Interregnum (England)

The Interregnum^[1] was the period between the execution of Charles I on 30 January 1649 and the arrival of his son Charles II in London on 29 May 1660, which marked the start of the Restoration. During the Interregnum, England was under various forms of republican government.

The Rump was created by Pride's Purge of those members of 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 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 the governance of a "Commonwealth",^[2] 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 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 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 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 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 was repealed in September 1650.^[3] 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.^[4] However, there were no widespread reforms of the common law. This would have upset 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.^[5] This antagonised most of the gentry.

Cromwell, aided by Thomas Harrison, forcibly dismissed 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 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 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, 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 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 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.

After the Grandees in the New Model Army couped against and 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 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 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 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 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 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.^[6] Charles returned from exile on 23 May.^[7] He entered London on 29 May, his birthday. To celebrate "his Majesty's Return to his Parliament" 29 May was made a public holiday, popularly known as Oak Apple Day.^[8] He was crowned at Westminster Abbey on 23 April 1661.^[7]

The politics of the period were dominated by the wishes of the Grandees (senior officers) of the New Model Army and their civilian supporters. They encouraged (or at least tolerated) several republican regimes. From 1649 until 1653 executive powers lay with the Council of State, while legislative functions were carried out by the Rump Parliament.

In 1653, the Grandees, with Oliver Cromwell leading these reformists, dismissed the Rump Parliament, replacing it with a Nominated Assembly (nicknamed the Parliament of Saints or Barebone's Parliament).^[9] This Barebone's Parliament was composed of 140 nominees, 129 from England and Wales, five from Scotland and six from Ireland. It proved to be as difficult for the executive to work with this Parliament as it had with the Rump Parliament, so after sitting for five months, members friendly to the Grandees engendered its dissolution on 12 December 1653.

The Instrument of Government was adopted on 15 December 1653, Cromwell was installed as Lord Protector on the following day.^[10] The Instrument of Government granted executive power to the Lord Protector. Although this post was elective, not hereditary, it was to be held for life. It also created a one chamber Parliament with its members chosen from redrawn districts that ultimately favored the gentry and required the calling of triennial Parliaments, with each sitting for at least five months.^[11] This would also mark the permanent disenfranchisement of Roman Catholics and all the participants of the Irish Rebellion.^[12] In January 1655, Cromwell dissolved the first Protectorate Parliament, ushering in a period of military Rule of the Major-Generals.

The Instruments of Government was replaced in May 1657 by England's second, and last, codified constitution, the Humble Petition and Advice. However Cromwell died the next year, and his nominated successor as Lord Protector, his son Richard, proved unable to govern effectively as various political parties strove to gain power.

The Protectorate came to an end in May 1659 when the Grandees recalled the Rump Parliament, which authorised a Committee of Safety to replace Richard's Council of State. This ushered in a period of unstable government, which did not come to an end until February 1660 when General George Monck, the English military governor of Scotland, marched to London at the head of his troops, and oversaw the restoration of the monarchy under Charles II.

After the Parliamentarian victory in the English Civil War, the Puritan views of the majority of Parliament and its supporters began to be imposed on the rest of the country. The Puritans advocated an austere lifestyle and restricted what they saw as the excesses of the previous regime. Most prominently, holidays such as Christmas and Easter were suppressed.^[13] Pastimes such as the theatre and gambling were also banned. However, some forms of art that were thought to be "virtuous", such as opera, were encouraged. These changes are often credited to Cromwell, though they were introduced by the Commonwealth Parliament.^[14]

Rabbi Menasseh Ben Israel met Cromwell in 1655 in order to discuss the admission of Jews into England. Cromwell did not agree to all the rights that Ben Israel requested, but the opening of Jewish synagogues and burial grounds was tolerated under Cromwell's Protectorate. The Jewish faith was still not practised openly in England, since Cromwell's move had been controversial and many in England were still hostile toward Jews. Life for Jews in England improved in that they could no longer be prosecuted if caught worshipping, yet discrimination continued.

Parliament had, to a large degree, encouraged the radical political groups which emerged when the usual social controls broke down during the civil war. It had also unwittingly established a new political force when it set up the New Model Army. Not surprisingly, all these groups had their own hopes for the new Commonwealth.

Led by John Lilburne, Levellers drew their main support from London and the New Model Army. In the 1649 An Agreement of the People, they asked for a more representative and accountable Parliament, to meet every two years; a reform of law so it would be available to and fair to all; and religious toleration. They wanted a more democratic society, although their proposed franchise did not extend to women or to the lowest orders of society.

Levellers saw the Rump Parliament as little better than the monarchy it had replaced, and they showed their displeasure in demonstrations, pamphlets and mutinies. While their numbers did not pose a serious threat to the government, they scared the Rump Parliament into action, and a Treasons Act was passed against them in 1649.

Led by Gerrard Winstanley, Diggers wanted an even more coercively equal society than the Levellers (in the sense of "equality of outcome", not "equality of opportunity" which the Levellers were closer to espousing). They advocated a lifestyle that bore many similarities to later understandings of communism and anarchism, with communal ownership of land, and equality for males and females in law and education. They existed in only very small numbers and faced a very strong opposition, even from the Levellers.

The breakdown of religious uniformity and incomplete Presbyterian Settlement of 1646 enabled independent churches to flourish. The main sects of English Dissenters were Baptists, who advocated adult rebaptism; Ranters, who claimed that sin did not exist for the "chosen ones"; and Fifth Monarchy Men, who opposed all "earthly" governments, believing they must prepare for God's kingdom on earth by establishing a "government of saints".

Despite greater toleration, extreme sects were opposed by the upper classes as they were seen as a threat to social order and property rights. Catholics were also excluded from the toleration applied to the other groups.

Conservatives were still dominant in both central government and local government. In the former, the Rump Parliament was anxious not to offend the traditional ruling class whose support it needed for survival, so it opposed radical ideas. In the latter, that ruling class dominated through the influence of traditional regional gentry.

The Interregnum was a relatively short but important period in the history of the British Isles. There were several political experiments without any stable form of government emerging, largely because of the wide diversity in religious and political groups that had been allowed to flourish after the regicide of Charles I.

The Puritan movement had evolved as a rejection of both real and perceived "Catholicisation" of the Church of England. When the Church of England was quickly disestablished by the Commonwealth government, the question of what church to establish became a hotly debated subject. In the end, it was impossible to make all the political factions happy. During the Interregnum, Cromwell lost much of the support he had gained during the civil war. Edward Sexby, previously a supporter of Cromwell's, felt disenfranchised by Cromwell's failure to abolish the aristocracy.

In 1657, Silius Titus called for Cromwell's assassination in a co-authored pamphlet Killing No Murder under the pseudonym of William Allen. Sexby was captured when he returned to England and attempted to carry out the assassination described in Titus' book. Cromwell coerced Sexby into confessing authorship of the pamphlet and then imprisoned him in the Tower of London, where Sexby was driven to insanity, dying there less than a year later. High taxes required by the large standing army, kept due to the constant threats of Scottish and Irish rebellion, added to public resentment of Cromwell.

After the fall of James II during the Glorious Revolution in 1688, an interregnum was declared and a Convention Parliament called to elect William III and Mary II joint monarchs.

• Durston, Chris (1985), "Lords of Misrule: The Puritan War on Christmas 1642–60", History Today, vol. 35, History Today Ltd

• Firth, C. H.; Rait, R. S., eds. (1911), "September 1650: Act for the Repeal of several Clauses in Statutes imposing Penalties for not coming to Church", Acts and Ordinances of the Interregnum, 1642–1660, pp. 423–425
• "March 1649: An Act for the abolishing the Kingly Office in England and Ireland, and the Dominions thereunto belonging", Acts and Ordinances of the Interregnum, 1642–1660., London: His Majesty's Stationery Office, 1911, pp. 18–20
• Schultz, Oleg, ed. (14 March 2010), "Scotland and the Commonwealth: 1651–1660", Archontology.org, archived from the original on 7 March 2016, retrieved 1 December 2012
• Sevaldsen, Jørgen; et al. (2007), Angles on the English-Speaking World, V.7: The State of the Union: Scotland, 1707–2007, Museum Tusculanum Press, p. 39, ISBN 978-87-635-0702-8