Failure of the Levellers and Diggers and the Godly society

political state between the grandees and levellers early 1649

• ireton manages sufficient cohesion through turbulent 1648

• breach between levellers and rump was widening to apoint beyond which it could not be healed

leveller complaint of the rump

• didnt address the fundamental issue of parliamentary representation —> most important constitutional consideration

• unless rep = fair and equal, no constitutional settlement

• feared rump = equally tyrannical as the king

rump rumours

• join forced with the royalists to mount a challenge to the rump

englands new chains discovered

• attacked grandees for betraying what people hand fought for

• appealed to army, londoners to reject the rule of the new oppressor - rump

• singles cromwell out - guilty of meddling + trickery

the rump’s response to the leveller threat

• cromwell and ireton drive events in the rump

• lilburne and other leading levellers arrested arrested on the orders of parliament march 1649

• charged with trson

leveller response to imprisonment

• two significant mutinies

  • angry the rump had not settled arrears of pay, resistant to being sent to fiht in Ireland

• incited by new leveller pamphlet: third agreement of the people

leveller first mutiny

• colonel whalley’s regiment april

• soldiers refuse to leave their quarters for a muster at mile end green, prior to despatch from london

• personal persuasion from cromwell and fairfax to disband

leveller first mutiny consequence

• ringleader’s execution = inciting mutiny is capital crime

• followed by significant demonstration of leveller support as demonstration

• procession marches through london, wearing ribbons in leveller colour

leveller second mutiny may 1649

• more dangerous

• 5 cavalry regiments mutinied + levller soldier leads mutiny among the militia of banbury

levller second mutiny consequence

• fairfax and cromwell successful in suppressing the mutiny

• nigh-time assault cromwell

• church at burford was used as temporary prison for several hundred mutineers

• three executed in the churchyard - identified as ringleaders

leveller impact on the rump?

• swiftly passed measures to pay army arrears which satisfied leveller discontent (basis of support)

• lilburne acquitted at his trial september 1649

• levller movement = effectively over