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Mar 14, 2022 10 tweets 5 min read Read on X
One of our followers asked last week about the different English Parliaments in the 1640s/50s - it can get very confusing, so here's a simple(ish) guide to the different ones - also follow our friends at @HistParl for more information too! 😀
#17thCentury #Parliament Thread 1/10
Charles I dismissed Parliament in 1629, ruling without it for 11 years. Embroiled in the Bishop's Wars with Scotland he recalled Parliament in February 1640. Members used it to air their grievances, so Charles dismissed it after 3 weeks - so becoming the 'Short Parliament'. 2/10
Still in need of money Charles was forced to call Parliament again in November 1640. This would become the 'Long Parliament', which stipulated it could only be dissolved with its own consent. Technically it sat in some form until March 1660! 3/10
About a third of MPs and many of the Lords supported the Royalist cause during the Civil War which broke out in 1642. In January 1644 King Charles summoned his rival 'Oxford Parliament' in the Royalist capital, which met in two sessions until March 1645. 4/10
In the meantime the remainder of the 'Long Parliament' met in London. After two civil wars divisions in Parliament, particularly with its army, led to a purge of Presbyterian MPs and Lords hostile to putting Charles I on trial in 'Pride's Purge' on 6 December 1648. 5/10
The remainder of MPs and Lords became known as the 'Rump Parliament', which put the King on trial and legislated as a republic until 1653. Refusing to dissolve or find a new constitutional settlement, the 'Rump' was expelled by Oliver Cromwell in a coup on 20 April 1653. 6/10
The army's Council of Officers appointed a new 'Nominated Assembly', nicknamed the 'Barebones Parliament' after one of its most notorious members, 'Praise-God' Barebones. Riven by in-fighting it dissolved in December 1653 in favour of the Protectorate. 7/10
Under the Lord Protectors, 3 Protectorate Parliaments were called - two by Oliver Cromwell (1654-5 & 1656-8) and one by his son Richard (1659). In May 1659 Richard was forced to renounce his position by the army and members of the 'Rump Parliament' were restored. 8/10
In the chaos and disagreement that followed the fall of the Protectorate, George Monck, commander of the English troops in Scotland, marched south and put pressure for members excluded in 1648 to be allowed back, thus restoring the 'Long Parliament' in February 1660. 9/10
The 'Long Parliament' finally dissolved itself in March 1660 for fresh elections for the 'Convention Parliament', which formally invited Charles II back passing legislation necessary for the Restoration of the Monarchy.
Phew! You can see why people can get confused!!😳 END 10/10

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More from @MuseumCromwell

Jan 19, 2022
In today's #PMQs @DavidDavisMP invoked Leo Amery MP's quote of Cromwell's dismissal of the Rump Parliament in 1653 against Chamberlain in 1940: "You have sat too long here for any good you have been doing. Depart, I say, and let us have done with you. In the name of God, go!" 1/8
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"...and defiled by your practice of every vice.
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Nov 20, 2020
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Mar 26, 2020
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Mar 6, 2019
Oliver #Cromwell is popularly believed to have been the leader of the Parliamentary cause, the 'Roundheads', during the #EnglishCivilWar. But was this really the case - has his importance for much of this period been exaggerated? Follow this thread to find out! #17thCentury 1/8
At the start of the Civil War #Cromwell was in modern terms a 'backbench MP', a very minor figure in the House of Commons. The leaders there for the Parliamentary cause were the likes of John Pym and John Hampden; the Earls of Essex & Manchester led in the House of Lords. 2/8
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Jan 2, 2019
We're often asked if there was any connection between Thomas #Cromwell and Oliver Cromwell (many people even confuse the confuse the two). The answer is yes - the two men were related. This thread will explain how with a quick guide to the #CromwellFamily #Tudors #17thCentury 1/7
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