Cromwell and the Parliaments (1649–1658)

A shared victory, but no agreed settlement

After Charles I’s execution and the abolition of monarchy in 1649, the Commonwealth needed a lasting system of government. The Rump Parliament—the remaining Commons after the army’s purge of December 1648—governed with a Council of State. Oliver Cromwell was a leading political figure and army commander, but he did not immediately become the country’s ruler.

Cromwell and Parliament shared an interest in protecting the victory over the monarchy. They did not agree, however, about how quickly reform should proceed or who should control the new political order. Cromwell wanted a stable government and a more ‘godly’ society: one shaped by Protestant religious principles. Many army officers also expected changes to the law, relief of poverty and religious reform.

The central difficulty was therefore more than a personal quarrel. MPs claimed authority to govern, while the army believed that its sacrifices entitled it to defend the cause for which it had fought. Cromwell repeatedly sought civilian government, yet relied on military power when civilian institutions resisted his aims.

The Rump: cooperation turned into impatience, 1649–1653

Initially, Cromwell’s military campaigns in Ireland and Scotland occupied much of his attention. After these campaigns, army leaders became increasingly impatient with the Rump’s slow progress towards reform and a permanent constitutional settlement.

They regarded the Rump as a temporary government. It was supposed to establish arrangements for a new representative body and then give way to it. Its delays raised fears that MPs were protecting their own position rather than preparing to surrender power. Cromwell initially tried to moderate the army’s demands, but eventually shared its frustration.

The immediate crisis concerned the Rump’s Government Bill in spring 1653. Cromwell and senior officers believed its proposals would endanger their cause and obstruct reform. The precise reasons for Cromwell’s intervention remain debated; fears that the Rump would perpetuate its own power formed part of the dispute. Its refusal to abandon or amend the bill brought the confrontation to a head.

On 20 April 1653, Cromwell used soldiers to expel the Rump. This ended its government, but did not solve the problem of what should replace it. It also exposed a fundamental contradiction: a commander who had fought for Parliament against the king now used the army to remove Parliament.

The Nominated Assembly: the search for godly government

Rather than establish direct military rule, Cromwell and the officers selected a new civilian assembly. The Nominated Assembly, often called Barebone’s Parliament, first met on 4 July 1653. Its roughly 140 members were chosen by the army and its supporters because they were considered godly and favourable to reform; they were not elected by voters.

Cromwell welcomed it as a ‘Parliament of Saints’ and handed it supreme governing and law-making powers. He hoped committed reformers could achieve what the Rump had failed to deliver.

However, the assembly split between moderate reformers and a more radical minority. Radicals wanted sweeping changes to existing religious and legal institutions. Moderates feared that established structures would be removed before workable replacements had been agreed. Sharing a commitment to godly government did not mean agreeing on what it should look like.

On 12 December 1653, moderate members surrendered the assembly’s powers to Cromwell. Unlike the Rump, it ended through an internal manoeuvre rather than Cromwell’s forcible expulsion. Nevertheless, another civilian experiment had collapsed, leaving effective power with Cromwell and the army.

The First Protectorate Parliament: a dispute over constitutional authority

The Instrument of Government established a new constitutional framework in December 1653. Cromwell became Lord Protector on 16 December, governing with a Council of State and Parliament. The Protectorate was an attempt to create a more durable settlement, but its constitution originated with army officers rather than an elected Parliament.

The First Protectorate Parliament met in September 1654. It included representatives from Scotland and Ireland as well as England and Wales. Instead of simply working within the new settlement, MPs debated the constitution itself. They sought changes that would strengthen Parliament at the Protector’s expense, while republican MPs criticised Cromwell’s leadership.

Cromwell wanted Parliament to help make the settlement work; opponents wanted to reconsider the basis and limits of his authority. He dissolved it in January 1655, at the earliest opportunity he considered permitted. The Protectorate had created institutions, but not agreement about the balance of power between them.

The Second Protectorate Parliament: opposition and compromise

After the first Parliament’s dissolution, Cromwell turned towards more direct military government through the Major-Generals. Their rule became unpopular. Civilian discontent and the need to finance war against Spain helped force him to summon the Second Protectorate Parliament in September 1656.

MPs challenged the Major-Generals as contrary to law and established custom. Cromwell agreed to abandon their system in January 1657. This matters because his response to Parliament was not always dissolution: here, parliamentary pressure secured a significant concession.

Some MPs then proposed a broader constitutional compromise. They wanted to move away from army-led experiments towards a more traditional, civilian-supported government.

The Humble Petition and Advice: why offer Cromwell the crown?

The proposal presented on 23 February 1657, which became the Humble Petition and Advice, offered Cromwell kingship. Its supporters were not simply trying to give him unlimited power. A king’s position had established legal precedents which could define and limit his authority. Parliamentary endorsement could also give the regime a stronger claim to legitimacy than a constitution devised by army officers.

The offer divided Cromwell’s supporters. Many civilian MPs and lawyers supported it, but Major-General Lambert, other army officers, republicans and religious radicals opposed it. To them, restoring kingship threatened the principles of the revolution.

After prolonged consideration, Cromwell rejected the crown on 8 May 1657. He nevertheless accepted a revised constitution without the royal title, adopted on 25 May, and was reinstalled as Lord Protector on 26 June.

Under the revised settlement, Cromwell remained Protector for life and could choose his successor. Parliament would have two chambers: an elected Commons and an Upper House nominated by the Protector but approved by Parliament. The Upper House was intended to mediate between Protector and Commons and could veto legislation. The settlement represented a genuine compromise with civilian MPs, although its resemblance to monarchy disturbed republicans.

The final breakdown in 1658

When Parliament met again in 1658, republican MPs challenged the titles, rights and legitimacy of the new Upper House. They regarded it as too similar to the abolished House of Lords. Amid fears that sections of the army supported the republicans, Cromwell dissolved the Second Protectorate Parliament on 4 February 1658.

By Cromwell’s death on 3 September 1658, no lasting agreement had been reached. He had tried several forms of civilian government and accepted an important parliamentary constitutional proposal. Yet whenever opposition threatened his preferred settlement, military backing allowed him to close Parliament down. His relationship with the Parliaments therefore combined a search for cooperation with a repeated refusal to accept challenges to the foundations of his rule.