January
| |
(Early January) The Marquis of Clanricarde attempts to muster an Irish army at Galway but few soldiers arrive. Source: CIR |
| 1 |
Dutch ambassadors complain about the seizure of Dutch vessels and other abuses. HCP2 |
| 8 |
Parliament's commissioners in Ireland — Edmund Ludlow, Miles Corbet, John Jones, John Weaver — begin planning the settlement of Irish land. HCP4 |
| 11 |
The Assembly of Barbados submits to the Commonwealth. HCP2 |
| 15 |
Parliamentary commissioners arrive at Dalkeith to begin negotiations for union between England and Scotland. HCP2 |
| |
John Lilburne found guilty of libel against Sir Arthur Haselrig. Lilburne fined and sentenced to banishment from England. HCP2 |
| 17 |
Parliament appoints a 21-man commission led by the lawyer Matthew Hale to investigate reform of the legal system. HCP2, ODNB |
| 21 |
English commissioners in Scotland issue a declaration in Edinburgh proclaiming their resolution to provide for the administration of justice and to resist any authority not derived from the Commonwealth of England. HCP2 |
| 23 |
Parliament decrees that judges are to be paid by a fixed salary rather than by fees and perquisites. HCP2 |
| 28 |
English forces occupy Orkney. TCW |
| 30 |
Parliament nominates Major-General John Lambert to replace Ireton as Lord-Deputy in Ireland. HCJ |
| |
Top of Page |
February
| |
(February) Lieutenant-General George Monck resigns his command in Scotland because of ill-health. Major-General Richard Deane appointed in his place. Sources: ODNB, CG |
| 4 |
Parliament passes an Act making void all titles, honours and dignities granted by King Charles I since 4 January 1642. AOI |
| 13 |
The declaration for the Tender of Union read at Dalkeith to representatives of the Scottish shires and burghs. HCP2 |
| 14 |
The Marquis of Clanricarde offers to negotiate a peace treaty in Ireland. The English commander Edmund Ludlow rejects the proposal saying he expects submission not negotiation. HCP2 |
| 20 |
Publication of Gerard Winstanley's Law of Freedom. HCP2 |
| 24 |
Act of Pardon and Oblivion passed, aiming to win the support of former Royalists. A pardon granted for all treasonous acts against the Commonwealth committed before 3 September 1651. HCP2 |
| |
Top of Page |
March
| 2 |
Prince Rupert's squadron off the coast of West Africa. Prince Maurice raises his flag as vice-admiral in a captured English ship, renamed the Defiance. Source: MPRC |
| 5 |
Dutch ambassadors warn the Council of State that the States General intends to increase the Dutch navy to defend against English aggression. HCP2 |
| 7 |
Colonel Fitzpatrick surrenders Irish forces in West Meath. HCP2 |
| 12 |
The colony of Virginia submits to the Commonwealth. HCP2 |
| 15 |
The Council of State demands compensation for wrongs committed by the Dutch against the English, including the murder of English merchants at Amboyna in the East Indies in 1623 and the failure of the Dutch authorities to punish the killers of Dr Dorislaus in 1649. HCP2 |
| 18 |
An Act for the Union of England and Scotland presented at Westminster. Scottish constituencies instructed to select representatives to discuss the proposals. HCP2 |
| |
Vice-Admiral Penn's squadron returns to England from the Mediterranean. |
| 23 |
Colonel O'Dwyer surrenders Irish forces in Tipperary and Waterford. HCP2 |
| 29 |
The colony of Maryland submits to the Commonwealth. HCP2 |
| |
John Thurloe appointed secretary to the Council of State. ODNB |
| |
Top of Page |
April
| 3 |
Surrender of Roscommon to Commonwealth forces. Source: HCP2 |
| 6 |
Lieutenant-Admiral Tromp's fleet of 42 ships puts to sea to defend Dutch merchant shipping in the Channel. HCP2 |
| 7 |
Surrender of Jamestown to Commonwealth forces. HCP2 |
| 8 |
The Council of State appoints four English and three Scottish judges to form a provisional Court of Judicature for Scotland. HCP2 |
| 13 |
Second reading of the Act for the Union of England and Scotland at Westminster. The Act is then referred to a committee and never enacted by Parliament. HCP2 |
| 17 |
Commonwealth officers and civilian officials meet at Kilkenny to discuss the settlement of Ireland. HCP4 |
| 21 |
Declaration for the Union of England and Scotland proclaimed in Edinburgh. HCP2 |
| |
Top of Page |
May
| 3 |
Opening of negotiations for a new treaty between the Commonwealth and the United Provinces. Source: HCP2 |
| 5 |
Parliament's commissioners in Ireland call for punishment of Irish rebels and a swift settlement of the nation. HCP4 |
| 7 |
Parliament begins discussing procedure for new elections. HCP2 |
| 11 |
Gregory Clement MP discharged from the House of Commons after being discovered in bed with a maidservant. ODNB |
| 12 |
Major-General Thomas Preston surrenders Galway to Sir Charles Coote. Articles for surrender of remaining Irish forces signed at Kilkenny. HCP2, CIR |
| 14 |
French envoy M. de Gentillot sent to England by Cardinal Mazarin in the hope of negotiating an alliance against Spain. HCP2 |
| 18 |
The new Court of Judicature established in Edinburgh. HCP2 |
| 19 |
Parliament votes to abolish the office of Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland. John Lambert subsequently refuses to accept any lesser office. HCJ, HCP2 |
| |
Blake's fleet clashes with Tromp off Dover. Beginning of the First Anglo-Dutch war. HCP2 |
| 25 |
General-at-Sea George Ayscue arrives back at Plymouth from Barbados. ODNB |
| 26 |
Colonel Morgan accepts the surrender of Dunottar Castle, the last Scottish castle still holding out for Charles II. The Scottish Crown Regalia smuggled out of the castle and hidden. HCP2 |
| |
(End of May) Prince Rupert's fleet arrives in the West Indies. HCP2 |
| |
Top of Page |
June
| 15 |
Parliament authorises Cromwell to appoint a commander of Commonwealth forces in Ireland. Source: HCJ |
| |
In response to declarations of loyalty from Scottish nobles and Highland chieftains, Charles II appoints John Middleton Lieutenant-General in Scotland. HCP3 |
| 20 |
Dutch ambassadors deliver an ultimatum against continued English aggression towards Dutch shipping. HCP2 |
| 22 |
Lord Muskerry surrenders his forces in Munster. CIR |
| 26 |
The Council of State sends Blake to disrupt the Dutch fishing fleet in the North Sea. Ayscue's squadron ordered to intercept Dutch merchant convoys in the Straits of Dover. HCP2 |
| 28 |
The Marquis of Clanricarde surrenders to Commonwealth forces. CIR |
| 30 |
Dutch ambassadors leave England. HCP2 |
| |
Top of Page |
July
| |
(July) French envoy M. Gentillot dismissed from England because of France's refusal to recognise the Commonwealth. Source: HCP2 |
| 2 |
Ayscue attacks a Dutch merchant fleet near Calais; most of the ships are driven ashore, seven are captured, three destroyed. HCP2 |
| 8 |
Tromp sails against Ayscue's squadron in the Downs. HCP2 |
| 9 |
Cromwell appoints Charles Fleetwood commander-in-chief in Ireland after Lambert refuses to accept an office lower than Lord-Deputy. HCP2 |
| 10 |
With the wind and tide against him, Tromp abandons his attack on Ayscue and sails north to search for Blake's main fleet. HCP2 |
| 12 |
Blake's frigates capture twelve Dutch men-of-war guarding the Dutch fishing fleet between Orkney and Shetland; thirty fishing boats captured, the rest dispersed. HCP2 |
| 21 |
Hugh Peter instigates a petition calling for peace negotiations with the Dutch. Oliver Cromwell supports the petition. HCP2 |
| 26 |
Tromp's fleet scattered in a storm off the Shetland Islands. HCP2 |
| 27 |
Tromp sails for home with less than half his fleet. HCP2 |
| |
Top of Page |
August
| 2 |
Petition of Army officers calls for religious, legal and financial reforms, the elimination of tithes, the dissolution of the present Parliament and elections for a new representative. Source: HCP2 |
| 4 |
Parliament orders the sale of lands of twenty-six Royalists to raise funds for the Navy. HCP2 |
| 9 |
Charles II orders Lieutenant-General Middleton to go to the Netherlands to collect funds from exiled Royalists for an uprising in Scotland, but Middleton falls ill soon after his arrival. HCP3 |
| 12 |
Parliament passes the Act for the Settlement of Ireland. HCP4, AOI |
| |
The Army petition amended by Cromwell to say that only pious and godly representatives should stand for Parliament. HCP2 |
| 13 |
The revised Army petition presented to Parliament and referred to a select committee. HCP2 |
| |
Death of Lord Byron reported at Charles II's court in Paris. ODNB |
| 16 |
Battle of Plymouth between Ayscue and de Ruyter. HCP2 |
| 19 |
The Marquis of Argyll signs an agreement accepting the authority of the Commonwealth in Scotland and undertakes to live peaceably under the new government. HCP2 |
| 23 |
Parliament offers a reward of £300 for the capture of Sir Phelim O'Neill. DNB |
| 27-28 |
Commodore Badily's English squadron defeated off Elba in the Mediterranean and blockaded in Porto Longone by the Dutch. HCP2 |
| 30 |
Edward Massey escapes from the Tower of London. |
| |
Top of Page |
September
| |
(Beginning of September) Charles Fleetwood arrives in Dublin as commander-in-chief in Ireland. Source: HCP4 |
| 2 |
Spanish ambassador Alonso de Cardenas proposes a commercial treaty between Spain and England. The Council of State agrees to intervene in the war between Spain and France. HCP2 |
| 4 |
Blake destroys a French supply convoy on its way to relieve the siege of Dunkirk, resulting in the surrender of Dunkirk to the Spanish the following day. HCP2 |
| 8 |
French sailors captured by Blake released, but captured vessels retained. HCP2 |
| 13-16 |
Prince Maurice lost at sea in a hurricane off the Virgin Islands in the West Indies. MPRC |
| 14 |
The Bill for Elections referred to a parliamentary select committee. HCP2 |
| 22 |
Vice-Admiral de With joins forces with de Ruyter off Ostend. HCP2 |
| 28 |
Battle off the Kentish Knock. Blake defeats de With. HCP2 |
| |
Parliament orders the building of thirty new frigates. HCJ |
| |
Death of Lord Hopton at Bruges. ODNB |
| |
Top of Page |
October
| |
(October) Highland chieftains urge Charles II to appoint leaders for a Scottish uprising. Source: HCP3 |
| 1 |
Parliamentary committee begins a review of the Treasury. HCP2 |
| 3 |
Blake urges Parliament to hasten the re-supplying of his fleet. HCP2 |
| 8 |
Committee for the Propagation of the Gospel appointed. HCP2 |
| |
Parliamentary act disqualifying Royalist "delinquents" from standing for public office and from taking part in the election of officials. AOI |
| 11 |
Proclamation of the Act of Settlement in every province in Ireland. HCP4 |
| 22 |
In support of the Dutch, the King of Denmark detains English merchant ships carrying materials for the construction and repair of shipping. HCP2 |
| |
Top of Page |
November
| |
(November) Cromwell discusses with Bulstrode Whitelocke the possibility of assuming the kingship. Source: HCP2 |
| 12 |
Blake ordered to detach twenty ships to the Mediterranean in support of Commodores Badily and Appleton. HCP2 |
| 18 |
Parliament passes the Confiscation Bill. A list of over 600 Royalists and other delinquents drawn up whose property is to be confiscated to raise funds for the Navy. AOI |
| 20 |
Captain Owen Cox leads a night raid to recapture the Phoenix from the Dutch at Leghorn. ODNB |
| 21 |
Lieutenant-Admiral Tromp puts to sea to escort 270 merchantmen down the Channel. HCP2 |
| 22 |
French envoy M. de Bordeaux-Neufville instructed by Cardinal Mazarin to present a letter to Parliament officially recognising the Commonwealth. HCP2 |
| 24 |
Navy commissioners complain of lack of money to supply the fleet. HCP2 |
| 25 |
Tromp anchors off Dunkirk with 85 men-of-war. HCP2 |
| 26 |
George Monck and Richard Deane appointed Generals-at-Sea. HCP2 |
| 29 |
Tromp at the anchorage in the Downs. HCP2 |
| 30 |
Battle of Dungeness: Tromp defeats Blake. HCP2, CN |
| |
(End of November) Draft proposal for a commercial treaty between England and Spain presented to the Spanish ambassador. HCP2 |
| |
Top of Page |
December
| |
(Early December) The Portuguese ambassador agrees to pay £50,000 in compensation for losses to English merchants when Prince Rupert's fleet sheltered in Portugal. HCP3 |
| 2 |
Commissioners sent to the fleet to investigate the causes of the defeat at Dungeness. Source: HCP2 |
| 10 |
Parliament increases taxation to fund the Navy. AOI |
| |
A new six-man Admiralty Commission appointed: Sir Henry Vane, John Carew, Richard Salwey, George Thomson, John Langley, James Russell. CN |
| 17 |
Captains of armed merchantmen to be approved by the Admiralty. HCP2 |
| 20 |
Charles II appoints six commissioners from the Scottish chieftains and nobles, and authorises them to appoint a commander in Middleton's absence. HCP3 |
| 21 |
France acknowledges the Commonwealth. HCP2 |
| |
Parliament raises the pay of sailors; provision made for the sick and wounded; more advantageous arrangements for prize money implemented. HCP2 |
| 25 |
Articles of War issued to the Navy for the first time. HCP2 |
| 30 |
Viscount Lisle appointed Commonwealth ambassador to Sweden. HCP2 |
| |
Top of Page |
| |
|
Sources:
AOI: Acts and Ordinances of the Interregnum, C.H. Firth and R.S. Raitt (eds), 1911
CG: Cromwell's Generals, Maurice Ashley (Oxford 1954)
CIR: Cromwell in Ireland, James Scott Wheeler (New York 1999)
CN: Cromwell's Navy, Bernard Capp (Oxford 1989)
DNB: Dictionary of National Biography
HCJ: House of Commons Journal www.british-history.ac.uk
HCP2: History of the Commonwealth and Protectorate vol. ii, S.R. Gardiner (London 1903)
HCP3: History of the Commonwealth and Protectorate vol. iii, S.R. Gardiner (London 1903)
HCP4: History of the Commonwealth and Protectorate vol. iv, S.R. Gardiner (London 1903)
MPRC: Memoirs of Prince Rupert and the Cavaliers vol iii, Eliot Warburton (London 1849)
ODNB: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
TCW: The Civil Wars, a military history of England, Scotland & Ireland 1638-60 , Kenyon and Ohlmeyer (eds) (Oxford 1998)
