Richard Cromwell& Restoration of Charles II Revision Table

The Restoration of Charles II


Richard  lacked political understanding
Cromwell  in a financial crisis
 never fought with the army and was unable to count on the loyalty of the commanders
 lacked confidence
 relied on conservatives and Presbyterians
 easily manipulated
 alienated army and Republicans
 wasn’t prepared to put up a fight
Recall of the Attitude of Rump
Rump  determined to assert civilian superiority and claimed legitimacy {top power}
 army made several demands that Rumpers were unwilling to bring about
 wanted to undermine the army, purged army of moderates {and Richard supporters} and promoted
Republicans
 seen as v radical
 remodelled country’s militia to place local defence in hands of its supporters so some local militia was
controlled by extremists
Presbyterian/Royalist Uprisings
 wanted to divide the army
 Sir George Booth- led a rebellion, wanted free Parliament {elections}, hoped Charles would get support
from Spain but no Spanish regiments available
 Col John Lambert- suppressed the rebellion& Booth surrendered
Dissolution of Rump
 radicals couldn’t agree on reforms for the country
 Lambert- raised a petition to reduce Rump’s authority and promote army leaders
 rump tried to undermine army by dismissing officers like Desborough
 13th October 1659- regiments loyal to Lambert used to keep Rump MP’s out of Parliament
Committee of October-November 1659
Safety 1659  officers wanted army leaders and civilian collaborators to run the country
Monck {commander of army}
 disliked army’s decision to dissolve Rump
 declared his support for Rump
 feared military dictatorship would lead to even more radical actions
 purged officers that disagreed with him
 negotiated with expelled Rumpers that invited him to bring his army to London
Committee of Safety
 authorised Lambert to resist Monck
Chaos
 violent riots broke out in Dec
26th December- Rump back in Commons
Monck’s collapse of army
Advantages  Lambert- moved his army towards Scotland to counter Monck, large numbers deserted and unable to see
how they would be paid
 Fleetwood- his soldiers stated that they would not fight, causing him to surrender and go into retirement
his background
 believed that military should be subject to authority of the government, meaning that people who were
disenchanted with army rule were more likely to support and trust him
 astute {ability to accurately assess situation} and was ambiguous with what he wanted as he stated that he
wanted to restore civil authority, which could mean restoring the Rump, bringing back purged members of
parliament or restoring the King
his army
 was strong and consisted of 10,000 men from Scotland
 treated his soldiers well and built up a loyal and disciplined force
tactic
 waited to see how public opinion would develop and was clear before he acted
 had little intention of bringing back the King, as he was more concerned about the growth of radicalism
 wanted a civilian government but without a King or HOL but also was writing to London to ask for help in
restoring a free Parliament
Monck in  3rd Feb- marched South with army, where Haselrig believed Monck would bring the King back
London  Monck arranged for the purged MP’s to return and they made him Commander in Christ, where they
dissolved themselves and called new elections {RESTORATION OF KING WAS MORE LIKELY}