WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.879 Hey, everyone. Welcome to the show. Great to 00:00:01.879 --> 00:00:03.879 be diving into this one. Absolutely. Can you 00:00:03.879 --> 00:00:08.740 imagine a regime seemingly rock solid built on 00:00:08.740 --> 00:00:11.949 this? incredible force of personality and let's 00:00:11.949 --> 00:00:15.990 face it, military power. Suddenly just teetering 00:00:15.990 --> 00:00:18.670 right on the edge of collapse the moment its 00:00:18.670 --> 00:00:21.050 leader dies. It's a classic historical pressure 00:00:21.050 --> 00:00:23.129 point, isn't it? Yeah. That moment of transition. 00:00:23.429 --> 00:00:26.829 Exactly. And today we're diving right into that 00:00:26.829 --> 00:00:29.469 kind of historical drama, a moment where the 00:00:29.469 --> 00:00:32.490 unexpected death of a, well, a towering figure 00:00:32.490 --> 00:00:36.149 really unleashed this whirlwind of ambition, 00:00:36.369 --> 00:00:40.060 fear, and just this desperate scramble for order. 00:00:40.240 --> 00:00:42.000 We're talking about the death of Oliver Cromwell, 00:00:42.060 --> 00:00:44.219 of course. Yeah. And the chaotic period that 00:00:44.219 --> 00:00:46.600 followed. Precisely. This deep dive looks at 00:00:46.600 --> 00:00:49.460 that pivotal time in English history, you know, 00:00:49.460 --> 00:00:51.700 post -Civil War, heading towards the Restoration. 00:00:52.039 --> 00:00:54.299 It's a thrilling glimpse into the raw dynamics 00:00:54.299 --> 00:00:56.560 of power. The fragility beneath the surface. 00:00:56.780 --> 00:00:58.799 Totally. So if you're fascinated by those moments 00:00:58.799 --> 00:01:00.539 where history just hangs in the balance, and 00:01:00.539 --> 00:01:02.340 if you want to uncover some surprising insights 00:01:02.340 --> 00:01:04.719 into how societies cope when leadership vanishes. 00:01:04.739 --> 00:01:07.530 Or appears to vanish. Good point. Then be sure 00:01:07.530 --> 00:01:09.510 to like and subscribe for more deep dives like 00:01:09.510 --> 00:01:11.829 this one. We'll be using Henry Reese's book, 00:01:11.930 --> 00:01:15.250 The Fall, as a key guide here. It meticulously 00:01:15.250 --> 00:01:17.930 details the events after Cromwell's death. That's 00:01:17.930 --> 00:01:19.930 right. The Fall. Link is in the description if 00:01:19.930 --> 00:01:21.909 you wanted to check it out on Amazon. Prepare 00:01:21.909 --> 00:01:23.930 yourselves because you're going to see how quickly 00:01:23.930 --> 00:01:26.409 even the strongest authority can dissolve. And 00:01:26.409 --> 00:01:29.450 how unexpected people step up or try to. And 00:01:29.450 --> 00:01:32.129 how that deep, deep desire for just some kind 00:01:32.129 --> 00:01:35.310 of stability ultimately shapes a nation's future. 00:01:35.849 --> 00:01:38.750 It kicks off, fascinatingly, with this almost 00:01:38.750 --> 00:01:42.150 surreal quiet right after Oliver Cromwell dies. 00:01:42.329 --> 00:01:46.730 That's September 3rd, 1658. Okay. His son, Richard, 00:01:46.950 --> 00:01:49.430 is proclaimed protector in London the very next 00:01:49.430 --> 00:01:52.409 morning, September 4th. Very formal, very official. 00:01:52.629 --> 00:01:54.930 So it looks smooth on the surface. Remarkably 00:01:54.930 --> 00:01:57.810 so. The Privy Council manages transition within 00:01:57.810 --> 00:02:01.370 about 18 hours, which is pretty quick. Well, 00:02:01.609 --> 00:02:03.849 there's no clear hereditary succession principle 00:02:03.849 --> 00:02:06.829 here, not like a monarchy. And crucially, there 00:02:06.829 --> 00:02:09.789 wasn't definitive written proof that Oliver had 00:02:09.789 --> 00:02:12.590 actually nominated Richard under the terms of 00:02:12.590 --> 00:02:15.009 the humble petition and advice, the sort of constitution 00:02:15.009 --> 00:02:18.509 of the time. Ah, OK. So the legal basis was maybe 00:02:18.509 --> 00:02:21.189 a bit shaky or at least not explicitly documented 00:02:21.189 --> 00:02:24.229 right then? Potentially, yes. Yet outwardly, 00:02:24.229 --> 00:02:26.780 it's calm. So let's unpack that calm, because 00:02:26.780 --> 00:02:29.120 as you hinted and as Reese points out, underneath 00:02:29.120 --> 00:02:32.020 that quiet surface, there were huge anxieties 00:02:32.020 --> 00:02:33.900 beforehand about what would happen when Oliver 00:02:33.900 --> 00:02:36.280 died. Absolutely massive anxieties. You have 00:02:36.280 --> 00:02:39.439 figures like Thomas Fairfax noting the huge significance 00:02:39.439 --> 00:02:42.960 of the change, but also commenting on the, well, 00:02:43.000 --> 00:02:45.319 the quietness as if nothing had really happened. 00:02:45.439 --> 00:02:47.719 John Tillotson writing from London reported this 00:02:47.719 --> 00:02:49.939 deep sense of peace. People just didn't seem 00:02:49.939 --> 00:02:52.340 to notice any alteration. Which is just bizarre, 00:02:52.560 --> 00:02:55.319 given Cromwell's dominance, right? So what's 00:02:55.319 --> 00:02:58.199 going on? Is this genuine acceptance of Richard 00:02:58.199 --> 00:03:00.919 or is it something else? Relief, maybe? I think 00:03:00.919 --> 00:03:03.500 relief is a big part of it. That initial calm. 00:03:04.280 --> 00:03:06.860 It probably wasn't deep -seated acceptance of 00:03:06.860 --> 00:03:09.659 Richard himself. More like everyone collectively 00:03:09.659 --> 00:03:12.599 holding their breath relieved the immediate chaos 00:03:12.599 --> 00:03:14.919 hadn't erupted. Because the fear of chaos was 00:03:14.919 --> 00:03:17.699 real. Oh, absolutely. Six months before Oliver 00:03:17.699 --> 00:03:20.520 died, someone wrote, urging him to name a successor 00:03:20.520 --> 00:03:23.580 precisely to stop a chaos of confusion. John 00:03:23.580 --> 00:03:26.180 Thurlow, Cromwell's intelligence chief, a key 00:03:26.180 --> 00:03:29.180 insider. Right. He sensed... General consternation 00:03:29.180 --> 00:03:31.719 at the prospect of Oliver's death. He feared 00:03:31.719 --> 00:03:35.860 our own divisions far more than, say, a royalist 00:03:35.860 --> 00:03:38.360 comeback. Interesting. Internal collapse was 00:03:38.360 --> 00:03:41.020 the bigger worry. Exactly. Sir Archibald Johnston 00:03:41.020 --> 00:03:43.439 noted the great apprehensions before Oliver died, 00:03:43.719 --> 00:03:46.139 contrasting sharply with the lack of obvious 00:03:46.139 --> 00:03:49.539 grief or fear immediately after. Richard Baxter 00:03:49.539 --> 00:03:52.120 recalled Richard being quietly settled, even 00:03:52.120 --> 00:03:54.460 though many expected total confusion and discord. 00:03:54.759 --> 00:03:56.879 So the expectation was meltdown. Pretty much. 00:03:57.310 --> 00:04:00.009 George Downing called it a most surprising, astonishing 00:04:00.009 --> 00:04:03.090 mercy that things went so smoothly because many 00:04:03.090 --> 00:04:05.090 thought Oliver's death would open a wide door 00:04:05.090 --> 00:04:07.889 for Trey Stewart, Charles Stewart, the exiled 00:04:07.889 --> 00:04:10.849 king. Okay, so the key insight here is that contrast. 00:04:11.169 --> 00:04:14.490 The expected chaos versus the immediate, almost 00:04:14.490 --> 00:04:17.949 unsettling order. Precisely. It tells you a lot 00:04:17.949 --> 00:04:20.750 about the underlying fragility and fear beneath 00:04:20.750 --> 00:04:23.730 the protectorate's surface. That apparent ease 00:04:23.730 --> 00:04:26.449 reveals how the political nation, the people 00:04:26.449 --> 00:04:29.290 with influence, viewed the regime at that specific 00:04:29.290 --> 00:04:32.689 moment. So was it just relief or was there some 00:04:32.689 --> 00:04:35.230 level of genuine buy -in to the protectorate 00:04:35.230 --> 00:04:37.329 continuing, even under Richard? It's complex. 00:04:37.490 --> 00:04:39.490 There was probably a degree of pragmatic acceptance 00:04:39.490 --> 00:04:42.389 among some. They'd lived through immense upheaval. 00:04:42.490 --> 00:04:45.610 Civil wars, regime change. Exactly. Stability 00:04:45.610 --> 00:04:48.430 was likely the top priority for many. And Richard, 00:04:48.589 --> 00:04:50.850 initially at least, seemed to offer continuation. 00:04:51.519 --> 00:04:53.660 Plus, the government machinery, the Privy Council, 00:04:53.920 --> 00:04:56.480 acted quickly and decisively. That likely shut 00:04:56.480 --> 00:04:58.680 down any immediate challenges. And there wasn't 00:04:58.680 --> 00:05:01.399 a clear alternative ready to step in. Not one 00:05:01.399 --> 00:05:04.040 that commanded universal support, no. That definitely 00:05:04.040 --> 00:05:05.899 helped Richard in those first hours and days. 00:05:06.220 --> 00:05:08.000 Okay, but then it gets even more interesting 00:05:08.000 --> 00:05:10.540 because it wasn't just quiet acceptance. We see 00:05:10.540 --> 00:05:13.620 this flood, almost, of addresses and petitions 00:05:13.620 --> 00:05:17.000 coming in publicly backing Richard. Yes, a very 00:05:17.000 --> 00:05:19.939 public display of endorsement. Many of these 00:05:19.939 --> 00:05:22.699 declarations really hammered home the idea that 00:05:22.699 --> 00:05:25.579 Oliver himself had nominated Richard. Ah, so 00:05:25.579 --> 00:05:27.939 emphasizing legitimacy through Oliver's will. 00:05:28.120 --> 00:05:30.819 Right. They praised Richard's sweet and peaceable 00:05:30.819 --> 00:05:33.819 entrance. Some even used that biblical analogy, 00:05:34.180 --> 00:05:36.980 Richard, as Joshua taking over from Oliver's 00:05:36.980 --> 00:05:39.199 Moses. Powerful imagery. And they constantly 00:05:39.199 --> 00:05:42.279 cited the humble petition and advice as the legal 00:05:42.279 --> 00:05:45.000 basis for his succeeding his father. The address 00:05:45.000 --> 00:05:47.480 from the East Riding of Yorkshire was apparently... 00:05:47.680 --> 00:05:49.779 particularly over the top in its praise. Okay, 00:05:49.839 --> 00:05:52.420 but here's the kicker. Was this genuine popular 00:05:52.420 --> 00:05:55.139 support bubbling up? Yeah. Because Reese points 00:05:55.139 --> 00:05:57.040 out the Army Command was actually circulating 00:05:57.040 --> 00:06:00.000 templates for these addresses. Bingo. That certainly 00:06:00.000 --> 00:06:02.699 suggests, well, orchestration, doesn't it? It 00:06:02.699 --> 00:06:04.980 really does. A bit stage managed. The Army's 00:06:04.980 --> 00:06:07.379 hand is undeniable. The fact that civilian documents 00:06:07.379 --> 00:06:10.100 often use the exact same phrasing as the Army 00:06:10.100 --> 00:06:13.079 templates, that's more than coincidence. But 00:06:13.079 --> 00:06:15.550 it's not just the Army. Provincial elites saw 00:06:15.550 --> 00:06:17.509 an opportunity here, too. They had their own 00:06:17.509 --> 00:06:20.410 reasons to publicly back the new guy. Like what? 00:06:20.629 --> 00:06:23.910 Local interests? Absolutely. Exeter, for example, 00:06:23.910 --> 00:06:25.610 might have wanted to show they were cooperative 00:06:25.610 --> 00:06:28.810 now. Newcastle probably wanted to soothe worries 00:06:28.810 --> 00:06:32.290 about royalist sympathies in their area. York 00:06:32.290 --> 00:06:35.449 put on a big show to emphasize its own regional 00:06:35.449 --> 00:06:38.829 importance. So demonstrating loyalty, managing 00:06:38.829 --> 00:06:41.550 perceptions. And proven they could hold large 00:06:41.550 --> 00:06:43.949 gatherings without things getting out of hand. 00:06:44.459 --> 00:06:47.100 That was important, too. So it's a mix. Some 00:06:47.100 --> 00:06:49.480 genuine support, perhaps. Some calculated self 00:06:49.480 --> 00:06:51.259 -interest. Definitely some military pressure. 00:06:51.459 --> 00:06:54.180 And maybe not always deep enthusiasm, even when 00:06:54.180 --> 00:06:56.620 an address was sent. The example of Great Yarmouth 00:06:56.620 --> 00:06:59.360 is telling, right? Slow to endorse Richard, quick 00:06:59.360 --> 00:07:02.500 to back Charles a second later. Exactly. Allegiances 00:07:02.500 --> 00:07:04.639 were very fluid. It highlights the performative 00:07:04.639 --> 00:07:06.920 nature of much of this support. Right. A calculated 00:07:06.920 --> 00:07:09.120 performance. Now let's talk about Richard himself. 00:07:09.339 --> 00:07:11.819 He wasn't exactly groomed for this, was he? Not 00:07:11.819 --> 00:07:14.019 like his father trained him up. That's a really 00:07:14.019 --> 00:07:16.459 crucial point. Richard was 40 when he took over, 00:07:16.500 --> 00:07:19.379 so not some kid. He was apparently quite personable, 00:07:19.480 --> 00:07:22.439 easy manner, could give a decent speech. Okay, 00:07:22.540 --> 00:07:25.819 some skills. And he had been increasingly involved 00:07:25.819 --> 00:07:29.040 in public life from the mid -1650s. He got onto 00:07:29.040 --> 00:07:32.620 the Privy Council in December 1657. So some exposure. 00:07:33.000 --> 00:07:37.360 Yes, but those persistent rumors about him maybe 00:07:37.360 --> 00:07:39.779 heading the government in Scotland, they never 00:07:39.779 --> 00:07:43.480 happened. It hints maybe Oliver or others were 00:07:43.480 --> 00:07:46.399 hesitant to give him real executive power. Interesting. 00:07:46.600 --> 00:07:48.860 And the historian Henry Hallam made a really 00:07:48.860 --> 00:07:51.720 sharp observation. He contrasted Oliver's apparent 00:07:51.720 --> 00:07:54.019 lack of effort in preparing Richard for the top 00:07:54.019 --> 00:07:56.939 job with a very deliberate way he did prepare 00:07:56.939 --> 00:07:59.639 his other son, Henry, for his role running Ireland. 00:07:59.899 --> 00:08:03.000 So Henry got the real training Richard got? Well, 00:08:03.060 --> 00:08:04.839 he was chancellor of Oxford University. I guess 00:08:04.839 --> 00:08:07.560 so. Prestigious, yes. but hardly an apprenticeship 00:08:07.560 --> 00:08:09.500 for Lord Protector of Three Nations in Turmoil. 00:08:09.639 --> 00:08:12.220 Not quite the same skill set needed. So we have 00:08:12.220 --> 00:08:14.540 this guy, pleasant enough, some public profile, 00:08:14.759 --> 00:08:17.639 but lacking deep political and military experience, 00:08:17.740 --> 00:08:20.220 stepping into his father's massive shoes. And 00:08:20.220 --> 00:08:22.459 stepping into a situation dominated by the army. 00:08:22.600 --> 00:08:24.759 You simply can't talk about this period without 00:08:24.759 --> 00:08:27.000 focusing on the army. Which had been Oliver's 00:08:27.000 --> 00:08:29.060 power base, but also a source of trouble for 00:08:29.060 --> 00:08:31.300 him and clearly remained a potential problem 00:08:31.300 --> 00:08:33.820 for Richard. Absolutely. We know the protectorate 00:08:33.820 --> 00:08:37.620 collapses in April 1659 and the army is key to 00:08:37.620 --> 00:08:39.860 that. So it's easy to look back and see the army 00:08:39.860 --> 00:08:42.320 as Richard's opponent from day one. But it was 00:08:42.320 --> 00:08:46.029 more complex. Oh, yes. Tension between the Lord 00:08:46.029 --> 00:08:48.529 General Cromwell, then Richard, and senior officers 00:08:48.529 --> 00:08:51.750 was baked into the new model army from way back, 00:08:51.950 --> 00:08:56.350 at least 1647. Oliver himself had cashiered plenty 00:08:56.350 --> 00:08:59.009 of senior officers over the years. It wasn't 00:08:59.009 --> 00:09:01.870 some monolithic, obedient tool. It was politicized. 00:09:01.970 --> 00:09:04.129 Highly politicized. Yeah. With its own ideas, 00:09:04.169 --> 00:09:06.730 its own grievances, and one long -held belief 00:09:06.730 --> 00:09:09.309 within the army command was about keeping a really 00:09:09.309 --> 00:09:12.029 large officer corps more than strictly needed. 00:09:12.129 --> 00:09:14.320 Why? What was the logic there? Well, the official 00:09:14.320 --> 00:09:16.659 line was it made the army easier to manage in 00:09:16.659 --> 00:09:19.080 peacetime. And it meant you had experienced guys 00:09:19.080 --> 00:09:21.500 ready to step up if needed. Quick promotion. 00:09:21.700 --> 00:09:23.919 Makes some sense. But Henry Cromwell, Richard's 00:09:23.919 --> 00:09:26.100 brother in Ireland, he called it an expensive 00:09:26.100 --> 00:09:29.000 passion. He basically said it was about preserving 00:09:29.000 --> 00:09:32.340 jobs and patronage for the boys. A mix of military 00:09:32.340 --> 00:09:35.220 logic and self -interest, probably. An expensive 00:09:35.220 --> 00:09:37.360 passion, especially when the state was already 00:09:37.360 --> 00:09:39.860 struggling financially. Precisely. And that situation 00:09:39.860 --> 00:09:42.559 got massively worse because of Oliver's foreign 00:09:42.559 --> 00:09:45.870 policy. Specifically, the war with Spain. Ah, 00:09:46.009 --> 00:09:49.350 yes. Started in 1655. The protectorate probably 00:09:49.350 --> 00:09:51.409 could have afforded its armies without foreign 00:09:51.409 --> 00:09:55.090 wars. But the Spanish War blew spending sky high. 00:09:55.289 --> 00:09:58.049 How so? Huge increase in naval costs, obviously. 00:09:58.690 --> 00:10:01.429 Then there was the cost of garrisoning new territories 00:10:01.429 --> 00:10:04.789 like Jamaica and Dunkirk. The estimates Rees 00:10:04.789 --> 00:10:07.470 cites suggested added maybe 500 ,000 pounds to 00:10:07.470 --> 00:10:09.950 600 ,000 pounds a year to the budget. A colossal 00:10:09.950 --> 00:10:13.070 sum back then. Wow. And that hit hard. By April 00:10:13.070 --> 00:10:15.570 1659, the cost of the Navy in these overseas 00:10:15.570 --> 00:10:17.570 garrisons was actually more than the cost of 00:10:17.570 --> 00:10:19.269 the armies in England, Scotland, and Ireland 00:10:19.269 --> 00:10:21.409 combined. Incredible. So by the time Richard 00:10:21.409 --> 00:10:23.909 takes over, the financial situation, especially 00:10:23.909 --> 00:10:26.370 for the Navy, must have been desperate. Absolutely 00:10:26.370 --> 00:10:28.889 dire. The admiralty commissioners themselves 00:10:28.889 --> 00:10:32.870 reported in September 1658, just as Richard is 00:10:32.870 --> 00:10:35.909 becoming protector, that the Navy was on the 00:10:35.909 --> 00:10:38.629 brink of ruin. Why? What happened? Suppliers 00:10:38.629 --> 00:10:40.529 had lost confidence. They weren't getting paid. 00:10:40.960 --> 00:10:43.100 So they started demanding cash up front, which 00:10:43.100 --> 00:10:45.440 the government didn't have. A classic debt spiral. 00:10:45.759 --> 00:10:48.000 And the big reason for this collapse was successive 00:10:48.000 --> 00:10:50.559 cuts to the monthly assessment tax levied on 00:10:50.559 --> 00:10:54.039 England. That tax was vital. Right, the assessment 00:10:54.039 --> 00:10:56.720 tax. That seems key to the whole financial picture 00:10:56.720 --> 00:10:58.360 of the interregnum. Can you break that down a 00:10:58.360 --> 00:11:01.960 bit? Sure. The government had three main income 00:11:01.960 --> 00:11:06.220 sources. Customs duties, excise taxes, and this 00:11:06.220 --> 00:11:09.059 assessment tax. Customs and excise were fairly 00:11:09.059 --> 00:11:10.860 predictable, but they had natural limits. You 00:11:10.860 --> 00:11:13.919 can only tax trade so much. Exactly. The assessment 00:11:13.919 --> 00:11:16.179 tax, though, was the big variable. It was levied 00:11:16.179 --> 00:11:18.340 monthly on England, and the rate could be changed. 00:11:18.700 --> 00:11:21.279 Any changes had huge implications for how much 00:11:21.279 --> 00:11:23.220 military force the government could afford. So 00:11:23.220 --> 00:11:25.639 Cromwell knew cutting it would hurt. Oh, he understood 00:11:25.639 --> 00:11:28.460 the impact perfectly. But the tax was unpopular, 00:11:28.620 --> 00:11:30.940 politically sensitive. Still, its big attraction 00:11:30.940 --> 00:11:34.019 was efficiency. Low admin costs, people generally 00:11:34.019 --> 00:11:36.919 paid promptly, nonpayment wasn't a massive issue. 00:11:37.649 --> 00:11:40.049 Samuel Pepys later recorded Robert Blackburn, 00:11:40.169 --> 00:11:42.409 a key financial administrator, talking about 00:11:42.409 --> 00:11:44.289 how efficiently it was collected. But it was 00:11:44.289 --> 00:11:47.129 still a heavy burden. A very significant burden, 00:11:47.230 --> 00:11:49.970 especially compared to pre -war taxation levels. 00:11:50.149 --> 00:11:52.549 Reese gives an example from Hithe showing just 00:11:52.549 --> 00:11:55.370 how much it had increased. OK, so Richard inherits 00:11:55.370 --> 00:11:58.809 this situation. Shaky legitimacy, a politicized 00:11:58.809 --> 00:12:01.590 army with its own demands and absolutely dire 00:12:01.590 --> 00:12:05.090 finances worsened by war. Not exactly an easy 00:12:05.090 --> 00:12:07.669 start. Not at all. And then amidst all this, 00:12:07.750 --> 00:12:10.549 you get this really unexpected twist. Significant 00:12:10.549 --> 00:12:12.169 support for Richard coming from the political 00:12:12.169 --> 00:12:15.629 Presbyterians in the 1659 Parliament. To Presbyterians, 00:12:15.629 --> 00:12:18.230 weren't they often opponents of Cromwell? Excluded? 00:12:18.309 --> 00:12:20.350 Purged? Many of them were, yes. That's what's 00:12:20.350 --> 00:12:22.230 so remarkable. Guys who'd been kicked out during 00:12:22.230 --> 00:12:24.750 Pride's Purge in 1648 who'd opposed Cromwell 00:12:24.750 --> 00:12:28.169 in the 1654 Parliament, barred from the 1656 00:12:28.169 --> 00:12:31.750 one. Suddenly, in 1659, they're defending Richard's 00:12:31.750 --> 00:12:34.529 protectorate. Wow. Who are we talking about? 00:12:34.669 --> 00:12:37.029 Figures like Colonel John Birch, John Maynard, 00:12:37.210 --> 00:12:41.000 Samuel Gott. John Swinfen, men with serious political 00:12:41.000 --> 00:12:43.580 weight. And they weren't just passive supporters. 00:12:43.940 --> 00:12:47.019 They actively managed debates for Richard, arguing 00:12:47.019 --> 00:12:49.879 for the humble petition and advice. Why the sudden 00:12:49.879 --> 00:12:52.299 change of heart? What was their motivation? It 00:12:52.299 --> 00:12:55.240 seems overwhelmingly pragmatic. They feared the 00:12:55.240 --> 00:12:59.200 alternatives, total chaos or worse, direct military 00:12:59.200 --> 00:13:01.840 rule by the army radicals. So Richard was the 00:13:01.840 --> 00:13:05.460 lesser evil, a bulwark against the army. Essentially, 00:13:05.460 --> 00:13:08.340 yes. They focused on what Reese calls the negative 00:13:08.340 --> 00:13:10.139 virtues of the Humboldt petition, basically. 00:13:10.279 --> 00:13:12.259 The fact that it hadn't been imposed directly 00:13:12.259 --> 00:13:14.899 by the army. It represented for them a civilian 00:13:14.899 --> 00:13:17.279 constitution, however flawed. A kind of pragmatic 00:13:17.279 --> 00:13:19.919 constitutionalism. Exactly. And their leadership 00:13:19.919 --> 00:13:22.159 was effective, at least initially. They managed 00:13:22.159 --> 00:13:24.879 to bed in this civilian structure and the Republican 00:13:24.879 --> 00:13:27.059 opposition in parliament couldn't win key votes 00:13:27.059 --> 00:13:29.759 against them. So Charles Coote reported things 00:13:29.759 --> 00:13:32.379 becoming more serene with a possible path to 00:13:32.379 --> 00:13:35.269 a stable settlement. Fascinating. A temporary 00:13:35.269 --> 00:13:38.169 alliance of convenience driven by fear of the 00:13:38.169 --> 00:13:41.389 army. But the army wasn't just going to sit quietly, 00:13:41.549 --> 00:13:44.509 were they? They issued this humble representation. 00:13:45.110 --> 00:13:49.370 Right. April 6, 1659. This wasn't humble at all, 00:13:49.389 --> 00:13:52.269 really. It was a very strongly worded reminder 00:13:52.269 --> 00:13:55.710 to Richard and Parliament about the army's grievances. 00:13:55.909 --> 00:13:58.759 Hate and indemnity again. Top of the list. pay 00:13:58.759 --> 00:14:01.240 arrears and legal protection for things they'd 00:14:01.240 --> 00:14:03.279 done during the wars. They said they were breaking 00:14:03.279 --> 00:14:06.120 cover due to imminent dangers and necessities. 00:14:06.120 --> 00:14:08.700 Strong language. And significantly, they gave 00:14:08.700 --> 00:14:11.059 it to Richard on the 6th and had it printed and 00:14:11.059 --> 00:14:13.679 out on the streets the next morning. A very public 00:14:13.679 --> 00:14:15.700 power play. What was their goal? What do they 00:14:15.700 --> 00:14:17.779 want Parliament to do? They wanted Parliament 00:14:17.779 --> 00:14:20.159 to stop debating constitutional niceties and 00:14:20.159 --> 00:14:22.159 focus on their needs, pay, indemnity, national 00:14:22.159 --> 00:14:24.929 security, practical stuff. But Parliament had 00:14:24.929 --> 00:14:26.909 other priorities. And Parliament wasn't exactly 00:14:26.909 --> 00:14:29.610 thrilled by this, I imagine. That anti -military 00:14:29.610 --> 00:14:32.370 feeling. It just exploded. Once you had a full 00:14:32.370 --> 00:14:35.049 House sitting, that resentment found its voice. 00:14:36.370 --> 00:14:38.590 MPs saw the Army acting like a fourth estate, 00:14:38.769 --> 00:14:41.190 basically another branch of government, interfering 00:14:41.190 --> 00:14:44.750 with impudence. The Army meeting separately didn't 00:14:44.750 --> 00:14:47.340 help either. Not at all. That weakened the parliament's 00:14:47.340 --> 00:14:49.759 reputation. Richard did meet senior officers, 00:14:50.039 --> 00:14:51.919 told them their petition was being considered, 00:14:52.080 --> 00:14:53.960 and they should go back to their commands because 00:14:53.960 --> 00:14:56.940 MPs were unhappy and the cavalier threat was 00:14:56.940 --> 00:14:59.059 always there. How did that go down? Apparently, 00:14:59.059 --> 00:15:01.059 there were some pretty bad tempered exchanges. 00:15:01.519 --> 00:15:04.620 The gap between them was widening rapidly. And 00:15:04.620 --> 00:15:06.659 looking back, it seems Richard's handling of 00:15:06.659 --> 00:15:09.379 this whole escalating crisis between parliament 00:15:09.379 --> 00:15:12.960 and the army was, well, clumsy. Clumsy is one 00:15:12.960 --> 00:15:16.419 word. Ineffective, maybe? Hindsight is easy, 00:15:16.500 --> 00:15:19.139 of course. But Reese suggests that earlier, more 00:15:19.139 --> 00:15:21.299 decisive action might have made a difference. 00:15:21.460 --> 00:15:23.700 Letting the Army's general counsel meet while 00:15:23.700 --> 00:15:25.879 also letting the commons behave provocatively 00:15:25.879 --> 00:15:28.320 just infuriated the Army. So he alienated both 00:15:28.320 --> 00:15:31.360 sides. He seemed unable to control either. And 00:15:31.360 --> 00:15:34.399 when he finally did take a drastic stand. dissolving 00:15:34.399 --> 00:15:37.639 parliament on April 18th, Reese argues it was 00:15:37.639 --> 00:15:41.019 based on really misguided advice. Misguided how? 00:15:41.399 --> 00:15:44.019 His advisors seem to have massively overestimated 00:15:44.019 --> 00:15:46.500 how much actual support Richard had within the 00:15:46.500 --> 00:15:49.580 army itself. People like Nehemiah Bourne were 00:15:49.580 --> 00:15:52.440 scornful, saying the protector had no real pull 00:15:52.440 --> 00:15:55.649 with the soldiers. Lady Ranelagh was scathing. 00:15:55.730 --> 00:15:57.870 She said Richard provoked the army based on false 00:15:57.870 --> 00:16:00.169 promises from flatterers. And the core issue 00:16:00.169 --> 00:16:02.490 was Richard himself just didn't command that 00:16:02.490 --> 00:16:05.190 personal loyalty his father had. It seems not. 00:16:05.509 --> 00:16:07.110 There might have been some initial encouraging 00:16:07.110 --> 00:16:09.389 noises. Maybe Richard hinted he backed the army 00:16:09.389 --> 00:16:11.529 against Parliament over his role as Generalissimo. 00:16:11.830 --> 00:16:14.289 But it didn't translate into real support when 00:16:14.289 --> 00:16:17.100 push came to shove. Apparently not. Any chance 00:16:17.100 --> 00:16:19.000 of reconciliation probably evaporated completely 00:16:19.000 --> 00:16:21.720 with that parliamentary debate on April 21st, 00:16:21.720 --> 00:16:24.580 the one about who controls the militia. Ah, yes. 00:16:24.820 --> 00:16:27.279 That must have hit a nerve with the army, control 00:16:27.279 --> 00:16:29.580 of the armed forces. Absolutely fundamental. 00:16:29.679 --> 00:16:33.039 For parliament to even debate taking control 00:16:33.039 --> 00:16:35.879 of the militia away from the protector and the 00:16:35.879 --> 00:16:39.070 existing army structure. It was seen as the ultimate 00:16:39.070 --> 00:16:42.429 provocation, a direct challenge. Betrayal, even. 00:16:42.490 --> 00:16:45.509 That's how the army saw it. A clear sign Parliament 00:16:45.509 --> 00:16:48.610 wanted to supplant them with a new force loyal 00:16:48.610 --> 00:16:51.480 only to Parliament. Reese sees the fact this 00:16:51.480 --> 00:16:54.100 debate even happened as a massive failure of 00:16:54.100 --> 00:16:56.419 political management by Richard's court. And 00:16:56.419 --> 00:16:58.519 the inevitable result of all this escalating 00:16:58.519 --> 00:17:00.960 tension and mistrust. The dissolution of parliament. 00:17:01.159 --> 00:17:03.379 Yeah. Which Edward Montague, a key figure, later 00:17:03.379 --> 00:17:05.579 called a great and fundamental error. Others 00:17:05.579 --> 00:17:08.819 agreed. Hugh Peter lamented the trampling upon 00:17:08.819 --> 00:17:10.779 the authority of what he thought was the best 00:17:10.779 --> 00:17:13.079 parliament and most freely chosen. Even Richard 00:17:13.079 --> 00:17:15.579 reportedly knew it was his ruin and resisted 00:17:15.579 --> 00:17:17.759 it initially. So Parliament's gone. Richard's 00:17:17.759 --> 00:17:19.839 authority is collapsing. Where does he look for 00:17:19.839 --> 00:17:22.420 muscle? His brothers, Monk in Scotland, Henry 00:17:22.420 --> 00:17:25.420 in Ireland, Lockhart in Dunkirk, they commanded 00:17:25.420 --> 00:17:28.880 troops. On paper, yes. They looked like potential 00:17:28.880 --> 00:17:32.700 pillars of support. Monk, especially, owed his 00:17:32.700 --> 00:17:35.099 career to the Cromwells, generally seen as loyal. 00:17:35.740 --> 00:17:37.759 Lockhart wasn't keen on the rum Parliament that 00:17:37.759 --> 00:17:40.759 would soon return. Mountague, commanding the 00:17:40.759 --> 00:17:43.480 fleet, expressed fears and sorrow at the protectorate's 00:17:43.480 --> 00:17:46.299 fall. So why didn't they prop him up? A combination 00:17:46.299 --> 00:17:48.819 of things, it seems. Confusion news traveled 00:17:48.819 --> 00:17:51.700 slowly, events in London were chaotic, communication 00:17:51.700 --> 00:17:54.339 was poor. Then there were their own vulnerabilities, 00:17:54.720 --> 00:17:56.980 their own ambitions, perhaps. And critically, 00:17:57.220 --> 00:18:00.279 Richard's own passivity. He doesn't seem to have 00:18:00.279 --> 00:18:02.660 actively rallied them or given them clear direction. 00:18:02.980 --> 00:18:05.140 He just didn't act decisively. Apparently not. 00:18:05.200 --> 00:18:08.509 So that potential backing just... when untapped. 00:18:08.670 --> 00:18:10.849 It paints a picture of a leader totally out of 00:18:10.849 --> 00:18:13.369 his depth. And while historians might try to 00:18:13.369 --> 00:18:15.910 be more generous now, his contemporaries weren't 00:18:15.910 --> 00:18:18.130 holding back, were they? No, they were often 00:18:18.130 --> 00:18:21.329 brutal. Reese notes that while reappraisal is 00:18:21.329 --> 00:18:23.769 fair, maybe the rehabilitation has gone far enough. 00:18:24.549 --> 00:18:26.890 Contemporaries like Nathaniel Fiennes flat out 00:18:26.890 --> 00:18:30.509 blamed Richard's conduct. Lord Falkenberg scorned 00:18:30.509 --> 00:18:33.009 his lack of courage. Lucy Hutchinson famously 00:18:33.009 --> 00:18:35.490 said the job was too big for him, calling him 00:18:35.490 --> 00:18:38.960 a meek temperate and quiet man. Not the qualities 00:18:38.960 --> 00:18:42.119 needed right then. So Richard's effectively sidelined. 00:18:42.279 --> 00:18:44.799 Parliament is dissolved again. The army is back 00:18:44.799 --> 00:18:47.039 in the driving seat. What are their options now? 00:18:47.319 --> 00:18:50.700 The Council of Officers met on April 23rd. They 00:18:50.700 --> 00:18:54.240 debated three main paths forward. One, try to 00:18:54.240 --> 00:18:56.259 keep governing under the existing humble petition 00:18:56.259 --> 00:18:59.720 and advice somehow. Two, recall the rump parliament, 00:18:59.839 --> 00:19:02.099 the one they'd kicked out years before. Three. 00:19:02.670 --> 00:19:04.910 Try to create some entirely new form of government. 00:19:05.029 --> 00:19:06.950 Radical options on the table. There was even 00:19:06.950 --> 00:19:09.369 talk of the army just raising money itself without 00:19:09.369 --> 00:19:12.089 any parliament. Extraordinary. Recalling the 00:19:12.089 --> 00:19:14.029 rump wasn't the obvious or most popular choice, 00:19:14.150 --> 00:19:16.750 though. Why not? Lady Ranelagh put it well. The 00:19:16.750 --> 00:19:18.670 rump was remembered as much for its failings 00:19:18.670 --> 00:19:21.390 as its merits. But they needed to act fast. Why 00:19:21.390 --> 00:19:24.349 the urgency? Fear of royalist uprisings flaring 00:19:24.349 --> 00:19:26.869 up. The likelihood of peace between France and 00:19:26.869 --> 00:19:29.410 Spain, which could free up foreign powers to 00:19:29.410 --> 00:19:33.119 intervene. And, fundamentally, no money. Army 00:19:33.119 --> 00:19:35.480 and Navy finances were collapsing. So the rum 00:19:35.480 --> 00:19:38.460 seemed the quickest, maybe the only viable path 00:19:38.460 --> 00:19:41.059 to some kind of legitimacy. Seems that's how 00:19:41.059 --> 00:19:43.319 they saw it. And as part of that, they quickly 00:19:43.319 --> 00:19:45.839 agreed to restore commands to officers to a brisk. 00:19:46.279 --> 00:19:48.700 Oliver Cromwell had previously removed Lambert, 00:19:48.799 --> 00:19:52.880 Oakey, Sanders, Packer, a signal of change within 00:19:52.880 --> 00:19:55.309 the Army itself. And recalling the rump must 00:19:55.309 --> 00:19:57.430 have energized the Republican opposition that 00:19:57.430 --> 00:19:59.430 had been simmering away. Absolutely. You could 00:19:59.430 --> 00:20:02.589 see organized opposition brewing from at least 00:20:02.589 --> 00:20:05.329 February 1658 with that Republican petition. 00:20:05.529 --> 00:20:07.869 The one that forced Oliver to dissolve his second 00:20:07.869 --> 00:20:09.890 parliament. That's the one. Talk about the good 00:20:09.890 --> 00:20:12.450 old righteous cause. We don't know exactly who 00:20:12.450 --> 00:20:14.869 wrote it, but it had prominent radical signatories 00:20:14.869 --> 00:20:17.769 like Henry Jesse, Hansard Nollis. And it wasn't 00:20:17.769 --> 00:20:20.109 secret they printed copies, circulated them openly. 00:20:20.269 --> 00:20:22.170 How much support did it have? Josias Berners 00:20:22.170 --> 00:20:25.029 claimed 10 ,000 subscribers, mainly from the 00:20:25.029 --> 00:20:27.109 separated churches, the independent congregations. 00:20:27.450 --> 00:20:29.930 They had surprisingly effective networks. So 00:20:29.930 --> 00:20:32.309 the rump returns. What's the reaction across 00:20:32.309 --> 00:20:36.230 the country? Celebration. Dread. A real mix. 00:20:36.809 --> 00:20:39.849 Many were deeply unhappy. William Lawrence called 00:20:39.849 --> 00:20:43.029 it a dreadful change. Henry Newcomb thought it 00:20:43.029 --> 00:20:45.809 would be a scourge to the nation. James Sharp 00:20:45.809 --> 00:20:48.109 noted pamphlets appearing that basically equated 00:20:48.109 --> 00:20:50.450 Presbyterians and Cavaliers as joint enemies 00:20:50.450 --> 00:20:53.230 of the rump. Robert Bailey feared for the established 00:20:53.230 --> 00:20:56.569 church. So lots of opposition. Yes, but interestingly, 00:20:56.769 --> 00:20:58.769 some royalists were apparently appalled too. 00:20:58.970 --> 00:21:01.839 Why? Wouldn't they welcome more chaos? Because 00:21:01.839 --> 00:21:04.200 they recognized the rump, for all its flaws, 00:21:04.299 --> 00:21:06.240 could govern effectively. They feared it might 00:21:06.240 --> 00:21:08.460 actually succeed and stabilize things, which 00:21:08.460 --> 00:21:09.980 would kill off hopes for a quick restoration 00:21:09.980 --> 00:21:12.579 of the king. Huh. That's ironic. But despite 00:21:12.579 --> 00:21:15.299 the mixed welcome, the rump moved fast to secure 00:21:15.299 --> 00:21:18.240 its power, especially militarily. Very fast. 00:21:18.319 --> 00:21:22.099 Very decisively. Monk, up in Scotland, was watching 00:21:22.099 --> 00:21:24.799 correspondence like a hawk. Across England, they 00:21:24.799 --> 00:21:27.930 clamped down hard. Hundreds of suspected royalists 00:21:27.930 --> 00:21:30.630 or potential troublemakers were arrested. Names 00:21:30.630 --> 00:21:34.329 like Howard, Hollis, Rug Popup. And in London. 00:21:34.509 --> 00:21:36.829 Full -on military occupation, essentially. Army 00:21:36.829 --> 00:21:39.369 guards everywhere, militia patrols ramped up, 00:21:39.450 --> 00:21:42.650 weapon checks, river patrols on the Thames, searches 00:21:42.650 --> 00:21:44.970 for horses to stop insurgents moving quickly. 00:21:45.130 --> 00:21:47.289 They weren't messing around. Not at all. Even 00:21:47.289 --> 00:21:49.990 the inns of court got searched. Gunsmith shops 00:21:49.990 --> 00:21:52.430 had their arms secured. Householders had to account 00:21:52.430 --> 00:21:55.130 for every lodger, every apprentice. Ferry travel 00:21:55.130 --> 00:21:57.609 was restricted, passes needed. Security got so 00:21:57.609 --> 00:22:00.200 tight, royalists just had to go to ground. Colonel 00:22:00.200 --> 00:22:02.539 Barkstead felt confident they had abundantly 00:22:02.539 --> 00:22:04.900 broken any immediate plots. And this wasn't just 00:22:04.900 --> 00:22:06.539 brute force they were coordinating information 00:22:06.539 --> 00:22:09.079 to. Yes, systematically. The Council of State 00:22:09.079 --> 00:22:11.960 sent regular updates to Monk in Scotland, commissioners 00:22:11.960 --> 00:22:15.259 in Ireland, Lockhart in Dunkirk, Downing in the 00:22:15.259 --> 00:22:17.900 Netherlands. Downing got weekly news summaries. 00:22:18.039 --> 00:22:21.460 Keeping everyone on message. And informed. News 00:22:21.460 --> 00:22:23.880 of Lambert defeating Booth's Rising was spread 00:22:23.880 --> 00:22:26.900 quickly. Officers in Scotland relayed news to 00:22:26.900 --> 00:22:29.359 Highland Lairds. The council demanded frequent 00:22:29.359 --> 00:22:32.359 updates for the localities too. Lambert, when 00:22:32.359 --> 00:22:34.839 campaigning, was sending messengers back to London 00:22:34.839 --> 00:22:37.059 multiple times a day. Impressive communication 00:22:37.059 --> 00:22:39.740 for the time. And just like with Richard, we 00:22:39.740 --> 00:22:42.359 see petitions being organized, this time in support 00:22:42.359 --> 00:22:45.539 of the rump. We do. And just like before, royalists 00:22:45.539 --> 00:22:48.160 scoffed, saying they were composed at Westminster. 00:22:48.480 --> 00:22:51.750 Not spontaneous. Same old story. And recent research 00:22:51.750 --> 00:22:54.750 suggests these petitions did share a family likeness 00:22:54.750 --> 00:22:57.130 in their wording, hinting at central coordination 00:22:57.130 --> 00:23:00.190 again. The actual scale of support is hard to 00:23:00.190 --> 00:23:03.009 gauge. You hear figures like many thousands above 00:23:03.009 --> 00:23:05.269 a thousand. The only one that survives with actual 00:23:05.269 --> 00:23:08.190 names from Buckinghamshire has about 800 signatories. 00:23:08.390 --> 00:23:11.390 So some organized support, but maybe not a massive 00:23:11.390 --> 00:23:13.589 popular wave. What about the more radical elements? 00:23:13.769 --> 00:23:16.509 Were they energized by the Rump's return? Hugely. 00:23:16.829 --> 00:23:19.450 You see, impressive recruitment for local militias, 00:23:19.549 --> 00:23:23.049 driven by pure commitment, not pay, a real sense 00:23:23.049 --> 00:23:25.529 of engagement. And those senior army officers 00:23:25.529 --> 00:23:28.829 Oliver had turged. They came flooding back, seeking 00:23:28.829 --> 00:23:31.450 vindication, expecting to get their old commands 00:23:31.450 --> 00:23:34.109 back. A sense of restoration for them, too. And 00:23:34.109 --> 00:23:36.430 a belief among many radicals that God himself 00:23:36.430 --> 00:23:39.230 had restored the rump. People like John Reed 00:23:39.230 --> 00:23:42.210 in Dorset, George Joyce in London, were active 00:23:42.210 --> 00:23:44.569 again, pushing for control of the militias to 00:23:44.569 --> 00:23:47.119 be given only to the faithful. Though there were 00:23:47.119 --> 00:23:49.279 grumbles that some MPs weren't thorough enough 00:23:49.279 --> 00:23:52.079 in purging unreliable figures from command. So 00:23:52.079 --> 00:23:54.119 despite the challenges, the Rump seemed to have 00:23:54.119 --> 00:23:56.920 a pretty firm grip initially. The failure of 00:23:56.920 --> 00:24:00.319 the royalist risings suggests that. It does suggest 00:24:00.319 --> 00:24:02.559 their grip was stronger than perhaps later historians 00:24:02.559 --> 00:24:05.279 assumed. They could mobilize supporters. They 00:24:05.279 --> 00:24:07.339 had administrative competence. They had an imposing 00:24:07.339 --> 00:24:10.279 army, at least initially. And they had constitutional 00:24:10.279 --> 00:24:13.349 authority, however contested. Effective opposition 00:24:13.349 --> 00:24:16.109 needed more than just discontent. It needed coordination 00:24:16.109 --> 00:24:20.309 and legitimacy. But that army unity, it was always 00:24:20.309 --> 00:24:23.049 fragile, wasn't it? And it fractures again. It 00:24:23.049 --> 00:24:25.869 does. After the Army interrupts Parliament again 00:24:25.869 --> 00:24:29.549 in October 1659, the Army leadership tries to 00:24:29.549 --> 00:24:32.609 blame the rump for the chaos that follows. But 00:24:32.609 --> 00:24:34.730 Parliament supporters hit back, pointing out 00:24:34.730 --> 00:24:36.609 that Army officers actually had a majority on 00:24:36.609 --> 00:24:38.369 the committee responsible for Army appointments, 00:24:38.589 --> 00:24:41.109 basically saying, you guys are partly responsible 00:24:41.109 --> 00:24:43.569 for this mess, too. And even within the rump 00:24:43.569 --> 00:24:46.190 itself, key figures started pulling in different 00:24:46.190 --> 00:24:49.829 directions. Hesselridge and Vane. Yes, they'd 00:24:49.829 --> 00:24:52.410 worked together initially. But by September 59, 00:24:52.750 --> 00:24:56.009 clear differences emerged. Loyalty to the Commonwealth 00:24:56.009 --> 00:24:59.230 ideal, religious toleration, the whole constitutional 00:24:59.230 --> 00:25:02.640 setup, they disagreed. Vane seemed to favor consensus, 00:25:03.059 --> 00:25:05.259 tweeting to avoid a complete break with the army, 00:25:05.440 --> 00:25:08.019 which he saw as disastrous. While Hesselridge 00:25:08.019 --> 00:25:10.619 was more confrontational. Appeared to be. Lord 00:25:10.619 --> 00:25:12.660 Warriston recorded trying to talk Vane down, 00:25:12.819 --> 00:25:14.680 telling him not to take too much offense at the 00:25:14.680 --> 00:25:16.700 army. It shows the tightrope Vane was walking. 00:25:16.900 --> 00:25:18.660 And these divisions were reflected within the 00:25:18.660 --> 00:25:21.240 army, too. Officers getting removed who had actually 00:25:21.240 --> 00:25:24.319 supported the rump's return. Exactly. Officers 00:25:24.319 --> 00:25:26.680 like Ashfield and Packer were removed in October, 00:25:26.880 --> 00:25:29.359 even though they'd backed the rump. But they'd 00:25:29.359 --> 00:25:32.119 also promoted petitions criticizing some of Parliament's 00:25:32.119 --> 00:25:34.599 actions. Packer's a good example. A defender 00:25:34.599 --> 00:25:37.160 of Parliament, but alienated by hostility towards 00:25:37.160 --> 00:25:39.759 his fellow officers. He'd opposed Richard Cromwell 00:25:39.759 --> 00:25:42.460 and publicly repented for it earlier. Complex 00:25:42.460 --> 00:25:45.660 loyalties all around. So October 1659, the army 00:25:45.660 --> 00:25:48.160 dissolves the rump again. They set up this committee 00:25:48.160 --> 00:25:51.220 of safety. Did they have a clear plan this time? 00:25:51.779 --> 00:25:54.299 Apparently not. Nedim's description of the army 00:25:54.299 --> 00:25:58.109 in 1653, irresolution and unpreparedness. Reese 00:25:58.109 --> 00:26:01.430 suggests it applied just as well in 1659. They 00:26:01.430 --> 00:26:03.910 issued a declaration justifying themselves, but 00:26:03.910 --> 00:26:06.750 no clear roadmap. Unlike Cromwell in 53, who 00:26:06.750 --> 00:26:09.789 set up councils. Right. Cromwell avoided immediate 00:26:09.789 --> 00:26:12.490 elections, deemed too risky, set up a council 00:26:12.490 --> 00:26:15.029 of state and a council of officers. The parallels 00:26:15.029 --> 00:26:16.809 are limited, though. Monk's presence looms large 00:26:16.809 --> 00:26:19.309 in 59, and the army arguably had fewer options. 00:26:19.450 --> 00:26:21.150 And the leadership within the army, specifically 00:26:21.150 --> 00:26:23.150 Charles Fleetwood, the commander -in -chief, 00:26:23.269 --> 00:26:25.750 he seems quite weak in this critical moment. 00:26:25.910 --> 00:26:29.089 Fleetwood does seem overwhelmed. He relied heavily 00:26:29.089 --> 00:26:32.230 on God and Cromwell's legacy rather than decisive 00:26:32.230 --> 00:26:34.769 action. He'd been a capable number two under 00:26:34.769 --> 00:26:37.549 Oliver, even disagreed with him sometimes, but 00:26:37.549 --> 00:26:39.309 he wasn't a natural leader in his own right. 00:26:39.430 --> 00:26:42.619 Lacked decisiveness. And maybe oversight. There's 00:26:42.619 --> 00:26:44.299 that story about his wife, Bridget, getting involved 00:26:44.299 --> 00:26:46.259 with the Derby petition without him seeming fully 00:26:46.259 --> 00:26:49.579 aware. Clarendon's account paints him as pious 00:26:49.579 --> 00:26:52.539 but paralyzed by indecision as the Committee 00:26:52.539 --> 00:26:55.259 of Safety crumbled. Ultimately, he failed the 00:26:55.259 --> 00:26:57.240 people who looked at him for leadership. While 00:26:57.240 --> 00:26:59.960 Fleetwood flounders in London, what about Hesselridge, 00:27:00.200 --> 00:27:02.859 the staunch rumper? He apparently retreated to 00:27:02.859 --> 00:27:05.420 his estate completely in despair of doing anything. 00:27:05.579 --> 00:27:07.880 He feared raising troops would just help the 00:27:07.880 --> 00:27:12.069 Royalists. He preferred... to close with the 00:27:12.069 --> 00:27:14.329 army in all their exorbitances rather than risk 00:27:14.329 --> 00:27:17.369 more division. Even the rump's own council estate 00:27:17.369 --> 00:27:20.029 hesitated to act decisively, according to Clarges. 00:27:20.190 --> 00:27:22.490 And Monk, still up in Scotland. Still there, 00:27:22.650 --> 00:27:26.190 but in a tricky spot by early December. Lambert's 00:27:26.190 --> 00:27:28.430 army facing him was larger, more experienced. 00:27:28.869 --> 00:27:31.970 Monk's position looked precarious. Yet somehow, 00:27:32.230 --> 00:27:34.930 the rump comes back, and the army's authority 00:27:34.930 --> 00:27:38.799 just evaporates. Why? Largely, it seems, due 00:27:38.799 --> 00:27:40.839 to this paralysis of will in the army leadership 00:27:40.839 --> 00:27:43.599 in London. Monk must have seemed like a threat 00:27:43.599 --> 00:27:47.000 to various groups, though. Oh, definitely. Lambert's 00:27:47.000 --> 00:27:49.039 troops were probably eager to march into Scotland. 00:27:49.380 --> 00:27:52.000 The independent churches were very wary of Monk, 00:27:52.019 --> 00:27:54.440 fearing he'd roll back their freedoms. Royalists, 00:27:54.460 --> 00:27:56.400 meanwhile, got their hopes up based on some of 00:27:56.400 --> 00:27:58.940 his statements. Baptists down in Cornwall were 00:27:58.940 --> 00:28:00.680 complaining about royalists getting too bold. 00:28:00.940 --> 00:28:03.380 That dread of a royalist restoration actually 00:28:03.380 --> 00:28:05.500 pushed Monk's own negotiators towards making 00:28:05.500 --> 00:28:08.400 a deal with the English army. Interesting. But 00:28:08.400 --> 00:28:10.720 Fleetwood and Lambert, instead of confronting 00:28:10.720 --> 00:28:13.500 Monk militarily, tried to accommodate him. It 00:28:13.500 --> 00:28:16.559 seems so. Despite efforts by figures like John 00:28:16.559 --> 00:28:19.420 Owen to sway Monk, they didn't denounce him outright. 00:28:19.660 --> 00:28:22.500 They allowed Clarges, Monk's man, to travel north 00:28:22.500 --> 00:28:24.940 and negotiate. It suggests they recognized their 00:28:24.940 --> 00:28:27.059 own weakness and wanted to avoid an army civil 00:28:27.059 --> 00:28:30.200 war. And then comes the game changer, Portsmouth. 00:28:30.940 --> 00:28:33.960 Hessleridge and two other dismissed rump MPs 00:28:33.960 --> 00:28:37.779 show up there in disguise. December 3rd. 1659. 00:28:38.059 --> 00:28:41.339 A massive moment. The governor, Nathaniel Witham, 00:28:41.420 --> 00:28:44.619 declares for Parliament. Suddenly, the Rumpers 00:28:44.619 --> 00:28:47.660 have control of a major port city. And that tipped 00:28:47.660 --> 00:28:50.599 the balance. Decisively. Within three weeks, 00:28:50.720 --> 00:28:52.640 Hesselridge marches towards London with about 00:28:52.640 --> 00:28:56.119 5 ,000 soldiers. That, plus the Navy defecting 00:28:56.119 --> 00:28:58.500 to Parliament's side, just completely broke the 00:28:58.500 --> 00:29:00.660 Committee of Safety's military government. The 00:29:00.660 --> 00:29:03.200 officers in London lost their nerve. As Maesden 00:29:03.200 --> 00:29:05.859 put it, their wheels fell off. Portsmouth was 00:29:05.859 --> 00:29:07.859 the occasion that brought us hitter back to the 00:29:07.859 --> 00:29:10.579 rump. But did Portsmouth inspire other places 00:29:10.579 --> 00:29:13.460 to rise up for the rump? Not really, no. There 00:29:13.460 --> 00:29:15.680 were some failed attempts in Kent. A few horsemen 00:29:15.680 --> 00:29:17.559 fought their way into Portsmouth, but suckered 00:29:17.559 --> 00:29:19.779 losses. The rump commissioners were effectively 00:29:19.779 --> 00:29:21.960 sealed off there. Claims other towns declared 00:29:21.960 --> 00:29:24.819 for them were mostly false. London's city government 00:29:24.819 --> 00:29:27.660 stayed neutral. London staying neutral is key. 00:29:28.099 --> 00:29:30.960 Hugely. The commissioners even wrote asking for 00:29:30.960 --> 00:29:33.700 a safe place in London for MPs to meet, but got 00:29:33.700 --> 00:29:35.750 silence back. They actually considered moving 00:29:35.750 --> 00:29:38.309 Parliament to Portsmouth. It shows how isolated 00:29:38.309 --> 00:29:40.490 they were initially. And that tension between 00:29:40.490 --> 00:29:43.509 the rump and the city of London? Yeah. It ran 00:29:43.509 --> 00:29:45.829 deep, didn't it? The city leadership was often 00:29:45.829 --> 00:29:49.069 Presbyterian, not keen on the rump's radicalism. 00:29:49.230 --> 00:29:52.309 Exactly. A prickly distance is how Rees describes 00:29:52.309 --> 00:29:54.430 it. They might cooperate on security against 00:29:54.430 --> 00:29:57.329 royalists, but fundamentally there was distrust. 00:29:58.120 --> 00:30:00.299 Flashpoints over the city's rights, customs, 00:30:00.440 --> 00:30:02.799 and especially Parliament, trying to use London's 00:30:02.799 --> 00:30:05.539 militia outside London. Parliament backed down 00:30:05.539 --> 00:30:07.519 on that initially. But then the rump provoked 00:30:07.519 --> 00:30:09.759 them. By trying to force John Ireton to serve 00:30:09.759 --> 00:30:12.319 a second year as Lord Mayor. The city united 00:30:12.319 --> 00:30:14.680 against that, and the rump had to back down again. 00:30:14.799 --> 00:30:17.180 A very strained relationship. But Portsmouth 00:30:17.180 --> 00:30:19.480 ultimately was enough to break the military government 00:30:19.480 --> 00:30:22.700 in London. Yes. The stalemate between Fleetwood 00:30:22.700 --> 00:30:24.480 and Admiral Lawson's fleet became irrelevant. 00:30:25.230 --> 00:30:27.990 The final nail was probably Major John Bremen, 00:30:28.130 --> 00:30:30.349 part of the force besieging Portsmouth for the 00:30:30.349 --> 00:30:32.789 Committee of Safety, defecting on December 20th. 00:30:32.869 --> 00:30:35.809 Another failure of leadership by Fleetwood, allowing 00:30:35.809 --> 00:30:38.009 potentially mutinous officers like Bremen and 00:30:38.009 --> 00:30:40.289 Rich to keep commands. It looks like negligence, 00:30:40.309 --> 00:30:43.170 yes. Bremen had a long radical history going 00:30:43.170 --> 00:30:46.829 back to 1647. His defection just triggered a 00:30:46.829 --> 00:30:49.089 wider collapse of the army's will. So the rump 00:30:49.089 --> 00:30:52.930 returns triumphant and ready for revenge. That 00:30:52.930 --> 00:30:56.710 was the fear. and it seems, the reality. Jono 00:30:56.710 --> 00:30:59.049 and Warnmonk, a restored rump, would seek retribution. 00:30:59.849 --> 00:31:02.970 Weriston sensed a judgmental mood. The main target. 00:31:03.130 --> 00:31:04.970 The army in England that had kicked him out. 00:31:05.049 --> 00:31:07.849 A purge. A big one. Hesselridge, Morley, and 00:31:07.849 --> 00:31:10.509 Watton, the heroes of Portsmouth, ratified Monk's 00:31:10.509 --> 00:31:13.230 purges in his own army and removed officers in 00:31:13.230 --> 00:31:15.890 England deemed politically suspect based on their 00:31:15.890 --> 00:31:18.470 actions. Not just intentions, actions. Harsh. 00:31:19.089 --> 00:31:21.650 Very. Officers pleaded for mercy, some in the 00:31:21.650 --> 00:31:24.170 army argued for forgiveness, but clemency wasn't 00:31:24.170 --> 00:31:26.740 on the rump's agenda, according to Ludlow. Many 00:31:26.740 --> 00:31:28.740 lost commissions just for following orders or 00:31:28.740 --> 00:31:31.220 having the wrong family connections. Officers 00:31:31.220 --> 00:31:33.599 were scrambling for powerful patrons, huge turnover, 00:31:33.779 --> 00:31:35.799 even among those the rump itself had commissioned 00:31:35.799 --> 00:31:38.660 just months before. Soldiers ended up under totally 00:31:38.660 --> 00:31:42.000 unfamiliar officers. A destabilized army. And 00:31:42.000 --> 00:31:44.299 meanwhile, Monk is marching south from Scotland. 00:31:44.559 --> 00:31:47.059 Still unclear what he's really planning. Very 00:31:47.059 --> 00:31:50.519 unclear. On January 3rd, he declares he's moving 00:31:50.519 --> 00:31:52.440 into England because he heard Lambert was marching 00:31:52.440 --> 00:31:54.579 back to London against Parliament. He gets to 00:31:54.579 --> 00:31:58.200 York. Pauses on January 12th. Was he planning 00:31:58.200 --> 00:32:01.920 a restoration yet? Probably not definitively. 00:32:01.980 --> 00:32:04.180 What did he believe in? Parliamentary government, 00:32:04.240 --> 00:32:07.359 it seems. But maybe not this rump. His instincts 00:32:07.359 --> 00:32:10.160 were closer to the MPs secluded back in 48, the 00:32:10.160 --> 00:32:13.140 Presbyterians. He resented attempts to mess with 00:32:13.140 --> 00:32:15.400 his regiments. He wasn't impressed by the support 00:32:15.400 --> 00:32:17.160 he'd got from the old Council of State. So he 00:32:17.160 --> 00:32:20.279 kept his options open. Very much so. His instructions 00:32:20.279 --> 00:32:22.279 for negotiating with the English army included 00:32:22.279 --> 00:32:24.839 provisions for a new parliament. He told his 00:32:24.839 --> 00:32:26.880 own troops he wanted a parliament chosen by the 00:32:26.880 --> 00:32:29.759 people and protected from violence. The Speaker's 00:32:29.759 --> 00:32:32.319 acknowledgement from London was lukewarm. Monk 00:32:32.319 --> 00:32:34.200 clearly doubted the rump could settle the nation. 00:32:34.380 --> 00:32:36.819 He sent his chaplain Gumbel to London to suss 00:32:36.819 --> 00:32:38.539 out the designs and affections of the people 00:32:38.539 --> 00:32:42.059 in power while he continued south, slowly. Taking 00:32:42.059 --> 00:32:45.740 his time. And while he marches, that call for 00:32:45.740 --> 00:32:48.259 a free parliament gets louder and louder. Yes, 00:32:48.400 --> 00:32:51.119 it had emerged during Booth's rising, but now 00:32:51.119 --> 00:32:54.279 gains real momentum. It appealed to lots of people, 00:32:54.339 --> 00:32:56.339 especially in the Northwest, who just wanted 00:32:56.339 --> 00:32:59.380 proper parliamentary rule, not necessarily the 00:32:59.380 --> 00:33:02.259 king back immediately. Who supported it? A coalition. 00:33:03.259 --> 00:33:05.420 Presbyterians, some royalists, united mainly 00:33:05.420 --> 00:33:07.519 by opposition to the rump and its interfering 00:33:07.519 --> 00:33:10.799 army, those secluded Presbyterian MPs saw their 00:33:10.799 --> 00:33:13.200 chance to reverse the purge, get back into parliament, 00:33:13.420 --> 00:33:15.799 and maybe steer things towards a limited monarchy. 00:33:16.059 --> 00:33:18.420 They disliked the rump more than they distrusted 00:33:18.420 --> 00:33:20.819 the royalists. At this point, yes. And the exiled 00:33:20.819 --> 00:33:23.480 royal court saw the opening. They authorized 00:33:23.480 --> 00:33:26.160 talks with Presbyterians, hoping free parliament 00:33:26.160 --> 00:33:27.900 would become a stepping stone to restoration. 00:33:28.319 --> 00:33:30.920 Deal with the details later. But this free parliament 00:33:30.920 --> 00:33:34.039 movement... Rees suggests it wasn't as powerful 00:33:34.039 --> 00:33:36.400 or widespread as sometimes portrayed. Compared 00:33:36.400 --> 00:33:38.839 to the 1648 movement for a treaty with the king, 00:33:39.059 --> 00:33:42.220 it seems weaker. Nearly half of English counties 00:33:42.220 --> 00:33:45.859 produced no declaration for it in 1660. London 00:33:45.859 --> 00:33:48.640 hesitated, didn't lead. Big towns were cautious. 00:33:49.220 --> 00:33:51.240 Magistrates often suppressed demonstrations. 00:33:51.700 --> 00:33:53.819 And some of the evidence for support is dodgy. 00:33:53.920 --> 00:33:56.690 Yes. Some publications claiming support were 00:33:56.690 --> 00:33:59.650 misleading or false. Petitions with iffy numbers 00:33:59.650 --> 00:34:01.950 or origins, like from Leicestershire and London, 00:34:02.130 --> 00:34:04.970 at least four supposed county declarations were 00:34:04.970 --> 00:34:08.010 probably fakes. Propagandists like Roger Lestrange 00:34:08.010 --> 00:34:10.250 and William Prynne were very active, sometimes 00:34:10.250 --> 00:34:12.969 using false names, making it hard to gauge genuine 00:34:12.969 --> 00:34:15.769 feeling. So Mike is approaching London. The free 00:34:15.769 --> 00:34:18.389 parliament call is growing, but maybe patchily. 00:34:18.510 --> 00:34:21.420 How does the rump react to Monk now? After Monk's 00:34:21.420 --> 00:34:24.079 blunt letter of February 11th, they finally realized 00:34:24.079 --> 00:34:26.460 they had to engage seriously. They started talking 00:34:26.460 --> 00:34:28.559 about their serious intentions for a full and 00:34:28.559 --> 00:34:30.639 lasting settlement. The council tried to narrow 00:34:30.639 --> 00:34:32.539 the gap. They wanted Monk to move his troops 00:34:32.539 --> 00:34:35.219 to Whitehall. Better communication, show unity. 00:34:35.539 --> 00:34:38.340 Conciliatory noises. Lots of them. Efforts to 00:34:38.340 --> 00:34:41.239 find money for the London regiments. Warm words 00:34:41.239 --> 00:34:44.300 about restoring the city's rights. Crucially, 00:34:44.420 --> 00:34:46.619 they dropped that oath of abjuration for council 00:34:46.619 --> 00:34:50.000 members. The one renouncing the stewards. A big 00:34:50.000 --> 00:34:54.079 concession. But this reasonableness, it might 00:34:54.079 --> 00:34:56.079 have worried Monk, things moving too fast towards 00:34:56.079 --> 00:34:58.590 a settlement he didn't control. Possibly. He 00:34:58.590 --> 00:35:00.469 needed to keep control of the pace. And then 00:35:00.469 --> 00:35:02.769 the secluded Presbyterian members are readmitted 00:35:02.769 --> 00:35:05.190 to Parliament in late February. What were their 00:35:05.190 --> 00:35:07.769 aims? Were they all on the same page? Impossible 00:35:07.769 --> 00:35:10.670 to know for sure individually. Some probably 00:35:10.670 --> 00:35:13.269 genuinely wanted a new, freely elected Parliament. 00:35:13.690 --> 00:35:15.750 Others might have just told Monk that to get 00:35:15.750 --> 00:35:18.210 back in, planning something else. Each of those 00:35:18.210 --> 00:35:22.250 73 MPs meeting Monk on Feb 21st was likely calculating 00:35:22.250 --> 00:35:25.070 their own best move. And their return just created 00:35:25.070 --> 00:35:27.969 more tension within Parliament. Absolutely. Rumpers 00:35:27.969 --> 00:35:30.630 like Thomas Scott hated it. And by early March, 00:35:30.809 --> 00:35:32.369 some of those secluded members were apparently 00:35:32.369 --> 00:35:34.449 thinking of breaking their deal with Monk and 00:35:34.449 --> 00:35:36.750 not calling a new parliament, trying to hang 00:35:36.750 --> 00:35:38.949 on to power themselves. So the long parliament 00:35:38.949 --> 00:35:42.519 might just keep sitting. That was the fear. Peeps 00:35:42.519 --> 00:35:45.039 heard talk of a doubtful posture. People wanted 00:35:45.039 --> 00:35:48.159 to retain power. Rumors flew Monk seizing power. 00:35:48.440 --> 00:35:51.380 Monk restoring Richard Cromwell. The long parliament 00:35:51.380 --> 00:35:54.119 staying put. The initial welcome for the secluded 00:35:54.119 --> 00:35:56.679 members turned into suspicion they'd just entrenched 00:35:56.679 --> 00:35:59.380 themselves. But Monk wasn't having it. He pushes 00:35:59.380 --> 00:36:02.360 for dissolution. He did. He urged them to dissolve 00:36:02.360 --> 00:36:05.500 and call elections. Pressure mounted. There were 00:36:05.500 --> 00:36:07.780 reports Monk even discussed his opposition to 00:36:07.780 --> 00:36:09.820 the late king with the royalist court, probably 00:36:09.820 --> 00:36:12.480 to reassure Presbyterians. Finally, on March 00:36:12.480 --> 00:36:16.400 16th, 1660, they voted to dissolve. New Parliament 00:36:16.400 --> 00:36:20.179 to meet April 25th. A momentous day. Huge. And 00:36:20.179 --> 00:36:22.480 before the vote, many MPs rushed to declare Charles 00:36:22.480 --> 00:36:25.920 I's execution an execrable act, covering their 00:36:25.920 --> 00:36:28.360 backsides. Robert Reynolds gave a long speech 00:36:28.360 --> 00:36:30.980 justifying himself. Only Thomas Scott stood by 00:36:30.980 --> 00:36:33.179 the regicide. Still some resistance to Monk. 00:36:33.260 --> 00:36:35.019 Displeasure that he opposed restoring the House 00:36:35.019 --> 00:36:37.300 of Lords. They added a clause to the dissolution 00:36:37.300 --> 00:36:39.860 bill preserving the Lords' rights. And then... 00:36:40.199 --> 00:36:42.579 The so -long -lived parliament finally expired. 00:36:42.800 --> 00:36:47.199 And any last gasp of military resistance? Blambered. 00:36:47.280 --> 00:36:49.920 His attempt at an insurrection against Munk failed 00:36:49.920 --> 00:36:53.739 completely. Captured back in the tower by Easter 00:36:53.739 --> 00:36:57.800 Tuesday, April 24th. All almost without a drop 00:36:57.800 --> 00:37:01.420 of blood. The game was up. This whole last year 00:37:01.420 --> 00:37:03.639 of the republic, Reese emphasizes the incredible 00:37:03.639 --> 00:37:07.260 confusion, the... fog of information. It must 00:37:07.260 --> 00:37:09.559 have been impossible to know what was really 00:37:09.559 --> 00:37:11.420 happening. Terribly difficult. Communication 00:37:11.420 --> 00:37:15.519 was slow, unreliable. News was manipulated. A 00:37:15.519 --> 00:37:18.219 contemporary said, never was more said and less 00:37:18.219 --> 00:37:20.760 known. Newspapers complained about the abuse 00:37:20.760 --> 00:37:23.239 of press freedom as much impedance as ignorance. 00:37:23.579 --> 00:37:26.650 Rumors everywhere. Constant wild rumors. Richard 00:37:26.650 --> 00:37:29.489 Cromwell dying. Henry Cromwell lost at sea. Charles 00:37:29.489 --> 00:37:31.789 Stewart landing here, there, everywhere. James 00:37:31.789 --> 00:37:33.789 Naylor made governor of Bristol. Even rumors 00:37:33.789 --> 00:37:35.789 the Rumper commissioners had joined Monk. Each 00:37:35.789 --> 00:37:38.210 side in the army spun its own version of events. 00:37:38.309 --> 00:37:39.949 They couldn't even agree how many towns followed 00:37:39.949 --> 00:37:41.710 Portsmouth's lead. People didn't trust printed 00:37:41.710 --> 00:37:46.170 news. Widespread mistrust. Forgeries, false attributions 00:37:46.170 --> 00:37:49.000 were common. Fleetwood had to publicly deny saying 00:37:49.000 --> 00:37:51.380 things attributed to him. Even genuine letters 00:37:51.380 --> 00:37:54.280 were suspected. Calculated propaganda from Clarges. 00:37:54.500 --> 00:37:57.179 Masked propaganda from the English army. Pamphlets 00:37:57.179 --> 00:37:59.739 with fake authors, Lestrange and Prynne, were 00:37:59.739 --> 00:38:02.280 masters of disguise. And amidst this swirling 00:38:02.280 --> 00:38:05.159 confusion, a massive military presence everywhere. 00:38:05.780 --> 00:38:09.260 Troops were everywhere. Maybe 28 ,000 regulars 00:38:09.260 --> 00:38:13.320 by late 1659. Military actions dotted the country 00:38:13.320 --> 00:38:16.489 over Tennant Hall, the siege of Portsmouth. But 00:38:16.489 --> 00:38:18.829 whose side were they on? Often unfathomable, 00:38:18.849 --> 00:38:20.929 like this situation in Taunton. And restoring 00:38:20.929 --> 00:38:23.389 civilian government didn't mean fewer soldiers. 00:38:23.630 --> 00:38:26.050 Ironically, no. Numbers actually went up to nearly 00:38:26.050 --> 00:38:29.789 39 ,000 by February 1660, which meant heavy billeting, 00:38:29.909 --> 00:38:32.849 troops taking free quarter, civil disorder aggravated, 00:38:32.989 --> 00:38:35.269 apprentice riots in Bristol, clashes between 00:38:35.269 --> 00:38:37.530 civilians and soldiers after Monk's letter, and 00:38:37.530 --> 00:38:39.630 the MP's return. So confusion, misinformation, 00:38:40.190 --> 00:38:42.389 troops everywhere with unclear loyalties. No 00:38:42.389 --> 00:38:45.119 wonder people felt passive, afraid to act. Exactly. 00:38:45.380 --> 00:38:48.519 Civilians were in a fear to act anything. Political 00:38:48.519 --> 00:38:51.739 passivity set in among politicians too. Lentol 00:38:51.739 --> 00:38:54.659 reluctant to take his seat as speaker. MPs developing 00:38:54.659 --> 00:38:57.739 convenient illnesses. Even Lucy Hutchinson wanted 00:38:57.739 --> 00:39:00.360 out of partisan politics. Sir John Bennett just 00:39:00.360 --> 00:39:02.880 pleaded to be left alone to live quietly. And 00:39:02.880 --> 00:39:05.260 public reactions to all this. Peeps famously 00:39:05.260 --> 00:39:07.920 describes London going wild with joy when Monk 00:39:07.920 --> 00:39:10.280 declared for a free parliament. Yes, bonfires 00:39:10.280 --> 00:39:13.139 and bell ringing in London. But outside the capital, 00:39:13.280 --> 00:39:15.980 reactions seem much more mixed, more cautious. 00:39:16.579 --> 00:39:19.480 Manchester was careful about lighting bonfires. 00:39:19.849 --> 00:39:21.590 What were the main priorities for most people, 00:39:21.650 --> 00:39:24.449 especially the property classes? Order, stability, 00:39:24.710 --> 00:39:27.230 and getting rid of the huge financial burden 00:39:27.230 --> 00:39:29.949 of the army. Lester asked Monk to avoid the town 00:39:29.949 --> 00:39:31.949 and refused to back the county petition for a 00:39:31.949 --> 00:39:34.670 free parliament. Many places suppressed disorders 00:39:34.670 --> 00:39:37.469 related to the free parliament calls. Maintaining 00:39:37.469 --> 00:39:39.789 order was paramount, even for some royalists. 00:39:40.010 --> 00:39:42.349 So beneath all the political maneuvering, the 00:39:42.349 --> 00:39:44.849 dominant mood was just this deep desire for settlement. 00:39:45.070 --> 00:39:47.889 Any settlement. That seems to be the core issue. 00:39:48.559 --> 00:39:51.619 The want of a real, settled, and regular government. 00:39:52.019 --> 00:39:54.940 The constant fear of the nation being still upon 00:39:54.940 --> 00:39:58.320 the cast of a die. John Evelyn lamented being 00:39:58.320 --> 00:40:00.679 no closer to settlement after 10 years. People 00:40:00.679 --> 00:40:03.099 complained constantly about the rapid changes, 00:40:03.099 --> 00:40:06.019 the uncertainty. Even army officers hated the 00:40:06.019 --> 00:40:08.420 tottering state. Which leads to this pragmatic 00:40:08.420 --> 00:40:10.900 acceptance of the restoration, even if people 00:40:10.900 --> 00:40:14.219 weren't enthusiastic monarchists. Yes. Many just 00:40:14.219 --> 00:40:16.340 accepted the need to accommodate the likely return 00:40:16.340 --> 00:40:18.000 of the monarchy as the best way to get stability. 00:40:18.599 --> 00:40:21.199 Though, as Reese notes, those who made shameless 00:40:21.199 --> 00:40:24.199 last -minute conversions got scorned. Luke Robinson 00:40:24.199 --> 00:40:26.980 is a prime example. John Lawson, the admiral, 00:40:27.039 --> 00:40:29.699 faced later condemnation for his shifts. Richard 00:40:29.699 --> 00:40:31.960 Inglesby, the regicide, suddenly couldn't remember 00:40:31.960 --> 00:40:33.920 signing the death warrant. Convenient memory 00:40:33.920 --> 00:40:35.900 loss, and we see all these individuals who'd 00:40:35.900 --> 00:40:38.440 been major players trying to navigate this treacherous 00:40:38.440 --> 00:40:41.280 transition, some successfully, some not. Menzel 00:40:41.280 --> 00:40:43.239 and Montague were unusual in approaching the 00:40:43.239 --> 00:40:46.019 royal court relatively early. It's interesting, 00:40:46.099 --> 00:40:48.559 others with known royalist links waited so long. 00:40:49.079 --> 00:40:51.440 Anthony Ashley Cooper, later Shaftesbury, had 00:40:51.440 --> 00:40:54.300 a very complex path before finally opposing the 00:40:54.300 --> 00:40:57.179 Committee of Safety. Lord Brokill, always well 00:40:57.179 --> 00:40:59.000 -connected, eventually backed the restoration. 00:40:59.750 --> 00:41:02.710 George Downing navigated brilliantly, if ruthlessly, 00:41:02.889 --> 00:41:05.610 betraying former colleagues to thrive under Charles 00:41:05.610 --> 00:41:08.389 II. And others weren't so lucky or perhaps so 00:41:08.389 --> 00:41:11.090 adaptable. Colonel John Oakey, whose allegiances 00:41:11.090 --> 00:41:14.289 shifted, ended up executed as a regicide. Colonel 00:41:14.289 --> 00:41:17.130 John Hewson fled into exile despite naive protests 00:41:17.130 --> 00:41:19.949 of loyalty. Sir Archibald Johnston of Worreston, 00:41:20.030 --> 00:41:22.889 the opportunist, met a tragic end. Bolster Road 00:41:22.889 --> 00:41:25.090 Whitelock tried hard, but his comparison of Monk 00:41:25.090 --> 00:41:27.949 to Booth was disastrous. Edmund Ludlow, the staunch 00:41:27.949 --> 00:41:30.269 Republican, saw reconciliation attempts fail 00:41:30.269 --> 00:41:32.690 as his anxiety grew. It really highlights the 00:41:32.690 --> 00:41:35.110 personal dramas within the grand political shifts. 00:41:35.369 --> 00:41:37.110 Looking back, could things have gone differently? 00:41:37.250 --> 00:41:39.090 Could the protectorate or the restored rum have 00:41:39.090 --> 00:41:42.349 survived? We suggest both could potentially have 00:41:42.349 --> 00:41:46.050 survived. The key rupture, the point of no return 00:41:46.050 --> 00:41:48.750 perhaps, was that break between the army and 00:41:48.750 --> 00:41:53.500 parliament in October 1659. That made the republic's 00:41:53.500 --> 00:41:57.179 fall a real possibility. After that, restraint 00:41:57.179 --> 00:41:59.719 and conciliation just became rarer and rarer. 00:41:59.820 --> 00:42:02.119 Even if Hesselridge had been more politically 00:42:02.119 --> 00:42:04.659 astute. A lasting parliamentary alliance was 00:42:04.659 --> 00:42:08.099 always unlikely, Reese argues. But perhaps, just 00:42:08.099 --> 00:42:11.019 perhaps, a more skillful handling of Monk by 00:42:11.019 --> 00:42:13.039 the Republicans might have delayed the republic's 00:42:13.039 --> 00:42:15.019 fall. Though it might also have made the end 00:42:15.019 --> 00:42:17.610 more violent. A sobering thought. Thank you for 00:42:17.610 --> 00:42:20.190 walking us through that incredibly complex and 00:42:20.190 --> 00:42:22.829 dramatic year. It really is a deep dive into 00:42:22.829 --> 00:42:24.929 the mechanics of political collapse and transition. 00:42:25.210 --> 00:42:27.389 It's a period that reveals so much about power, 00:42:27.510 --> 00:42:30.090 fear, and the fundamental human need for order. 00:42:30.329 --> 00:42:32.429 Absolutely. For everyone listening, what stood 00:42:32.429 --> 00:42:34.070 out to you most about this period? Was there 00:42:34.070 --> 00:42:35.809 a particular moment or figure that surprised 00:42:35.809 --> 00:42:38.010 you? Share your thoughts in the comments below. 00:42:38.130 --> 00:42:40.010 We'd love to hear your takeaways. And what questions 00:42:40.010 --> 00:42:42.650 do you still have about Richard Cromwell, Munk's 00:42:42.650 --> 00:42:45.570 motivations, the Rumpf's failures? Keep the conversation 00:42:45.570 --> 00:42:48.690 going. Definitely. And maybe a final thought 00:42:48.690 --> 00:42:51.170 to leave you with. Reflecting on these events 00:42:51.170 --> 00:42:55.210 from over 350 years ago, in our own world, which 00:42:55.210 --> 00:42:58.090 often feels saturated with information and buffeted 00:42:58.090 --> 00:43:00.389 by political shifts, how do we tell the difference 00:43:00.389 --> 00:43:02.949 between genuine stability and just a temporary 00:43:02.949 --> 00:43:05.889 quiet before the next upheaval? That's the enduring 00:43:05.889 --> 00:43:08.750 question, isn't it? The events of 1659 offer 00:43:08.750 --> 00:43:11.110 a compelling historical lens to think about that. 00:43:11.190 --> 00:43:12.730 Thanks for tuning in. Thanks, everyone. See you 00:43:12.730 --> 00:43:13.030 next time.