HISTORY | 360 Years Ago
Oliver Cromwell
and the English republic
Der englische Bürgerkrieg setzte der Monarchie ein kurzfristiges Ende und ermöglichte dadurch politische Reformen. Doch der Aufbau einer Republik erwies sich als überaus schwierig.
Von MIKE PILEWSKI.
Cromwell (right),
around 1649, by
Robert Walker
I
t’s hard to imagine England without a monarchy. From
King Arthur to William I, Henry VIII and Elizabeth II,
the monarch has played a central role in the country’s history. e principle of monarchy as the system of government is even entrenched in the name “United Kingdom”.
Yet this wasn’t always so: for 11 years in the mid-17th century, England was a republic, without a king or queen.
approval [E(pru:v&l]
back down [)bÄk (daUn]
chief justice [)tSi:f (dZVstIs]
clergy [(kl§:dZi]
customs duty [(kVstEmz )dju:ti]
dissolve [dI(zQlv]
enforce [In(fO:s]
entrench [In(trentS]
expenditure [Ik(spendItSE]
preservation [)prezE(veIS&n]
reign [reIn]
summon [(sVmEn]
40
Spotlight 12|13
Zustimmung, Bestätigung
einlenken, nachgeben
Oberrichter
Klerus
Zollabgaben
auflösen
durchsetzen, erzwingen
verwurzeln
Ausgaben
Aufrechterhaltung, Erhalt
Regierungszeit
einberufen
e reign of Charles I had been troubled from its start
in 1625. Parliament was critical of Charles’s autocratic foreign policy and expenditure, particularly in relation to an
unnecessary war with Spain that England was losing.
When the war spread to France, Charles tried to pay for it
by establishing a tax without the approval of parliament.
e chief justice, who had declared the tax illegal, was removed from office by the king, who also had more than
70 individuals arrested for refusing to pay the tax.
When parliament sent Charles a petition reminding
him of certain basic rights, the king backed down. But
soon, his officers were collecting customs duty, something
they were not allowed to do. Parliament passed resolutions
condemning the king’s actions. In response, Charles made
use of one of the rights he did have — to decide when to
summon parliament. He dissolved the representative body
and did not summon another one for 11 years.
In addition to his problems with parliament, Charles
also had his differences with the clergy. As head of the
Church of England, the king wanted continuity and the
preservation of ritual, and he was disturbed by the new Puritan movement. As head of the Church of Scotland, he
wanted to replace the Presbyterian system with the Anglican system. is decision was so unpopular that,
when Charles sent troops to Scotland to enforce
it, the conflict turned into a war.
Charles summoned a parliament in 1640
to raise the required funds. Parliament presented a list of complaints and demands
instead and forced Charles to agree that
most of what he had done since
1629 was illegal.
Fearing that any threats
made by the king
could be carried out
by the army, parliament recruited its
own soldiers.
In 1645, parliament
established the New
Model Army — “new
model” meaning a new kind
of army. is was no longer a
Since 1899, a statue of Cromwell
has stood outside parliament
Foto: Elliott Brown
Left: Charles I is brought as a prisoner to Carisbrooke Castle in 1647; right: Oliver Cromwell at the Battle of Naseby in 1645
regional militia, but a national fighting force made up of
professional soldiers. Led by omas Fairfax and Oliver
Cromwell, the New Model Army inflicted one defeat after
another on Charles’s soldiers. e civil war ended in
August 1648; the king, called “the grand author of our
troubles”, was put on trial and executed in January 1649.
e monarchy was no more.
In March, the House of Commons abolished the
House of Lords: “e Commons of England assembled in
Parliament, finding by too long experience that the House
of Lords is useless and dangerous to the people of England
to be continued, have thought it fit to ordain ... that from
henceforth the House of Lords in Parliament shall be and
is hereby wholly abolished and taken away... [N]o peer of
this land, not being elected, qualified and sitting in Parliament as aforesaid, shall claim, have, or make use of any
privilege of Parliament...”
In May, the Commonwealth of England was declared:
a republic run by a council of state, parliament and the
New Model Army. e motto of the Commonwealth was
pax quæritur bello (peace through war).
In military matters, the Commonwealth was highly efficient. In several decisive battles during a brief renewal of
fighting, Cromwell put an end to the remains of the king’s
forces in Ireland as well as to a final attack in Scotland by
forces loyal to Charles’s son, Charles II.
Parliament, meanwhile, discussed the political questions that had divided the country for a quarter of a century, but it couldn’t agree on what to do, what rules to
establish or even what form of government to have.
Progress was so slow that it was three years after the establishment of the Commonwealth that parliament agreed
to hold a new election, but with its existing members as
candidates. For the army, this was too much. e military,
under Cromwell, took control and replaced this parliament with representatives of its own choosing. However,
these, too, argued among themselves and dissolved their
own parliament after only five months.
It was time for an experiment. Britain’s first constitution, the Instrument of Government, was written. is established the English Protectorate. e country was to be
governed by a “lord protector”, a council of state, and a
parliament elected at least every three years.
On 16 December 1653 — 360 years ago this month
— Cromwell was made lord protector. He appointed officials who went to work on reforming both the civil and
religious realms. Cromwell, a Puritan, made his influence
felt in new laws that encouraged good morals, punished
drunkenness and bad behaviour in public, and restricted
cultural expression. Torn between a desire to serve the people and to rule them, Cromwell was a disputed figure until
his death in 1658.
Cromwell’s son Richard was given his father’s title, but
was manipulated by Oliver Cromwell’s old opponents in
parliament. e House of Lords was re-established, and
soon it became clear that the only real difference to the old
monarchy was the missing monarch.
Richard stepped down after only months in office, and
in 1660, England held its first election for almost 20 years
— giving the royalists a majority in parliament. With a
promise of amnesty to most of Cromwell’s supporters,
Charles II was invited to return as king on his 30th birthday, and all the laws passed by the Commonwealth of England were revoked.
abolish [E(bQlIS]
amnesty [(ÄmnEsti]
as aforesaid [Ez E(fO:sed]
abschaffen
Straferlass, Begnadigung
wie oben genannt,
wie vorstehend
sich versammeln, zusammenkommen
Staatsrat
from henceforth [frEm )hens(fO:T]
hereby [)hIE(baI]
inflict [In(flIkt]
lord protector [)lO:d prE(tektE]
ordain [O:(deIn]
peer [pIE]
entscheidend
hinrichten
etw. für angebracht halten
realm [relm]
renewal [ri(nju:El]
revoke [ri(vEUk]
assemble [E(semb&l]
council of state
[)kaUns&l Ev (steIt]
decisive [di(saIsIv]
execute [(eksIkju:t]
fit: think sth. ~ to [fIt]
von nun an
hiermit
(Niederlage) beibringen
Lordprotektor, Schutzherr
bestimmen, verfügen
Angehörige(r) des britischen
Hochadels
Bereich
Wiederaufnahme
aufheben, widerrufen
12|13 Spotlight
41