MAJOR-GENERALS 1655-7:
1655 = crucial year for Protectorate because:
P failed to fulfil Cromwell’s hopes
Royalist + republican opposition threatened England at large
Rumours circulated of Leveller or republican plots to kill Cromwell
This caused Cromwell to look to his natural allies (army commanders) for military security and administrative
efficiency. This led to the introduction of a system of direct military gov, known as the rule of Major-Generals.
This decision was taken after lengthy consultation w/Army Council. John Lambert (MG for Yorkshire,
Cumberland, Westmorland and Northumberland) was a leading proponent of the scheme.
Late summer 1655 – England was divided into groups of counties each w a MG appointed to exercise military
control and oversee the operation of the local gov within them. In their official ‘Instructions’ MGs were given a
wide range of powers/duties such as:
Promoting godliness and discouraging ungodliness.
Seeking out and suppressing all brothels.
Suppressing all alehouses and taverns towards the outskirts of the said cities.
The most striking aspect of the work of the MGs was the introduction of the decimation tax. The measure was
intended to:
It was hoped that this tax would
Prevent further risings (eg, Penruddock’s). preserve a powerful standing
Provide finance for the MG who had the authority to raise local troops to army and avoid a heavy charge
maintain the army’s strength. on central gov’s funds.
They were unpopular because:
Their interference w/everyday life in the localities, especially w/their attempts to impose moral
behaviour on the inhabitants.
Their military rank couldn’t disguise the fact that they were of a lower social status than the local
gentry over whom they’d been placed.
Few of them were local to the area they controlled. Local loyalties predominated over national ones
and people thought that they were now subject to outside rule. It was difficult for MG to gain
acceptance.
MG weren’t effective as centralising administrators as the strictness of their rule had aroused strong
resentment. Local institutions continued to function in the traditional way – regardless of political changes
that took place in the centre. Magistrate’s courts had operated as they’d done so before the civil wars.
Cromwell didn’t wish to undermine the authority of the leaders in the communities as it would’ve suited him
far better for the MG to establish harmonious relations w/local gentry but sadly the opposite happened.
They’d imposed taxes and raised local militia w/little reference to the opinion of the leaders in the community.
MG hadn’t eased the Protectorate’s financial burdens. Cromwell found it v difficult to run the gov on the
income that he was given. He didn’t live extravagantly but the administrative and military costs of the
Protectorate were high. A P report in 1655 showed that the gov’s annual revenue (made up of customs and
excise, assessments and fines on royalists) amounted to £2,250,000 whereas expenditure was £2,611,532. The
deficit was increased by the added costs of the Spanish War (1654-8, principally over colonial possessions in
the Caribbean. England won). It was the necessity of raising extra finance that led Cromwell to call another P.
1655 = crucial year for Protectorate because:
P failed to fulfil Cromwell’s hopes
Royalist + republican opposition threatened England at large
Rumours circulated of Leveller or republican plots to kill Cromwell
This caused Cromwell to look to his natural allies (army commanders) for military security and administrative
efficiency. This led to the introduction of a system of direct military gov, known as the rule of Major-Generals.
This decision was taken after lengthy consultation w/Army Council. John Lambert (MG for Yorkshire,
Cumberland, Westmorland and Northumberland) was a leading proponent of the scheme.
Late summer 1655 – England was divided into groups of counties each w a MG appointed to exercise military
control and oversee the operation of the local gov within them. In their official ‘Instructions’ MGs were given a
wide range of powers/duties such as:
Promoting godliness and discouraging ungodliness.
Seeking out and suppressing all brothels.
Suppressing all alehouses and taverns towards the outskirts of the said cities.
The most striking aspect of the work of the MGs was the introduction of the decimation tax. The measure was
intended to:
It was hoped that this tax would
Prevent further risings (eg, Penruddock’s). preserve a powerful standing
Provide finance for the MG who had the authority to raise local troops to army and avoid a heavy charge
maintain the army’s strength. on central gov’s funds.
They were unpopular because:
Their interference w/everyday life in the localities, especially w/their attempts to impose moral
behaviour on the inhabitants.
Their military rank couldn’t disguise the fact that they were of a lower social status than the local
gentry over whom they’d been placed.
Few of them were local to the area they controlled. Local loyalties predominated over national ones
and people thought that they were now subject to outside rule. It was difficult for MG to gain
acceptance.
MG weren’t effective as centralising administrators as the strictness of their rule had aroused strong
resentment. Local institutions continued to function in the traditional way – regardless of political changes
that took place in the centre. Magistrate’s courts had operated as they’d done so before the civil wars.
Cromwell didn’t wish to undermine the authority of the leaders in the communities as it would’ve suited him
far better for the MG to establish harmonious relations w/local gentry but sadly the opposite happened.
They’d imposed taxes and raised local militia w/little reference to the opinion of the leaders in the community.
MG hadn’t eased the Protectorate’s financial burdens. Cromwell found it v difficult to run the gov on the
income that he was given. He didn’t live extravagantly but the administrative and military costs of the
Protectorate were high. A P report in 1655 showed that the gov’s annual revenue (made up of customs and
excise, assessments and fines on royalists) amounted to £2,250,000 whereas expenditure was £2,611,532. The
deficit was increased by the added costs of the Spanish War (1654-8, principally over colonial possessions in
the Caribbean. England won). It was the necessity of raising extra finance that led Cromwell to call another P.
