British Interregnum

Theinterregnumin theBritish Islesbegan with theexecutionofCharles Iin January 1649 (and from September 1651 in Scotland) and ended in May 1660 when his sonCharles IIwasrestored to the thronesof the three realms, although he had been already acclaimed king in Scotland since 1649. During this time the monarchial system of government was replaced with theCommonwealth of England.

British Interregnum
1649/1651–1660
Coat of arms of the Protectorate
Including	Third English Civil War
Leader(s)	Oliver Cromwell Richard Cromwell
Chronology Caroline era Restoration

The precise start and end of the interregnum, as well as the social and political events that occurred during the interregnum, varied in the three kingdoms and the English dominions.

Prelude

After theSecond English Civil War,the leadership of theNew Model Armyfelt deeply betrayed by the King because they thought that while they had been negotiating in good faith he had duplicitously gone behind their backs in makingThe Engagementwith the Scots and encouraging anew civil war.In April 1648, theGrandeesof the Army met for a three-daymeeting in Windsor Castle.At the end of the meeting, the Grandees accepted that it was their duty "to call Charles Stuart, that man of blood, to an account for that blood he had shed, and mischief he had done".

The Army and the Independents conducted "Pride's Purge"of the House of Commons removing their ill-wishers, and created a court for the trial and sentence of King Charles I.At the end of the trial the59 Commissioners(judges) found Charles I guilty ofhigh treason,as a "tyrant, traitor, murderer and public enemy".He was beheaded on a scaffold in front of theBanqueting Houseof thePalace of Whitehallon 30 January 1649.

The execution of Charles I ushered in the period known as the Interregnum. The reactions to the regicide and to subsequent events varied considerably between the three Kingdoms and the English Dominions.

England

Main article:Interregnum (England)

Ireland

Main article:Interregnum (Ireland)

Scotland

Main article:Interregnum (Scotland)

After the execution of Charles I on 30 January 1649, the Scots declared his son king as Charles II. The English responded withan invasionled byOliver Cromwell,resulting in defeats for the Scots atDunbarin 1650 and then atWorcester1651, opening the way for the English conquest of the country. The interregnum has been referred to as "the Cromwellian ascendancy and military occupation of Scotland" in theOxford Companion to Scottish Historyunder the heading 'Restoration'.

Under theTender of UnionScotland was declared part of a Commonwealth with England and Ireland in 1652, but despite repeated attempts, an act was not passed in Westminster to ratify the union until 1657. Under the terms of the union the Scots gained 30 members of parliament inthe Protectorate(the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland), but many posts were not filled, or fell to English agents of the government, and had very little say at Westminster. Initially the government was run by eight commissioners and adopted a policy of undermining the political power of the nobility in favour of the "meaner sort".From 1655 it was replaced by a new Council of Scotland, headed by Irish peerLord Broghill,and began to attempt to win over the traditional landholders.

The regime built a series of major citadels and minor forts at immense cost. The Scottish legal system was suspended, but some courts and institutions were gradually restored. Generally the regime was successful in enforcing law and order and suppressing banditry. There was a major Royalist rising in the Highlands in 1653–1655 led byWilliam Cunningham, Earl of GlencairnandJohn Middleton.After initial success, it suffered from internal divisions and petered out after defeat at theBattle of Dalnaspidalin 1654.

The regime extended toleration to Protestants, including sectaries, but the only significant groups were a small number ofQuakers.The Kirk was divided by the issue of co-operation with the crown intoResolutionersand more hard lineProtesters.The regime tended to favour the Protestors giving them control over the universities. The country was relatively highly taxed, but gained access to English markets. The era was remembered as one of prosperity, but not everywhere benefitted from economic expansion. There was an attempt to create national symbols with the revival of theunion flagandunitecoin.

After the death of the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell and the fall of his son Richard's regime, GeneralGeorge Monck,the military governor of Scotland, marched the English army in Scotland south and facilitated aRestorationof the monarchy in June 1660.

See also

• List of ordinances and acts of the Parliament of England, 1642–1660
• Commonwealth of England
• The Protectorate

References

• Anonymous (1847), "A review of The Protector: A Vindication by J. H. Merle D'Aurigne, D.D. Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd. 1847",The Church of England quarterly review,vol. 21, pp.367
• Corns, Thomas N. (1999),The Royal Image: Representations of Charles I,Cambridge University Press, p.88,ISBN978-0-5215-9047-1
• Farr, David (2006),Henry Ireton and the English Revolution,Boydell Press, p.125,ISBN978-1-8438-3235-5
• Kelsey, Sean (2003),"The Trial of Charles I",English Historical Review,118(477): 583–616,doi:10.1093/ehr/118.477.583,archived fromthe originalon 2006-12-01
• Kirby, Michael (22 January 1999),The trial of King Charles I – defining moment for our constitutional liberties,speech to the Anglo-Australasian Lawers' association

Attribution

• This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Atkinson, Charles Francis (1911). "Great Rebellion".InChisholm, Hugh(ed.).Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 12 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 403–421.