Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- BOOK XI THE COMMONWEALTH IN ENGLAND, 1649—1653
- BOOK XII THE PROTECTORATE OF OLIVER CROMWELL, 1653–1658
- CHAP. I Oliver Cromwell and his elevation to the Protectorate
- CHAP. II Embassy to Sweden. Peace with Holland
- CHAP. III The Parliament of 1654
- CHAP. IV Military government. Religious tolerance
- CHAP. V Rupture with Spain
- CHAP. VI The Parliament of 1656, 1657. Idea of a Cromwellian Monarchy
- CHAP. VII The general position of the Protectorate at home and abroad in 1657 and 1658
- CHAP. VIII Death of Oliver Cromwell
- BOOK XIII FALL OF THE PROTECTORATE AND THE COMMONWEALTH. RESTORATION OF THE MONARCHY, 1658—1660
- BOOK XIV THE FIRST FIVE YEARS UNDER CHARLES II. THE RESTORATION OF THE ANGLICAN CHURCH
- BOOK XV THE DUTCH WARS OF CHARLES II. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE PROTESTANT AND PARLIAMENTARY CHARACTER OF THE CONSTITUTION 1664—1674
CHAP. III - The Parliament of 1654
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 June 2011
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- BOOK XI THE COMMONWEALTH IN ENGLAND, 1649—1653
- BOOK XII THE PROTECTORATE OF OLIVER CROMWELL, 1653–1658
- CHAP. I Oliver Cromwell and his elevation to the Protectorate
- CHAP. II Embassy to Sweden. Peace with Holland
- CHAP. III The Parliament of 1654
- CHAP. IV Military government. Religious tolerance
- CHAP. V Rupture with Spain
- CHAP. VI The Parliament of 1656, 1657. Idea of a Cromwellian Monarchy
- CHAP. VII The general position of the Protectorate at home and abroad in 1657 and 1658
- CHAP. VIII Death of Oliver Cromwell
- BOOK XIII FALL OF THE PROTECTORATE AND THE COMMONWEALTH. RESTORATION OF THE MONARCHY, 1658—1660
- BOOK XIV THE FIRST FIVE YEARS UNDER CHARLES II. THE RESTORATION OF THE ANGLICAN CHURCH
- BOOK XV THE DUTCH WARS OF CHARLES II. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE PROTESTANT AND PARLIAMENTARY CHARACTER OF THE CONSTITUTION 1664—1674
Summary
On several occasions during the negotiations with foreign powers, for example with Sweden, the question had been raised by what title Cromwell held his authority. The Queen simply imagined that Cromwell would shortly set the crown upon his head; finally to renounce it in his position would require more than human forbearance. The Chancellor Oxenstiern went deeper into the question: he disliked the mode of Cromwell's elevation to the Protectorate, since it was more or less an election by the power of the sword and of a political faction. That in the new constitution which most pleased him was the security it gave for the maintenance of the existing laws; ‘one thing however,’ he added, ‘is still wanting to the Protector; he must case himself in steel on back and breast.’ ‘What means my father?’ asked Whitelocke of the old man, in the familiarly respectful tone usual in conversation in those days. ‘I mean,’ he replied, ‘the confirmation of the Protectorate by Parliament; that will be his best support. From whom comes the power which he exercises? who binds over the people to obey him?’
These words in fact touched the real point at issue in the whole matter. Cromwell possessed absolute power. He pronounced the old declarations of allegiance to a republican constitution to be no longer binding, and declared on the contrary that it was a state offence to question the lawfulness of his government.
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- A History of EnglandPrincipally in the Seventeenth Century, pp. 129 - 139Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2010First published in: 1875