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Home From the Civil War to the Restoration, 1645-1660 From the fall of Oxford till the execution of the King, 1646-1649 |
From the fall of Oxford till the execution of the King, 1646-1649In these fourteen years we may take, as a First Period, the two and a half years that elapse from the fall of the city of Oxford until the execution of the king (June, 1646-January, 1649). They are years of negotiations and intrigue, of which the merest outline must suffice. First of all, the king was with the Scottish army, which retired to Newcastle. He refused to accept the Solemn League and Covenant, as the Scots pressed him to do, and he refused to accept the terms which Parliament proposed- terms, indeed, that would have taken all power away from him. As he refused their terms, the Scottish army could not take him back to their own country; and they finally-having previously received from Parliament -£400,000 for their expenses-handed the king over to Parliament, and then recrossed the Tweed ('The Scotch army", it was said, "sold their king as Judas sold his Master", and accepted the money as "blood money", to "their own eternal infamy"; but it is difficult to see what other policy they could have pursued) (February, 1647).• The next step was that Parliament proceeded to quarrel with the army. The differences were partly religious. Parliament was a supporter of Presbyterianism. The army consisted largely of Independents, who objected just as much to the rule of the presbyter as to the rule of the priest, and who wanted liberty for "tender consciences". The Parliament-reasonably enough, now that the war was over-wished to reduce the army by one-third, and proposed to transfer the bulk of what was left to Ireland, to finish the war in that country. But it revealed its jealousy of the army by proposing to break up its old organization. Moreover, it was foolish enough to think that the army would be satisfied with six weeks' pay, when in the case of the infantry eighteen weeks' and in the case of the cavalry forty-three weeks' pay was owing. The army naturally objected, and elected men called " agitators" (i.e. agents) to make known their grievances. Finally, having might if not also right on their side, Cornet Joyce and a body of soldiers seized the king at Holm by House (Parliament had treated Charles fairly well at Holmby; he had been allowed to ride about the country with an escort, and to play bowls in the gardens of the neighbouring country houses), in Northamptonshire, where he was residing, and carried him off to the army headquarters at Newmarket (June, 1647) ("Where is your commission?" said Charles to Joyce on his arrival. " Here," answered Joyce, pointing to his soldiers. "It is as fair a commission," was Charles's answer, "and as well-written a commission as any I have seen written in my life"); whilst the army itself approached London, and insisted upon the retirement from the House of Commons of the eleven members most hostile to it. This was the first direct interference of the army with the Parliament, and it was by no means to be the last. Cromwell had tried to mediate between them, but finally joined the army. The next stage is occupied with the negotiations between the army and the king. Drawn up by Ireton, Cromwell's son-in-law, the " Heads of the Proposals", as the army terms were called, recognized Episcopacy as the State religion, but allowed toleration for other sects. They set up a Council of State to manage foreign affairs and the army, and left for ten years the appointment of ministers with Parliament. The king was perhaps unwise to refuse these terms. But Charles preferred to turn to the Scots, and this opens another stage in the tangled history of these negotiations. There had been in Scotland, especially amongst the nobles, a reaction in favour of the king, and the Scots were angry at the success of the Independents, and still hoped that Presbyterianism might be enforced upon England. At the suggestion of the Scottish Commissioners, the king, in November, 1647, effected his escape, and fled to Carisbrooke Castle, in the Isle of Wight, the governor of which place, however, remained, contrary to the king's expectation, faithful to the army. Consequently he was kept a prisoner, but he managed, nevertheless, to complete his negotiations with the Scots. Two days after Christmas Day, 1647, Charles signed a treaty called “The Agreement” (The treaty was signed, wrapped in lead, and buried in the castle garden until it could he safely taken away), by which, in return for his restoration to the throne of England, Charles promised to establish Presbyterianism in England for three years, and to suppress other sects. 1646-1649; Part 2 |
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