Source Essay 19/03

Venetian Ambassadors (Paulucci & Sagredo)

Outsiders with no personal stake in English politics, making them relatively objective. BUT they rely on observation not inside knowledge, and write to impress their superiors in Venice.

Cromwell's speeches to Parliament

Always self-justificatory, he is defending himself to a hostile audience. Treat as propaganda, BUT the defensiveness itself reveals something true. If he didn't need to justify himself, he wouldn't.

Whalley's letter to Thurloe (Nov 1655)

Private correspondence between a Major-General and a secretary, therefore more candid than any public source. Whalley had no reason to perform or exaggerate for an audience.

Baxter's memoir (1695)

Written around 40 years after the events, after the Restoration. Shaped by hindsight and post-1660 attitudes. BUT Baxter was actually present in Worcestershire during the 1650s.

Slingsby Bethel (1668)

Republican writer, published after the republic had already failed. Bitter and polemical in tone. BUT his specific accusations such as deserting the Major-Generals are historically grounded.

Cromwell speaking to officers vs Parliament

He says different things to different audiences. Dismisses kingship as a feather in a hat to officers, but uses providential language with Parliament. The contrast itself is evidence of his political calculation.

Nominated Assembly / Barebone's Parliament (1653)

Collapsed because religious radicals and moderates could not agree. Led directly to the Instrument of Government. This is the starting point of the Protectorate.

Instrument of Government (Dec 1653)

England's first written constitution. Made Cromwell Lord Protector. Established a Council of State and single-chamber Parliament.

First Protectorate Parliament (1654-55)

Cromwell dissolved it after the minimum five month sitting period because MPs challenged the Instrument of Government itself. Pattern of conflict with Parliament begins here.

Penruddock's Rising (1655)

A Royalist rebellion in Wiltshire. Cromwell used it to justify introducing the Major-Generals, framing military rule as a necessary response to continued Royalist threat.

The Major-Generals

Divided England into 11 military regions. Funded by a decimation tax on Royalists. Deeply unpopular with the gentry.

Humble Petition and Advice (1657)

Parliament offered Cromwell the crown, he refused partly due to army pressure. He accepted a revised constitution including an upper house called the Other House. Shows tension between civilian and military wings of the Protectorate.

The Nayler Case (1656)

James Nayler, a Quaker, was brutally punished by Parliament for blasphemy. Showed Parliament could be more religiously intolerant than Cromwell himself, undermining his liberty of conscience policy.

Cromwell's dissolutions of Parliament

Dissolved the Rump Parliament (1653), First Protectorate Parliament (1655), and Second Protectorate Parliament (1658). This pattern is key evidence for those arguing his rule was essentially a military dictatorship.

Richard Cromwell (1658)

Succeeded Oliver after his death in September 1658. Collapsed quickly, showing the Protectorate had no stable succession plan and that Oliver's authority was personal rather than institutional.