When the second Protectoral Parliament offered the crown to Oliver Cromwell, he, despite his conservative impulses, rejected it. Why would a man who believed in the ancient constitution and hoped to stabilize the British Isles turn down a traditional title that had the potential to unify the nation? The answer partly lies within the numerous political tracts that were printed in the 1650s. The kingship crisis sparked the creation of many pamphlets and petitions that sought to sway Cromwell one way or the other. Three prominent groups that wrote regarding the possibility of King Oliver I were monarchists, sects, and republicans. Monarchists sought to illustrate the advantages of kingship, the sects wrote of the consequences of kingly rule, and the republicans were divided on the question. An analysis of the language and arguments in both the pamphlets addressed to Cromwell and Cromwell’s own speeches reveals that the sects were the most influential group that wrote to Cromwell. At times, sectarian criticisms of the Protectorate were able to elicit responses in Cromwell’s speeches, a feat accomplished by neither monarchists nor republicans. Employing providential language, the sects were able to convince Cromwell that God had judged against the office of king and that any attempt to reestablish such a government would result in eternal damnation. Cromwell’s own religious convictions rendered him susceptible to reasoning of this sort. Once he was aware of the sects’ arguments, Cromwell believed that he had no choice but to refuse the crown. / Thesis (Master, History) -- Queen's University, 2007-09-11 20:00:16.445

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No description available.

Proefschrift--Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam. / "Stellingen": [2] p. inserted. Includes bibliographical references.

Proefschrift--Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam. / "Stellingen": [2] p. inserted. Includes bibliographical references.

Zugl. Manchester, Univ., Diss., 2006 / Hergestellt on demand

This thesis seeks to illuminate a blind spot in the scholarship of the later Cromwellian Protectorate by focusing on an intriguing innovation in the parliamentary constitution of 1657 – the creation of an upper chamber or "Other House". The Other House may have filled the void left vacant by the defunct House of Lords, but it did not necessarily mean that the Protectorate was backsliding its way towards the ancient constitution of King, Lords and Commons. Although many aspects of ceremony and procedure remained exactly the same as its predecessor, its functions were reformulated and its membership was significantly different. The life peers nominated by Oliver Cromwell to sit there were politically, religiously, socially and geographically diverse. Yet, Cromwell's attempt to nominate a chamber that would please all sides ultimately ended up pleasing nobody; instead of bringing definition to the constitutional arrangement, his choices simply muddied the waters further. The resulting mood was one of apathy among civilian Cromwellian MPs in the second session of the second Protectorate Parliament towards both the Other House and the settlement as a whole. More importantly, the Other House was never a bulwark for the military Cromwellians; it did not institutionalise the army's position within the constitution. Although this posed no immediate problem under the Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell, it came to the fore following the succession of his conservative-minded son Richard. When the Commons and Protector united behind an anti-military programme in April 1659, the military Cromwellians found themselves outnumbered and outmanoeuvred in the Other House. Unable to protect their interests by constitutional means, the military men turned to their ultimate source of strength – the army. In forcing the Protector to dissolve Parliament, they undermined completely the constitutional arrangement and effectively sealed the end of the Protectorate regime.

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No description available.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--West Virginia University, 2004. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains iv, 227 p. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 219-227).