Chapter 8: Power and conflicting ambitions of Cromwell himself (political instability and the Interregnum)

Question 1

what were Cromwells main two positions

Answer 1

• head of the new model army
• a MP

Question 2

what was Cromwell conflicted about

Answer 2

• To defend the traditional social order
• Or to pursue reform that would promote a more just and moral society

Question 3

What was Cromwell’s conflictions described as and by who

Answer 3

Blair Worden described the conflicts of Cromwell as ‘ideological schizophrenia’

Question 4

how was Cromwells push for reform met

Answer 4

met with resistance from Rump MPs with vested interests

Question 5

what did Cromwell push for that made the Rump even more conservative

Answer 5

pushed for the re-admittance of MPs expelled in Pride’s Purge

Question 6

what led to Cromwell appointing the Nominated Assembly

Answer 6

• Frustration with the Rump
• a bout of millenarian enthusiasm

Question 7

why did Cromwell agree to the dissolution of the Assembly within a matter of months

Answer 7

due to Cromwell’s opposition to anything that threatened the existing social order

Question 8

why was there a dissolution of the Assembly within a matter of months

Answer 8

it was after more conservative members grew concerned with the intentions of the radical members

Question 9

what was the consequence of Cromwells death

Answer 9

increased the desires to restore the monarchy

Question 10

who was named as Cromwells successor

Answer 10

his son, Richard

Question 11

what type of regime did Richard inherit

Answer 11

a regime that rested on an increasingly narrow base of support

Question 12

what votes in parliament did the army respond to in April 1659

Answer 12

• to restrict religious tolerance
• the army’s freedom to involve itself in politics

Question 13

how was the army’s freedom to involve itself in politics showcased

Answer 13

by forcing Richard to dissolve parliament

Question 14

significance of the regimes that followed Richard Cromwell’s reign as Protector

Answer 14

None of them provided the political stability that the many wanted

Question 15

what increased the propertied classes fear of political instability

Answer 15

economic depression

Question 16

why was there a growing feeling that the restoration of the monarchy was the only way to prevent social and religious anarchy

Answer 16

due to economic depression and another outbreak of anti-Quaker hysteria fueled by the popular press

Question 17

what happened between May and October 1659

Answer 17

Rule by the rump parliament again as Richard Cromwell began a long period of retirment from the public life

Question 18

how did the Rump parliament spend its summer between May and October 1659

Answer 18

• in long sterile constitutional debates
• in demonstrating the antipathy felt by civilian republicans for the army

Question 19

when was the rule by the army

Answer 19

in October-December 1659

Question 20

how was the rule by the army conducted

Answer 20

through a committe of safety ruling as an interim government

Question 21

what did the committee of safety ruling prove to be

Answer 21

proved to be as barren of successful constitutional ideas as its civilian predecessors

Question 22

what did the rule by the army fail to maintain

Answer 22

failed to maintain the loaylty of the armies in Scotland, Yorkshire, Ireland and the navy in the Downs

Question 23

what were the factors that convinced many that the republic couldn’t guarantee law and order

Answer 23

• coincide of a government which lacked effective support
• renewed acute trade depression

Question 24

why did Fleetwood panic and resign, handing over his powers to the Rump

Answer 24

• due to being faced with the growing demands for a ‘free’ parliament or
• the return of the secluded members of 1648
• with organised threats to withold taxes

Question 25

when did the rule by the Rump begin again

Answer 25

between December 1659 – March 1660