Expert: Mark Smith - 3/21/2008

Question
QUESTION: I am trying to understand how the protectorate regime disintegrated in the aftermath of the death of cromwell in 1658.
Thank you for your time

ANSWER: Hello Jason.
The important thing to remember about the government of Great Britain between 1649 and 1660 was that it was essentially a military dictatorship. The bewildering array of constitutional forms of rule in those 11 years underline the fact that none really satisfied the army's wishes to have a hand on the reins of power. Cromwell was a soldier first and a parliamentarian second and always put the military's wishes ahead of those of a civilian Parliament.
The problem arose after his death when his son Richard succeeded him as both Lord Protector and Lord General of the Army. He was no military man and the army resented this country gentleman who'd never fought with them becoming their leader. They wanted the post of Lord General to go to a soldier, Richard refused. Various forms of government were tried in the period 1658-59, but in the end the army forced his resignation, May 1659, and after  summer of fruitless discussions as to what form of rule to adopt they established a Committee of Safety in October 1659, in effect direct rule by the army. This proved too much for one of the most able generals, George Monck, the commander in Scotland. He realized things could not go on as they were and in January 1660 he led his army south to uphold the rights of Partliament. He reached London unopposed and set in motion the events that led to the full restoration of Parliamentary authority and the return on the King in May.
To put it briefly Oliver Cromwell was the only man who could hold the country together, having both the respect of the army and Parliament. His son was an unwilling leader who had not the respect of the army, and Parliament was weakened by more than a decade of purges and change that only the return of the Monarchy could restore the country's stability.
Mark

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Do you believe that if cromwell hadnt died, the protectorate regime would have continued? was there not huge financial debts building.
once again thank you for your help

Answer
Had Cromwell lived I think the Protectorate would have continued fairly smoothly. But he had to die at some time and the lack of an obvious successor meant there would have been problems ahead eventually. If he had nominated one of his Generals as his successor things might have been different.
There were financial difficulties at the time of his death, but that was nothing new. The main problem lay in the arrears of pay for the Army. Under Oliver the troops were prepared to wait, but under his son they became restive. Charles Stuart's Declaration of Breda issued in 1660 contained a promise to pay the arrears and this more than anything else persuaded the Army to back the Restoration.
"English Constitutional Conflicts of the Seventeenth Century 1603-1689" by J R Tanner first published in 1928, but reprinted since has a lot to say about the fall of the Protectorate.
Mark