Political divisions and experiments: Republicanism and the Rump;…

The idea

Between 1649 and 1653, the Republic struggled to establish a legitimate government, leading to radical political experiments. The Rump Parliament, a conservative republican body, faced deep political divisions; it sought stability but frustrated the army with its slow progress on reform. This tension led Cromwell to forcibly dissolve the Rump in April 1653. Influenced by millenarianism—the belief in Christ's imminent return—radical army officers pushed for a godly government. This resulted in the Parliament of Saints (Barebone's Parliament) in 1653, an assembly of nominated men. However, deep divisions between radical millenarians demanding the abolition of tithes and moderates seeking social order caused the moderates to dissolve the assembly, ending the experiment.

What earns the marks

• Analyse the inherent tension between the Rump Parliament's desire for conservative stability and the New Model Army's demand for radical godly reform.
• Evaluate the influence of millenarianism, particularly the Fifth Monarchists, on the political experiments of 1653.
• Assess the achievements and failures of the Parliament of Saints, noting its progressive legal reforms alongside its fatal internal divisions.
• Explain the reasons for the dissolution of both the Rump and the Parliament of Saints, focusing on the role of Oliver Cromwell and the army.

Common mistakes and how to put them right

• Viewing the Parliament of Saints as a democratically elected body.

  Put it right: Specify that it was a nominated assembly selected by army officers and independent churches, not an elected parliament.

• Assuming the Rump Parliament achieved no reforms.

  Put it right: Acknowledge that the Rump did pass some reforms, such as the Navigation Act and the Toleration Act, despite its overall reputation for sluggishness.

• Treating millenarianism as a fringe belief with no political impact.

  Put it right: Emphasise that millenarian ideas directly influenced senior army officers like Thomas Harrison and the formation of the Parliament of Saints.

Exam tips

• Contrast the secular, legalistic republicanism of the Rump with the religious, millenarian zeal of the Parliament of Saints to highlight the era's political divisions.
• Use the issue of tithes as a concrete example of the irreconcilable differences between radicals and moderates in the Parliament of Saints.
• When discussing the failure of these experiments, emphasise the underlying problem of relying on military force to sustain political authority.