English Commonwealth

  • 1649: Charles I is executed at Whitehall

    Charles I was executed outside the Banqueting House at Whitehall on 30 January 1649. He had lost the Civil War, lost effective power and then lost the claim that those beneath him could not judge a king. His death was public. That was part of the point. Charles had not been killed quietly after defeat.…

  • 1649: England is declared a Commonwealth

    On 19 May 1649, Parliament declared England to be a Commonwealth and Free State. The old order had already been broken. Charles I had been tried and executed in January. In March, Parliament abolished the monarchy and the House of Lords. By May, the new regime needed legal form. The Act of 19 May gave…

  • 1659: Richard Cromwell resigns as Lord Protector

    Richard Cromwell resigned as Lord Protector on 25 May 1659. The Protectorate, which had seemed the strongest alternative to monarchy after the execution of Charles I, was over. Richard had inherited the office after Oliver Cromwell died in 1658. He had the title, but little of the authority that had made his father powerful. Oliver…

  • 1660: Charles II lands at Dover

    Charles II landed at Dover on 25 May 1660 after years in exile, as the political order that had replaced his father was breaking apart. His return was not a military conquest. That is what makes the date useful. Charles returned because enough people in England had decided that monarchy was once again the least…