In January 1649 the unthinkable happened: after a public trial, the king of England was beheaded on a scaffold outside his palace of Whitehall. The world would never be quite the same again. Very shortly afterwards the monarchy, along with the House of Lords, were formally abolished. England was declared to be a ‘free Commonwealth’ and for the next eleven years various governments attempted to forge a new concept of England based upon the ideals of puritan republicanism and impose these ideals on Scotland, Wales and Ireland in an attempt to create not just an English but a ‘British’ republic.
How had this extraordinary state of affairs come about? Why had the relationship between king and Parliament broken down to such an extent that by 1642 both sides were actively preparing for war? This is where we will begin this course as we examine the breakdown of trust between Charles I and the ‘political nation’ in the 1630s, discussing in the process such vexed questions as the role of religion and the Crown’s right to levy taxes. From there we will look at the conduct of the first Civil War before moving onto discuss the complex period in the late 1640s, which saw the emergence of the Leveller and Digger movements, the confrontations between Parliament and the New Model Army, the rise of Oliver Cromwell and the growth of religious radicalism, which culminated in renewed fighting in 1648.
The final part of the course will examine the revolution of 1649, which witnessed the trial and execution of Charles I, the establishment of the republic and Cromwell’s military successes in Scotland and Ireland. We will then consider the various expedients adopted to try to find a way to settle the country on a new republican foundation, which resulted in Cromwell’s installation as Lord Protector in 1653 - was he ‘king in all but name?’ Finally we will look at the fall of the republic after Cromwell’s death and the restoration of Charles II and the ‘old order’ between 1658 and 1662.
Throughout the course there will be an endeavour to supplement the narrative of events by considering contemporary document extracts and images. This will not only allow the 17th-century to speak in its own voice, but will facilitate discussion of the various issues and personalities we encounter along the way.
