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CIVIL WARS 
D222 
     OLIVER CROMWELL 
            (1599-1658) 
AND THE PROTECTORATE 
            (1653-1659) 
The termination of the monarchy with the execution of Charles I in 1649 was,
not surprisingly, followed by the closing of the House of Lords and brought
into 
stark light the need for a new form of government. The House of Commons 
enacted a law mandating that the Council of state for the new Commonwealth
be composed of forty-one members chosen by the Commons. 
   From its inception the Council had strong, although sometimes opposed,
leadership by Civil War parliamentary general Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658).
The 
1653 Instrument of Government stipulated that executive power reside in a
sin- 
gle person, and Cromwell became Lord Protector, assisted by a small council
and 
a parliament composed of a single house with four hundred members. For the
first time England, Scotland, and Ireland were represented in a single parlia-
ment. By 1654, however, a power struggle between Parliament and Cromwell
had begun. The latter soon and unpopularly declared martial law, or the "Rule
of the Major-Generals." Although he had refused the title of king, Cromwell
was 
empowered to choose his own successor, and on his death in 1658, his compar-
atively weak son Richard was named Lord Protector. The following year, 
surrounded by chaos and overwhelmed by the military's demands, Richard 
resigned. Enter General George Monck. 
The Longridge Collection 11 
Having escaped from London, Charles I raised his standard at Nottingham on
August 22, 1642, and called for support to retake the capital. In October
of the 
same year he established his new capital at Oxford. 
   During the subsequent Civil War a reluctant populace and lack of money
often hampered the king's efforts. Although Charles retained support in several
regions, large pockets of resistance existed, and the navy allied with Parliament.
The Continent and Ireland, locked in political struggles of their own, could
offer 
the king little help. Charles hoped that his overtures to Scotland, in which
he 
promised constitutional changes and a Presbyterian form of government, would
draw the Scottish government to his cause. Several powerful clans did join
him, 
but in 1643 the government made an agreement with the English Parliament.
Although Charles had strengthened his military position by early 1645, his
forces were greatly outnumbered at Naseby and defeated by those of Fairfax
and 
Cromwell. The capture and publication of the king's correspondence increased
ill will toward him. Further losses diminished Charles's military strength,
and 
on March 21, 1646, the last royalist army surrendered. 
   Charles gave himself up to the Scottish army on May 5, and his remaining
years were spent in prison or attempting to escape. During this time the
king 
still hoped for ultimate triumph. A second Civil War began in spring 1648
and 
renewed Charles's hopes, but it became obvious that peace would never come
during the king's lifetime. His trial began at Westminster on January 20,
1649. 
At his sentencing one week later, he was declared a "Tyrant, Traitor,
Murderer, 
and public enemy to the good people of this Nation." On January 30,
1649, 
Charles I was beheaded on a scaffold outside the Banqueting Hall at Whitehall.