Protectorate (English government)

Protectorate in English history, name given to the English government from 1653 to 1659. Following the English civil war and the execution of Charles I, England was declared (1649) a commonwealth under the rule of the Rump Parliament. In 1653, however, Oliver Cromwell dissolved the Rump, replacing it with the Nominated, or Barebone's, Parliament (see Barebone, Praise-God ), and when the latter proved ineffectual, he accepted (Dec., 1653) the constitutional document entitled the Instrument of Government, which had been drawn up by a group of army officers. By its terms, Cromwell assumed the title lord protector of the commonwealth of England, Scotland, and Ireland and agreed to share his power with a council of state and a Parliament of one house. However, although Parliament met regularly, Cromwell's protectorate was a virtual dictatorship resting on the power of the army. After a royalist uprising, he divided (1655) the country into 11 military districts, each under the administration of a major general who enforced the rigidly puritanical laws and collected taxes. Toleration was extended to Jews and all non-Anglican Protestants, but not to Roman Catholics. In 1654, the first of the Dutch Wars was brought to a close and English sea power turned against Spain. In the Humble Petition and Advice of 1657, Parliament offered Cromwell the throne (which he refused), allowed him to name a successor, and set up an upper house to be chosen by him; but this attempt at constitutional revision had little practical effect on the government. Richard Cromwell succeeded as lord protector on the death of his father in 1658, but he was unable to control the army and resigned in May, 1659. The Rump was recalled and the Commonwealth resumed, and after a period of chaos Gen. George Monck recalled the Long Parliament and brought about the Restoration of Charles II.

Bibliography: See S. R. Gardiner, History of the Commonwealth and Protectorate (4 vol., 1903, repr. 1965); C. Firth, The Last Years of the Protectorate (2 vol., 1909; repr. 1964); I. Roots, Commonwealth and Protectorate: The English Civil War and Its Aftermath (1966).

Protectorate, English (16 December 1653–25 May 1659) The rule of England established by Oliver CROMWELL. Unable to work with the BAREBONES PARLIAMENT, Cromwell entrusted a council of army officers with the task of drawing up a new constitution. The resulting Instrument of Government made Cromwell Lord Protector, monarch in all but name, who would share power with a single House of Parliament elected by Puritans. Politically it was a failure. Cromwell could not work with his first Protectorate Parliament, so he divided England into 11 military districts ruled by army officers known as major-generals. This was so unpopular that he reverted to parliamentary rule through the second Parliament of the Protectorate in 1656. Although the Protectorate was successful in foreign policy and notable for religious toleration of all faiths other than Roman Catholicism, its stability depended on Cromwell's personal qualities. After his death in 1658 it did not take long for the army to remove Richard CROMWELL, his successor, bringing the Protectorate to an end in 1659 in preparation for the RESTORATION of Charles II.

Protectorate (1653–59) In 1653, Barebone's Parliament passed the Instrument of Government that established Oliver Cromwell as lord protector. Cromwell established a state council of 11 major generals. The Humble Petition and Advice (1657) restored some power to Parliament. The Protectorate heavily depended on Oliver Cromwell's personal prestige and after his death (1658), his son, Richard, was lord protector for less than a year before the Restoration of Charles II.