The Purged Parliament is the name given to the Long Parliament after Pride's Purge of December 1648. It is more commonly known as the "Rump Parliament", a derisive name first used in 1660 that became its enduring nickname after the Restoration.
In December 1648, the Purged Parliament consisted of around 80 Independent MPs who were allowed to remain after the forcible expulsion of those who still sought a negotiated settlement with King Charles I. With the support of the New Model Army, the Purged Parliament declared itself "the supreme power in this nation" on 4 January 1649 with authority to pass Acts of Parliament without the consent of the King or the House of Lords. One of its first actions was to set up the High Court of Justice, specially convened for the trial of King Charles I. Following the King's execution, the Purged Parliament abolished the House of Lords and the Monarchy itself. England was declared a republican "Commonwealth and Free State" on 19 May 1649.
During the early 1650s, attempts were made to incorporate Scotland and Ireland into the Commonwealth with England. Under the Commonwealth régime, the three nations were ruled by a single government for the first time in British history.
The Purged Parliament had unprecedented executive and legislative powers. It was solely responsible for governing the nation without the traditional hierarchy of nobles, princes and bishops. Much of its administrative work in central and local government was done through the network of committees and commissions that had been established during the early 1640s. This sometimes led to problems of co-ordination and communication, made worse because the boundaries between Parliament and the executive Council of State were not clearly defined.
The Church
Most of the Members of the Purged Parliament wanted to promote Puritan godliness, yet they were also anxious to curb the excesses of Millenarians and Ranters. With the disappearance of the old Church courts, moral offences were made into secular crimes. The Adultery Act of May 1650 imposed the death penalty for adultery and fornication (though this was never applied in practice); the Blasphemy Act of August 1650 was aimed at curbing extreme religious "enthusiasm". Censorship was imposed in order to limit the propagation of millenarian pamphlets and the first government journal giving the official version of events was published.
Although observance of the Sabbath was enforced, there were also moves towards freedom of worship when the statute that required compulsory attendance at Church was repealed late in 1650. This statute, which dated back to the reign of Elizabeth I, had been a mainstay of the power of the Anglican bishops. In 1652, in an attempt to regulate the clergy and to establish acceptable doctrine, a Committee for the Propagation of the Gospel was formed to control the appointment of clergy so that only approved ministers were licensed to preach. Clergymen who were judged unsuitable were ejected from their livings.
Despite its revolutionary origin, the Purged Parliament was generally cautious in implementing religious reform, and made few concessions to radicals. The process of establishing a Presbyterian church settlement in England, which had started with the Scottish alliance of 1643, slowed to a halt. The problem of funding clergymen was never settled by the Purged Parliament; the ancient and controversial system of tithes, under which parishioners were compelled to pay a portion of their income towards the upkeep of the minister, remained in place.
The Law
Demands for reform of the law were made by the sectarians, the Levellers and others. Lawyers were widely despised as corrupt; the central courts, especially that of Chancery, were overworked; the entire legal system was over-complex, slow and prohibitively expensive. Radicals regarded the law as the "Norman Yoke" that had oppressed England since the days of William the Conqueror. Reformers called upon the Purged Parliament to simplify arcane legal procedures and to curb the power of lawyers.
However, many MPs that sat in Parliament during the Commonwealth period had backgrounds in the legal profession and were naturally reluctant to make changes likely to weaken their privileged position. Although major reform of the law was debated in Parliament, only minor reforms were ever enacted. Common-law courts were empowered to grant probate of wills, which had formerly been a function of Church tribunals. Nothing was done to reduce legal fees or to provide easier access to the courts for ordinary people, although more lenient punishments for debtors were introduced and the use of English in legal proceedings rather than Latin was authorised.
Finance
The Purged Parliament raised revenue through the sale of Crown lands and Church property, through excise levies and through an Assessment Tax on land. Finance was also raised from the proceeds of confiscated Royalist estates whereby the former owners were allowed to buy their property back from the state, a process known as "compounding". This proved counter-productive because it caused resentment against the Commonwealth and discouraged reconciliation with the Royalists.
Owing to the expense of military campaigns in Ireland and Scotland (1649-51), as well as the Anglo-Dutch war (1652), Parliament remained short of money. Taxation reached record levels and was widely resented. The demands of war and the maintenance of national security diverted Parliament's time and resources from the implementation of many proposed social reforms.
Foreign Policy
The execution of King Charles horrified governments throughout Europe. No foreign power was prepared to recognise the Commonwealth and there was every possibility of foreign intervention in helping the Stuarts to regain the throne. In 1649, Parliament controlled only England and Wales; Scotland declared its allegiance to Charles II and most of Ireland was in Royalist hands. Colonial settlements in Virginia, Maryland and Barbados remained Royalist; the Scillies, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man were used as bases for Royalist privateers to prey upon Commonwealth shipping, and a privateering squadron commanded by Prince Rupert began operating from Kinsale in southern Ireland in February 1649.
Leaders of the Purged Parliament recognised that the key to the survival of the Commonwealth was a strong navy to complement the New Model Army. The office of Lord High Admiral was abolished and the powers of the Navy Committee were increased. Sir Henry Vane came to dominate naval administration, while command of the fleet was given to joint "Generals-at-Sea" of proven loyalty and dedication to the Commonwealth. From March 1649, a major programme of shipbuilding was undertaken and by the end of 1651, twenty powerful new warships had been built and a further twenty-five had been bought or captured, almost doubling the size of the fleet.
The Commonwealth navy provided vital support for Oliver Cromwell's invasions of Ireland and Scotland during the Third Civil War, which secured the Commonwealth government's control of the British Isles. General-at-Sea Robert Blake chased Rupert's squadron from Ireland to Portugal, and in 1650 Parliament authorised Blake to attack Portuguese shipping, which coerced King John of Portugal to abandon his support for Rupert and to officially recognise the Commonwealth. Spain expelled Royalist envoys and recognised the Commonwealth in December 1650, partly as a result of England's aggressive policy towards Spain's enemies Portugal and France. Outlying Royalist privateer bases were captured during 1651, and General-at-Sea George Ayscue subjugated Barbados and the American colonies early in 1652.
France was slow to recognise the Commonwealth because of close family ties between the Stuart and Bourbon dynasties. Unofficial hostilities broke out between French and English shipping, and Royalist privateers were allowed to operate from French ports. In September 1652, Parliament ordered Blake to intervene in the Franco-Spanish war by attacking and destroying a French fleet sailing to relieve the siege of Dunkirk, which forced the town to surrender to Spain. Alarmed at England's increasing naval power, France came to terms and formally recognised the Commonwealth in December 1652.
Despite apparent ideological similarities between the English Commonwealth and the United Provinces of the Netherlands, the First Anglo-Dutch war broke out in 1652 — largely a result of trade rivalry between the two nations.
Dissolution of the Purged Parliament 1653
The Purged Parliament was not intended to be a permanent body. It regarded itself as an interim government with responsibility for preparing the way for a new representative. Cromwell's decisive victory at the battle of Worcester in 1651 ended any direct Royalist military threat to the Commonwealth and it was expected that a new constitutional settlement would be formulated. By the beginning of 1653, however, Army officers were growing impatient at the apparent lack of progress.
A committee to supervise the drafting of plans for new elections was set up, but a split developed between supporters of Sir Henry Vane, who proposed a Parliament consisting of 400 members with the sitting members of the Long Parliament retaining their seats, and Cromwell and the Council of Officers who wanted an entirely new Parliament. Vane's scheme was criticised for promoting the self-interest of MPs. At a conference between Army officers and MPs at Whitehall on 19 April 1653, Cromwell proposed that the parliamentary system be temporarily suspended and replaced with an interim council until the constitution was settled. MPs agreed to suspend discussion of the new representative at least until Cromwell's proposal has been debated. But the following day, Cromwell was incensed to hear that discussion of the new representative was continuing regardless.
At 11 o'clock in the morning of 20 April 1653, Cromwell led a company of musketeers to Westminster. Having secured the approaches to the House, he addressed the Members, calmly at first, then rising to a cold fury as he told them that their sitting was permanently at an end and they must leave: "You have sat here too long for the good you do. In the name of God, go!" His exact reasons for expelling Parliament at this time are unclear; he may have come to believe that Parliament was planning to perpetuate itself. There were no plans for an alternative government in place and Cromwell made no attempt to take power himself.
The Purged Parliament was replaced by the Nominated Assembly and other constitutional experiments of the 1650s.
The Purged Parliament recalled, 1659
After Oliver Cromwell's death in 1658, his successor Richard Cromwell was forced by Army officers to dissolve the Third Protectorate Parliament in April 1659. The officers, led by their commander-in-chief Charles Fleetwood, intended to keep Richard in power but dependent upon the Army. However, republican Commonwealthsmen were determined to bring the quasi-monarchical Protectorate to an end. They gained the support of junior officers and the rank-and-file of the soldiery by issuing tracts and pamphlets acclaiming the "Good Old Cause" and promising arrears of pay and religious liberty. Fleetwood and the Grandees were unable to resist the soldiers' demands for the return of the Commonwealth.
On 5 May 1659, the Council of Officers resolved to recall surviving MPs of the Purged Parliament under certain conditions: the Protectorate Council and Upper House would be replaced with a Senate that would include army officers; MPs would grant freedom of worship and undertake to reform the law; Richard Cromwell's safety would be guaranteed. Having provided for new elections, Parliament was then expected to dissolve itself. Around fifty surviving members of the Parliament expelled by Oliver Cromwell in April 1653 duly re-assembled on 7 May 1659. Richard Cromwell made no appeal for support. His formal abdication was read in Parliament on 25 May, bringing the Protectorate to an end.
Although welcomed by republicans and religious radicals, the reinstated Parliament did little to implement the promised reforms. It was determined above all to gain control of the Army. Several officers were appointed to the Council of State, but the Speaker was given power to grant commissions and promotions rather than Fleetwood and a committee was appointed to supervise the nomination of officers. Any officer whose loyalty was suspect could be cashiered without being heard by a court-martial.
John Lambert, who had resigned in 1657 over the terms of the Humble Petition and Advice, was recalled to command of his regiment during the crisis that led to Richard Cromwell's resignation. Lambert quickly regained his former prominence and, as Parliament's most capable commander, led the troops that suppressed Booth's Uprising in August 1659. The following month, Lambert's officers stationed at Derby (possibly at Lambert's instigation) petitioned Parliament to implement the reforms promised in May, to guarantee that no officer would be dismissed without a court-martial and to restore Lambert himself to the rank of major-general. In a deliberate trial of strength, Parliament forbade further petitioning of Parliament, and, when this failed, revoked the commissions of nine senior officers, including Lambert, Disbrowe and Berry. A seven-man commission was appointed to replace Fleetwood as commander-in-chief. In response to this challenge, Lambert and the senior officers resolved to expel the Purged Parliament, as Oliver Cromwell had done in 1653.
Two loyal regiments were ordered to guard the Parliament House but on 13 October 1659, Lambert's troops encircled Westminster, blockaded all approaches by land and water and turned back MPs trying to reach the House. In order to avoid bloodshed, the Council of State ordered the guards at Westminster to stand down. The next day, Lambert ignored the Council's order to withdraw his troops from Westminster. The Council continued to sit until 25 October, then dissolved itself. A new Committee of Safety was hastily appointed as an interim government.
Responding to Sir Arthur Haselrig's call for support against Lambert and the senior officers, General George Monck, the commander-in-chief in Scotland, stepped in to demand Parliament's recall as the only legally constituted government. Lambert marched north to confront Monck in November 1659, but his troops were reluctant to fight their comrades in Monck's army. Haselrig went to Portsmouth where the garrison mutinied in support of Parliament and vice-admiral Lawson brought the Channel fleet up to Gravesend, threatening to blockade London. Faced with almost universal opposition, the military junta collapsed and Fleetwood was obliged to recall the Purged Parliament, which resumed its sitting on 26 December 1659. MPs grateful for Monck's intervention appointed him commander-in-chief in England as well as Scotland. Lambert's supporters in the army were dismissed.
In January 1660, at the invitation of Parliament, Monck marched for London. When Sir Thomas Fairfax emerged from retirement to declare his support for him, army support for Monck became unanimous. Monck arrived in London in February 1660 against a background of apprentice riots and widespread demands across the country for the return of the MPs expelled by Pride's Purge in December 1648. It was during this tumultuous period that the Purged Parliament acquired its derisive and enduring nickname of the "Rump" of the Long Parliament. After initially supporting Parliament's orders to suppress the agitation, Monck agreed to support the re-admission of the excluded MPs under certain conditions: he was to be confirmed as commander-in-chief of the Army; a national Presbyterian church was to be established with toleration of separatist groups; Parliament should dissolve itself and call new elections.
On 21 February 1660, Monck reversed Pride's Purge by securing the re-admission of the excluded MPs and the final session of the Long Parliament began. After some debate, Monck's conditions were met. The restored Long Parliament voted to dissolve itself on 16 March 1660 and to call new elections. The pro-Royalist Convention Parliament duly assembled on 25 April 1660.
References:
Godfrey Davies, The Restoration of Charles II, 1658-60, 1955
S.R. Gardiner, History of the Commonwealth and Protectorate vols. i-ii , 1903
Ronald Hutton, The British Republic 1649-60, 2000
John Morrill (ed), Revolution and Restoration, England in the 1650s, 1992