the result of the Navigation act and the War with the Dutch.
- There had been relative religious toleration of Protestant groups.
- Church courts had been abolished and the law had been a strictly secular matter.
- Power of military in politics - England experienced its only period of military government.
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