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Cavalier Parliament
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King Charles II of England, c. 1661–62, with his parliamentary robes, as he would have dressed at the opening of the sessions of the Cavalier Parliament
Overview
Legislative body	Parliament of England
Jurisdiction	Kingdom of England
Term	8 May 1661 (1661-05-08) – 24 January 1679 (1679-01-24)
Election	1661 English general election
House of Commons
Members	518
Speaker	John Bercow
Leader	William Hague — Andrew Lansley – until reshuffle in 2014 — Sir George Young, Bt – until 4 September 2012
Prime Minister	David Cameron
Leader of the Opposition	Ed Miliband — Harriet Harman – acting until 25 September 2010
Third-party leader	Nick Clegg – as Deputy Prime Minister
House of Lords
Members	782
Lord Speaker	Baroness D'Souza — Baroness Hayman – until 31 August 2011
Leader	Baroness Stowell of Beeston — Lord Hill of Oareford – until 15 July 2014 — Lord Strathclyde – until 7 January 2013
Leader of the Opposition	Baroness Royall of Blaisdon
Third-party leader	Lord Wallace of Tankerness — Lord McNally – until 15 October 2013
Crown-in-Parliament	Elizabeth II
Sessions
1st 25 May 2010 (2010-05-25) – 1 May 2012 (2012-05-01) 2nd 9 May 2012 (2012-05-09) – 25 April 2013 (2013-04-25) 3rd 8 May 2013 (2013-05-08) – 14 May 2014 (2014-05-14) 4th 4 June 2014 (2014-06-04) – 26 March 2015 (2015-03-26)

Commonwealth of England

Not to be confused with the Commonwealth of Nations.

Commonwealth of England
1649–1660
One of the various flags of the Commonwealth
Including	Third English Civil War British Interregnum The Protectorate (1653–1659)
Leader(s)	Oliver Cromwell (1653–1658) Richard Cromwell (1658–1659)
Chronology Second English Civil War Stuart Restoration (1660)

The Commonwealth of England was the political structure during the period from 1649 to 1660 when England and Wales, later along with Ireland and Scotland, were governed as a republic after the end of the Second English Civil War and the trial and execution of Charles I. The republic's existence was declared through "An Act declaring England to be a Commonwealth", adopted by the Rump Parliament on 19 May 1649. Power in the early Commonwealth was vested primarily in the Parliament and a Council of State. During the period, fighting continued, particularly in Ireland and Scotland, between the parliamentary forces and those opposed to them, in the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland and the Anglo-Scottish war of 1650–1652.

In 1653, after dissolution of the Rump Parliament, the Army Council adopted the Instrument of Government, by which Oliver Cromwell was made Lord Protector of a united "Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland", inaugurating the period now usually known as the Protectorate. After Cromwell's death, and following a brief period of rule under his son, Richard Cromwell, the Protectorate Parliament was dissolved in 1659 and the Rump Parliament recalled, starting a process that led to the restoration of the monarchy in 1660. The term Commonwealth is sometimes used for the whole of 1649 to 1660 – called by some the Interregnum – although for other historians, the use of the term is limited to the years prior to Cromwell's formal assumption of power in 1653.

In retrospect, the period of republican rule for England was a failure in the short term. During the 11-year period, no stable government was established to rule the English state for longer than a few months at a time. Several administrative structures were tried, and several Parliaments called and seated, but little in the way of meaningful, lasting legislation was passed. The only force keeping it together was the personality of Oliver Cromwell, who exerted control through the military by way of the "Grandees", being the Major-Generals and other senior military leaders of the New Model Army. Not only did Cromwell's regime crumble into near anarchy upon his death and the brief administration of his son, but the monarchy he overthrew was restored in 1660, and its first act was officially to erase all traces of any constitutional reforms of the Republican period. Still, the memory of the Parliamentarian cause, dubbed the Good Old Cause by the soldiers of the New Model Army, lingered on.

The Commonwealth period is better remembered for the military success of Thomas Fairfax, Oliver Cromwell, and the New Model Army. Besides resounding victories in the English Civil War, the reformed Navy under the command of Robert Blake defeated the Dutch in the First Anglo-Dutch War which marked the first step towards England's naval supremacy. In Ireland, the Commonwealth period is remembered for Cromwell's conquest of Ireland, which continued and completed the policies of the Tudor and Stuart periods.

1649–1653

Rump Parliament

Main article: Rump Parliament

The Rump was created by Pride's Purge of those members of the Long Parliament who did not support the political position of the Grandees in the New Model Army. Just before and after the execution of King Charles I on 30 January 1649, the Rump passed a number of acts of Parliament creating the legal basis for the republic. With the abolition of the monarchy, Privy Council and the House of Lords, it had unchecked executive and legislative power. The English Council of State, which replaced the Privy Council, took over many of the executive functions of the monarchy. It was selected by the Rump, and most of its members were MPs. However, the Rump depended on the support of the Army with which it had a very uneasy relationship. After the execution of Charles I, the House of Commons abolished the monarchy and the House of Lords. It declared the people of England "and of all the Dominions and Territories thereunto belonging" to be henceforth under the governance of a "Commonwealth", effectively a republic.

Structure

In Pride's Purge, all members of parliament (including most of the political Presbyterians) who would not accept the need to bring the King to trial had been removed. Thus the Rump never had more than two hundred members (less than half the number of the Commons in the original Long Parliament). They included: supporters of religious independents who did not want an established church and some of whom had sympathies with the Levellers; Presbyterians who were willing to countenance the trial and execution of the King; and later admissions, such as formerly excluded MPs who were prepared to denounce the Newport Treaty negotiations with the King.

Most Rumpers were gentry, though there was a higher proportion of lesser gentry and lawyers than in previous parliaments. Less than one-quarter of them were regicides. This left the Rump as basically a conservative body whose vested interests in the existing land ownership and legal systems made it unlikely to want to reform them.

Issues and achievements

A 21st-century edition of the Act Declaring and Constituting the People of England to be a Commonwealth and Free-State enacted on 19 May 1649

For the first two years of the Commonwealth, the Rump faced economic depression and the risk of invasion from Scotland and Ireland. By 1653 Cromwell and the Army had largely eliminated these threats.

There were many disagreements amongst factions of the Rump. Some wanted a republic, but others favoured retaining some type of monarchical government. Most of England's traditional ruling classes regarded the Rump as an illegal government made up of regicides and upstarts. However, they were also aware that the Rump might be all that stood in the way of an outright military dictatorship. High taxes, mainly to pay the Army, were resented by the gentry. Limited reforms were enough to antagonise the ruling class but not enough to satisfy the radicals.

Despite its unpopularity, the Rump was a link with the old constitution and helped to settle England down and make it secure after the biggest upheaval in its history. By 1653, France and Spain had recognised England's new government.

Reforms

Though the Church of England was retained, episcopacy was suppressed and the Act of Uniformity 1558 was repealed in September 1650. Mainly on the insistence of the Army, many independent churches were tolerated, although everyone still had to pay tithes to the established church.

Some small improvements were made to law and court procedure; for example, all court proceedings were now conducted in English rather than in Law French or Latin. However, there were no widespread reforms of the common law. This would have upset the gentry, who regarded the common law as reinforcing their status and property rights.

The Rump passed many restrictive laws to regulate people's moral behaviour, such as closing down theatres and requiring strict observance of Sunday. Laws were also passed banning the celebration of Easter and Christmas. This antagonised most of the gentry.

Dismissal

Cromwell, aided by Thomas Harrison, forcibly dismissed the Rump on 20 April 1653, for reasons that are unclear. Theories are that he feared the Rump was trying to perpetuate itself as the government, or that the Rump was preparing for an election which could return an anti-Commonwealth majority. Many former members of the Rump continued to regard themselves as England's only legitimate constitutional authority. The Rump had not agreed to its own dissolution; their legal, constitutional view that it was unlawful was based on Charles' concessionary Act prohibiting the dissolution of Parliament without its own consent (on 11 May 1641, leading to the entire Commonwealth being the latter years of the Long Parliament in their majority view).

Barebone's Parliament, July–December 1653

A gold Unite from 1653

The dissolution of the Rump was followed by a short period in which Cromwell and the Army ruled alone. Nobody had the constitutional authority to call an election, but Cromwell did not want to impose a military dictatorship. Instead, he ruled through a "nominated assembly" which he believed would be easy for the Army to control since Army officers did the nominating.

Barebone's Parliament was opposed by former Rumpers and ridiculed by many gentries as being an assembly of inferior people. Over 110 of its 140 members were lesser gentry or of higher social status; an exception was Praise-God Barebone, a Baptist merchant after whom the Assembly got its derogatory nickname. Many were well educated.

The assembly reflected the range of views of the officers who nominated it. The Radicals (approximately 40) included a hard core of Fifth Monarchists who wanted to be rid of Common Law and any state control of religion. The Moderates (approximately 60) wanted some improvements within the existing system and might move to either the radical or conservative side depending on the issue. The Conservatives (approximately 40) wanted to keep the status quo, since common law protected the interests of the gentry, and tithes and advowsons were valuable property.

Cromwell saw Barebone's Parliament as a temporary legislative body which he hoped would produce reforms and develop a constitution for the Commonwealth. However, members were divided over key issues, only 25 had previous parliamentary experience, and although many had some legal training, there were no qualified lawyers.

Cromwell seems to have expected this group of amateurs to produce reform without management or direction. When the radicals mustered enough support to defeat a bill which would have preserved the status quo in religion, the conservatives, together with many moderates, surrendered their authority back to Cromwell, who sent soldiers to clear the rest of the Assembly. Barebone's Parliament was over.

Protectorate, 1653–1659

Main article: The Protectorate

See also: First Protectorate Parliament, Second Protectorate Parliament, and Third Protectorate Parliament

Arms of Oliver Cromwell as Lord Protector, used on the great seal from 1655 to 1659.

Throughout 1653, Cromwell and the Army slowly dismantled the machinery of the Commonwealth state. The English Council of State, which had assumed the executive function formerly held by the King and his Privy Council, was forcibly dissolved by Cromwell on 20 April, and in its place a new council, filled with Cromwell's own chosen men, was installed. Three days after Barebone's Parliament dissolved itself, the Instrument of Government was adopted by Cromwell's council and a new state structure, now known historically as The Protectorate, was given its shape. This new constitution granted Cromwell sweeping powers as Lord Protector, an office which ironically had much the same role and powers as the King had under the monarchy, a fact not lost on Cromwell's critics.

On 12 April 1654, under the terms of the Tender of Union, the Ordinance for uniting Scotland into one Commonwealth with England was issued by the Lord Protector and proclaimed in Scotland by the military governor of Scotland, General George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle. The ordinance declared that "the people of Scotland should be united with the people of England into one Commonwealth and under one Government" and decreed that a new "Arms of the Commonwealth", incorporating the Saltire, should be placed on "all the public seals, seals of office, and seals of bodies civil or corporate, in Scotland" as "a badge of this Union".

First Protectorate Parliament

Cromwell and his Council of State spent the first several months of 1654 preparing for the First Protectorate Parliament by drawing up a set of 84 bills for consideration. The Parliament was freely elected (as free as such elections could be in the 17th century) and as such, the Parliament was filled with a wide range of political interests, and as such did not accomplish any of its goals. Having passed none of Cromwell's proposed bills, he dissolved it as soon as law would allow.

Rule of the Major-Generals and Second Protectorate Parliament

Having decided that Parliament was not an efficient means of getting his policies enacted, Cromwell instituted a system of direct military rule of England during a period known as the Rule of the Major-Generals; all of England was divided into ten regions, each was governed directly by one of Cromwell's Major-Generals, who were given sweeping powers to collect taxes and enforce the peace. The Major-Generals were highly unpopular, a fact that they themselves noticed and many urged Cromwell to call another Parliament to give his rule legitimacy.

Unlike the prior Parliament, which had been open to all eligible males in the Commonwealth, the new elections specifically excluded Catholics and Royalists from running or voting; as a result, it was stocked with members who were more in line with Cromwell's own politics. The first major bill to be brought up for debate was the Militia Bill, which was ultimately voted down by the House. As a result, the authority of the Major-Generals to collect taxes to support their own regimes ended, and the Rule of the Major Generals came to an end. The second piece of major legislation was the passage of the Humble Petition and Advice, a sweeping constitutional reform which had two purposes. The first was to reserve for Parliament certain rights, such as a three-year fixed-term (which the Lord Protector was required to abide by) and to reserve for the Parliament the sole right of taxation. The second, as a concession to Cromwell, was to make the Lord Protector a hereditary position and to convert the title to a formal constitutional Kingship. Cromwell refused the title of King, but accepted the rest of the legislation, which was passed in final form on 25 May 1657.

A second session of the Parliament met in 1658; it allowed previously excluded MPs (who had been not allowed to take their seats because of Catholic and/or Royalist leanings) to take their seats, however, this made the Parliament far less compliant to the wishes of Cromwell and the Major-Generals; it accomplished little in the way of a legislative agenda and was dissolved after a few months.

Richard Cromwell and the Third Protectorate Parliament

On the death of Oliver Cromwell in 1658, his son, Richard Cromwell, inherited the title, Lord Protector. Richard had never served in the Army, which meant he lost control over the Major-Generals that had been the source of his own father's power. The Third Protectorate Parliament was summoned in late 1658 and was seated on 27 January 1659. Its first act was to confirm Richard's role as Lord Protector, which it did by a sizeable, but not overwhelming, majority. Quickly, however, it became apparent that Richard had no control over the Army and divisions quickly developed in the Parliament. One faction called for a recall of the Rump Parliament and a return to the constitution of the Commonwealth, while another preferred the existing constitution. As the parties grew increasingly quarrelsome, Richard dissolved it. He was quickly removed from power, and the remaining Army leadership recalled the Rump Parliament, setting the stage for the return of the Monarchy a year later.

1659–1660

After the Grandees in the New Model Army removed Richard, they reinstalled the Rump Parliament in May 1659. Charles Fleetwood was appointed a member of the Committee of Safety and of the Council of State, and one of the seven commissioners for the army. On 9 June he was nominated lord-general (commander-in-chief) of the army. However, his power was undermined in parliament, which chose to disregard the army's authority in a similar fashion to the pre–Civil War parliament. On 12 October 1659 the Commons cashiered General John Lambert and other officers, and installed Fleetwood as chief of a military council under the authority of the Speaker. The next day Lambert ordered that the doors of the House be shut and the members kept out. On 26 October a "Committee of Safety" was appointed, of which Fleetwood and Lambert were members. Lambert was appointed major-general of all the forces in England and Scotland, Fleetwood being general. Lambert was now sent, by the Committee of Safety, with a large force to meet George Monck, who was in command of the English forces in Scotland, and either negotiate with him or force him to come to terms.

It was into this atmosphere that General George Monck marched south with his army from Scotland. Lambert's army began to desert him, and he returned to London almost alone. On 21 February 1660, Monck reinstated the Presbyterian members of the Long Parliament "secluded" by Pride, so that they could prepare legislation for a new parliament. Fleetwood was deprived of his command and ordered to appear before parliament to answer for his conduct. On 3 March Lambert was sent to the Tower, from which he escaped a month later. Lambert tried to rekindle the civil war in favour of the Commonwealth by issuing a proclamation calling on all supporters of the "Good Old Cause" to rally on the battlefield of Edgehill. However, he was recaptured by Colonel Richard Ingoldsby, a regicide who hoped to win a pardon by handing Lambert over to the new regime. The Long Parliament dissolved itself on 16 March.

On 4 April 1660, in response to a secret message sent by Monck, Charles II issued the Declaration of Breda, which made known the conditions of his acceptance of the crown of England. Monck organised the Convention Parliament, which met for the first time on 25 April. On 8 May it proclaimed that King Charles II had been the lawful monarch since the execution of Charles I in January 1649. Charles returned from exile on 23 May. He entered London on 29 May, his birthday. To celebrate "his Majesty's Return to his Parliament" 29 May was made a public holiday, popularly known as Oak Apple Day. He was crowned at Westminster Abbey on 23 April 1661.

See also

• Anglo-Spanish War (1654–1660)
• Flags of the English Interregnum
• List of ordinances and acts of the Parliament of England, 1642–1660
• Knights, baronets and peers of the Protectorate
• Republicanism in the United Kingdom

References

• Firth, C. H.; Rait, R. S., eds. (1911), "September 1650: Act for the Repeal of several Clauses in Statutes imposing Penalties for not coming to Church", Acts and Ordinances of the Interregnum, 1642–1660, pp. 423–425
• "March 1649: An Act for the abolishing the Kingly Office in England and Ireland, and the Dominions thereunto belonging", Acts and Ordinances of the Interregnum, 1642–1660., London: His Majesty's Stationery Office, 1911, pp. 18–20
• Schultz, Oleg, ed. (14 March 2010), "Scotland and the Commonwealth: 1651–1660", Archontology.org, archived from the original on 7 March 2016, retrieved 1 December 2012
• Sevaldsen, Jørgen; et al. (2007), Angles on the English-Speaking World, V.7: The State of the Union: Scotland, 1707–2007, Museum Tusculanum Press, p. 39, ISBN 978-87-635-0702-8

External links

• Coins from the Commonwealth of England period, 1649–1660, including halfcrowns

The Protectorate

This page is about the state that existed from 1653 to 1659. For the time period in British history from 1649 to 1653 and 1659 to 1660, see Commonwealth of England.

For an autonomous territory that is protected diplomatically or militarily against third parties by a stronger state or entity, see Protectorate.

Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland
1653–1659
Top: Flag (1653–1658) Bottom: Flag (1658–1659) Coat of arms (1653–1659)
Motto: Pax quaeritur bello ("Peace is obtained through war")
The territory of the Commonwealth in 1659
Capital	London
Common languages	English (official) Scots, Irish, Welsh, Cornish, Scottish Gaelic, Norn, Yola, Fingallian
Religion	Protestantism
Government	Unitary parliamentary republic with an executive presidency under a military dictatorship
Lord Protector
• 1653–1658	Oliver Cromwell
• 1658–1659	Richard Cromwell
Legislature	Parliament
• Upper house	Other House (1658–59)
• Lower house	House of Commons (1654–55/1656–58/1659)
History
• Instrument of Government	16 December 1653
• Tender of Union	12 April 1654
• Humble Petition and Advice	25 May 1657
• R. Cromwell's resignation	25 May 1659
Currency	Pound sterling (England and Wales) Pound Scots (Scotland) Irish pound (Ireland)
Preceded by Succeeded by Commonwealth of England Kingdom of Scotland Commonwealth of England
Today part of	Republic of Ireland United Kingdom

The Protectorate, officially the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland, was the English form of government lasting from 16 December 1653 to 25 May 1659, under which the kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland, with their associated territories were joined together in the Commonwealth of England, governed by a Lord Protector. It began when Barebone's Parliament was dissolved, and the Instrument of Government appointed Oliver Cromwell as Lord Protector of the Commonwealth. Cromwell died in September 1658 and was succeeded by his son Richard Cromwell.

Richard resigned in May 1659 due to his inability to control either the Army or Parliament. He was replaced by the English Committee of Safety, which dissolved the Third Protectorate Parliament, and reseated the Rump Parliament dismissed by his father in April 1653. This marked the end of the Protectorate, with the Rump acting as the legislature and the English Council of State as the executive.

Background

Main articles: Commonwealth of England and English Council of State

Since 1649 until the Protectorate, England, Ireland and later Scotland had been governed as a republic by the Council of State and the Rump Parliament. The Act declaring England to be a Commonwealth, which established England, together with "all the Dominions and Territoryes thereunto belonging", as a republic, had been passed on 19 May 1649, following the trial and execution of Charles I in January of that year. All of Ireland came under the same governance after the successful Cromwellian conquest of Ireland with the appointment of a Parliamentary military governor in Dublin.

On 20 April 1653, after learning that Parliament was attempting to stay in session despite an agreement to dissolve and having failed to come up with a working constitution, Cromwell, with the backing of the Grandees in the Army Council, marched soldiers into the debating chamber and forcibly ended the Rump's session.

Within a month of the Rump's dismissal, Oliver Cromwell, on the advice of Thomas Harrison and with the support of other officers in the Army, sent a request to Congregational churches in every county to nominate those they considered fit to take part in the new government. On 4 July a Nominated Assembly, nicknamed the "Assembly of Saints" or Barebone's Parliament after one of its members, took on the role of more traditional English Parliaments. However, it proved just as difficult for the Grandees to control and was in addition a subject of popular ridicule and so on 8 December, MPs who supported Cromwell engineered its end by passing a dissolution motion at a time of day at which the house usually had few members in attendance. Those who refused to recognise the motion were forcibly ejected by soldiers.

The collapse of the radical consensus that had spawned the Nominated Assembly led to the Grandees passing the Instrument of Government in the Council of State, which paved the way for the Protectorate.

Rule of Oliver Cromwell

Main article: Instrument of Government

After the dissolution of Barebone's Parliament, John Lambert put forward a new constitution known as the Instrument of Government, closely modelled on the Heads of Proposals. It made Cromwell Lord Protector for life to undertake "the chief magistracy and the administration of government". He had the power to call and dissolve parliaments but was obliged under the Instrument to seek the majority vote of the Council of State. However, Cromwell's power was also buttressed by his continuing popularity among the army, which he had built up during the civil wars and subsequently prudently guarded. Cromwell was sworn in as Lord Protector on 16 December 1653.

Rule of the Major-Generals

Main article: Rule of the Major-Generals

Oliver Cromwell

The First Protectorate Parliament met on 3 September 1654, and after some initial gestures approving appointments previously made by Cromwell, began to work on a moderate programme of constitutional reform. Rather than opposing Parliament's bill, Cromwell dissolved it on 22 January 1655. After a royalist uprising, led by Sir John Penruddock, Cromwell, influenced by Lambert, divided England into military districts ruled by Army Major-Generals, who answered only to him. The fifteen major generals and deputy major generals, called "godly governors" were central not only to national security but also to Cromwell's moral crusade. The generals supervised militia forces and security commissions, collected taxes and ensured support for the government in the English provinces and in Wales. Commissioners for securing the peace of the commonwealth were appointed to work with them in every county. While a few of the commissioners were career politicians, most were zealous Puritans who welcomed the major-generals, with open arms and embraced their work with enthusiasm. However, the major-generals lasted less than a year. Many feared that they threatened their reform efforts and authority. The major-generals' position was further harmed by a tax proposal by Major General John Desborough to provide financial backing for their work, which the Second Protectorate Parliament, instated in September 1656, voted down for fear of a permanent military state. Ultimately, however, Cromwell's failure to support his men by sacrificing them to his opponents caused their demise. Their activities between November 1655 and September 1656 had, however, reopened the wounds of the 1640s and deepened antipathies to the regime.

British Isles policy

By the end of 1653, the Protectorate was in the unique position of being the first government in history to be in control of the entirety of the British Isles. The scope of the Instrument of Government extended to the governance of Scotland and Ireland; it provided for representatives from Scotland and Ireland, as well as England and Wales, to sit in Parliament in London.

The regime's policy towards Ireland and Scotland initially had three components: secure the recent conquest of those countries with armies of occupation; punish those who had opposed the English conquest; reshape both countries in the image of England. Barry Coward observed that "While there were reforming aspirations and coercion in the Protectorate's British policies, these can hardly said to amount to a 'British vision' designed to create a new British state from the separate kingdoms of England, Ireland and Scotland. What the regime seems to have intended was the anglicisation of the British Isles".

Scotland

Main article: Scotland under the Commonwealth

Following the defeat of the Scottish army in the Anglo-Scottish war of 1650 to 1652 the Scottish government was dissolved and the English Parliament absorbed the kingdom of Scotland into the Commonwealth. Military rule was imposed, with 10,000 English troops garrisoned across the country to quell the threat of local uprisings. Negotiations between commissioners of the English Parliament and the deputies of Scotland's shires and burghs began to formalise the incorporation of Scottish legal and political structures into the new British state. Under the terms of the Tender of Union, a declaration of the English Parliament proclaimed in Scotland in 1652, the Scottish Parliament was permanently dissolved and Scotland was given 30 seats in the Westminster Parliament. In 1654, the Council of State issued an "Ordinance for uniting Scotland into one Commonwealth with England", which would be called the "Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland". This remained the legal basis of the union until the Ordinance became an Act of Union under the Second Protectorate Parliament on 26 June 1657.

Initially, the country was run by eight English commissioners. In 1655 Lord Broghill was appointed as President of a new Council for Scotland which was part of an attempt to recast the government along civilian lines and to begin to win over the major landholders to the regime. The council was made up of six Englishmen and two Scots.

Ireland

Main article: Interregnum (Ireland)

With the completion of the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland in 1653, the Protectorate implemented the Rump Parliament's Act for the Settlement of Ireland 1652 which directed that large numbers of the Irish population be executed and that most Catholic property owners should lose their lands and be made to relocate to the west of the country. The English army of occupation stood at 9,000 in 1657, although it had been reduced significantly from its 1649 complement of 35,000. The Instrument of Government specified that Ireland was entitled to 30 seats in the Parliament in London, the same number as Scotland. Initially, the country was ruled on behalf of the Protectorate by Cromwell's son-in-law, Charles Fleetwood, a military governor with the title Lord Deputy of Ireland, and a group of hard line radical parliamentary commissioners. As in Scotland, a more moderate policy was adopted in 1655. In that year, Cromwell sent his son, Henry, to Ireland who assumed control over the country and adopted a more conciliatory approach to the country's administration.

Foreign policy

During this period, Oliver Cromwell also faced challenges in foreign policy. The First Anglo-Dutch War, which had broken out in 1652, against the Dutch Republic, was eventually won by Admiral Robert Blake in 1654. Having negotiated peace with the Dutch, Cromwell then proceeded to engage the Spanish Empire in warfare through his Western Design. That involved secret preparations for an attack on the Spanish colonies in the Caribbean and resulted in the invasion of Jamaica, which then became an English colony. The Lord Protector became aware of the contribution the Jewish community made to the economic success of the Netherlands, now England's leading commercial rival. Cromwell's toleration of private worship of non-Puritans led to his encouragement of Jews to return to England, 350 years after their banishment by Edward I, in the hope that they would help speed up the recovery of the country after the disruption of the Civil Wars.

In 1655 a crypto-Jew known as Simón de Casseres proposed to Cromwell a plan to take over Spanish-rule Chile with only four ships and a thousand men. However English plans to engage in Chile came into fruition only in 1669, with John Narborough's expedition.

After the Battle of the Dunes (1658), the town of Dunkirk was awarded by France to the Protectorate. It would be sold back to France by Charles II in 1662.

Oliver Cromwell's role

Standard of Oliver Cromwell

In 1657, Oliver Cromwell was offered the crown by Parliament as part of a revised constitutional settlement. That presented him with a dilemma since he had been instrumental in abolishing the monarchy. Cromwell agonised for six weeks over the offer. He was attracted by the prospect of stability that it held out, but in a speech on 13 April 1657, he made it clear that God's providence had spoken against the office of king: “I would not seek to set up that which Providence hath destroyed and laid in the dust, and I would not build Jericho again".

Instead, Cromwell was ceremonially reinstalled as Lord Protector, with greater powers than had previously been granted him under this title, at Westminster Hall. He sat upon King Edward's Chair, which had been specially moved from Westminster Abbey for the occasion. The event in part echoed a coronation by using many of its symbols and regalia, such as a purple ermine-lined robe, a sword of justice, a sceptre and an ermine-lined coronet but not a crown or an orb. However, a crown and an orb were present on the lord protector's seal. However, most notably, the office of Lord Protector was still not to become hereditary though Cromwell was now able to nominate his own successor. Cromwell's new rights and powers were laid out in the Humble Petition and Advice, a legislative instrument that replaced the Instrument of Government. Cromwell himself, however, was at pains to minimise his role by describing himself as a constable or watchman. However, Cromwell "had never gained the willing consent of the nation", and the Protectorate relied on armed force.

Rule of Richard Cromwell

Richard Cromwell

After Oliver's death in September 1658, his third son, Richard Cromwell, succeeded as Lord Protector. The impression of strength and durability of the Protectorate when Richard succeeded proved deceptive; the lack of unity would destroy the Protectorate.

Richard sought to expand the basis for the Protectorate beyond the army to civilians. He summoned a Parliament in 1659, but the republicans engaged in "endless obstruction and filibustering", attacked the "quasi-monarchal" aspects of the Protectorate and "condemned Oliver's rule as a period of tyranny and economic depression". Both father and son were seen as leading a tyrannical government of the "Sword", in diametric opposition to a "Civil" government with a free parliament.

Three things undermined the Protectorate: the "anxieties of the army, the irresponsibility of the Parliament and the rashness of Richard Cromwell". What ultimately prevented the retention of the Protectorate was the opposition of the "junior officers" and "many of the common soldiers".

Richard had proved that he could neither manage the Parliament nor control the army. On 7 May, a Committee of Safety was formed on the authority of the Rump Parliament, displacing the Protector's Council of State, and was in turn replaced by a new Council of State on 19 May 1659. "Richard was never formally deposed or arrested, but allowed to fade away. The Protectorate was treated as having been from the first a mere usurpation".

Aftermath and restoration

Main articles: Commonwealth of England (1659–1660) and Stuart Restoration

After Richard Cromwell was removed from power by the Grandees of the New Army, the Rump Parliament was instated and soon after was replaced by the Committee of Safety and Council of State under the authority of Charles Fleetwood. The Committee of Safety then ordered General John Lambert to meet George Monck, the commander of English forces in Scotland and a royalist sympathizer, to force Monck's submission or defeat. Monck instead marched south. As Lambert's army marched north, his ranks began to dwindle and he was ultimately forced to retreat back to London.

When Monck reached London he allowed Presbyterian members, who had been removed by Pride's Purge, to re-enter Parliament on 21 February 1660. On 16 March 1660, the Long Parliament dissolved itself after preparations were made for the Convention Parliament of 1660 to succeed it. On 4 April 1660, Charles II proclaimed the Declaration of Breda, which granted a pardon for all crimes committed during the Civil War and the Interregnum to those who recognized him as the lawful king. On 8 May 1660, the Convention Parliament declared Charles II the lawful successor of Charles I and king. The Convention Parliament then began the transition back to monarchy through the passage of the Restoration Settlement.

According to Derek Hirst, outside of politics and religion, the 1640s and the 1650s saw a revived economy characterized by growth in manufacturing, the elaboration of financial and credit instruments and the commercialization of communication. The gentry found time for leisure activities such as horse racing and bowling. In high culture, important innovations included the development of a mass market for music, increased scientific research and an expansion of publishing. All of those trends were discussed in depth at the newly-established coffeehouses.

See also

• Knights, baronets and peers of the Protectorate

References

• Coward, Barry (2002). The Cromwellian Protectorate. Manchester University Press. ISBN 978-0-7190-4317-8.
• Dow, F. D. (1979). Cromwellian Scotland 1651–1660. Edinburgh: John Donald Publishers Ltd. ISBN 978-0-85976-049-2.
• Durston, Christopher (1998). "The Fall of Cromwell's Major-Generals". English Historical Review. 113 (450): 18–37. doi:10.1093/ehr/cxiii.450.18. ISSN 0013-8266.
• Hirst, Derek (1990). "The Lord Protector, 1653–8". In Morrill (ed.). Oliver Cromwell and the English Revolution. p. 137. Call Number: DA426 .O45 1990.
• Hutton, Ronald (2000). The British Republic 1649–1660 (2nd ed.). Macmillan. pp. 116–118.
• Jones, J.R. (1978). Country and Court: England 1658–1714. Edward Arnold. pp. 113–120.
• Jørgen, S; Rasmussen, J.R. (2007). Angles on the English-Speaking World vol.7. The State of the Union: Scotland, 1707–2007. Museum Tusculanum Press. ISBN 978-87-635-0702-8.
• Little, Patrick (2004). Lord Broghill and the Cromwellian Union With Ireland And Scotland. Boydell Press. ISBN 978-1-84383-099-3.
• Lynch, M. (1991). 'Scotland: a New History. Random House. ISBN 978-1-4464-7563-8.
• MacKenzie, Kirsteen (2009). "Oliver Cromwell and the Solemn League and Covenant of the Three Kingdoms". In Patrick Little (ed.). Oliver Cromwell: New Perspectives. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-230-57421-2.
• Roots, Ivan (1989). Speeches of Oliver Cromwell. Everyman classics. p. 128. ISBN 978-0-460-01254-6.
• Wheeler, James Scott (2002). The Irish and British Wars 1637–1654: Triumph, Tragedy and Failure. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-22132-0.

Further reading

• Metcalfe, Walter Charles (1885), A Book of Knights Banneret, Knights of the Bath, and Knights Bachelor made between the fourth year of King Henry VI and the restoration of King Charles II ..., London: Mitchell and Hughes, p. 205 – A list of men knighted by the Lord Protectors.

External links

• United Kingdom: Flags of the Interregnum, 1649–1660
• More About the Protectorate Archived 14 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine

Others

Posthomerica

Lol

The plot of Posthomerica begins where Homer's Iliad ends, immediately after Hector's body was regained by the Trojans. Penthesileia, a daughter of Ares, arrives at Troy with a group of Amazon warriors. They arrive from the Thermodon River. Penthesileia has come to share the hardships of war and to escape her people after accidentally killing her sister; she was aiming for a stag. Priam thinks she will save Troy and kill Achilles. Andromache doesn't think that Penthesileia is capable. Priam prayed to Zeus to let Penthesileia return, but he sees an eagle holding a dove, a sign that she will die.

Ajax and Achilles are in the city resting. Hippoclameia tries to convince the Trojan women to fight, but Theano convinces them it is a suicidal idea. Penthesileia kills Podarces in battle. Ajax convinces Achilles that it is time to fight: Achilles kills Penthesileia by impaling her and her horse, but Achilles notices her beauty and realizes that he should have made her his wife. Thersites tells Achilles not to worry about women; Achilles eventually kills him and upsets Diomedes.

Thymoites tells Troy if they are to stay in the city, they will die, therefore everyone should leave. Priam and Paris say that fighting is the answer and Memnon, son of Dawn, and the Ethiopian army will be here soon. Polydamas says that Ethiopians will lose. Zeus thinks that tomorrow's battle will be ugly and full of death. Memnon kills Nestor's son Antilochos in battle. Eventually, after a long and difficult struggle; Achilles kills Memnon. Dawn will not let the sun rise because she is so upset and retreats to Hades, until Zeus convinces her to leave. After Achilles tells him to stop interfering in the battle, Apollo tries to shoot Achilles, wounding his ankle; this will later prove fatal. Zeus is furious with Apollo as he is not supposed to interfere in the mortal world.

The Trojans are still scared to fight the injured Achilles. Achilles dies and Paris attempts to remove his corpse. Ajax defends the body, killing Glaucos, who falls on top of Achilles. Ajax also injures Aeneas. Odysseus helps Ajax defend Achilles' body. Ajax stuns Paris by hitting him with a rock, forcing Paris to give up his attempt to take the corpse. The Greeks successfully drive the Trojans off and rescue Achilles’ body, bringing it back to the Greek camp. Ajax is the first to eulogize Achilles, then Phoinix, Agamemnon, Briseis, and Thetis, Achilles' mother. Calliope tells Thetis that her son will always be remembered. The Greeks then compete in funeral games to commemorate the death of Achilles.

There is a heated argument between Odysseus and Ajax over which one of them is most deserving of receiving Achilles’ armor. The Trojan prisoners are asked to decide which one of them was the better warrior during the defense of Achilles’ body. The hero that fought most bravely and valiantly will be awarded the armor. It is decided that Odysseus will receive the armor. Similar to Sophocles' play Ajax, this leads to Ajax's suicide, and Odysseus speaks his regret at the funeral. He is cremated at sea.

At this point, the gods give Eurypylus to the Trojans. Eurypylus is able to kill many Argive soldiers and drives the Argives to despair. They draw near to the ships, but Neoptolemos arrives to fight the Trojans back. Ares demoralizes the Argives, but Neoptolemos holds his ground and slays Eurypylus. He continues to kill Trojans, such that the author expresses surprise at his body count. Deiphobos challenges him, but Apollo saves the Trojans from Neoptolemos. Apollo tries to kill Neoptolemos, but Zeus threatens to destroy Ilion if he does.

The battle is halted by Calchas, who declares that the battle is not fated to end until Philoctetes joins the Argives. Philoctetes had been left on the island of Lemnos due to receiving a bite on the foot from a poisonous water snake that became infected and repulsive to the other Greeks. This scenario draws on source material from Sophocles' Philoctetes. Philoctetes is rescued from his cave. They tell him that his wound can be healed by the surgeon Podaleninos if he agrees to come with them to Troy. Although Philoctetes considers Odysseus at fault for leaving him on the island, he forgives Odysseus.

Aeneas attempts to convince the Trojans to stay within the city walls, without success. Panic, Fear and Strife arrive at the day's battle. Philoctetes shoots Paris with his poisoned arrows, grazing him on the hand and striking him in the groin. Paris, mortally wounded, tries to get help from his first wife, Oenone, who spurns him because of his affair with Helen. Paris passes away. Priam laments that he was his second best son, and Helen curses the position he put her in. Oenone, regrets her actions and commits suicide by jumping on Paris' funeral pyre. They are buried next to one another, their headstones facing opposite ways.

The battle evens out for both sides. Apollo pushes Aeneas and Eurymachos to fight like madmen against the Greeks, pushing them back until they are rallied by Neoptolemos. The Greeks surge forwards and Aeneas manages to rally the Trojans and check the Greek advance. A dust storm settles over the battle. The next morning, the Argives hide under their shields to get to the gates of Troy, led by Odysseus. Ares gives Aeneas the strength to retaliate by throwing huge rocks. Aeneas exhorts the Trojans to leave the city, but the battle continues around the gates. Philoctetes shoots at Aeneas, but his shield protects him, allowing the arrow to hit Mimas instead.

The seer Calchas sees an omen of a hawk and dove, suggests that the Greeks try a new strategy to take Troy. Odysseus comes up with a plan to create the Trojan Horse. He gets Epeios to construct the horse. Neoptolemos and Philoctetes do not like the plan, because they prefer a more direct battle. Epeios prays to Athena. The horse causes the gods to break out in a brief fight until Zeus ends it. Neoptolemos, Menelaos, Odysseus, Sthenalos, Diomedes and Philoctetes are among those that board the horse. Agamemnon and Nestor stay behind. The Argives leave the horse and Sinon at Troy and pretend to flee. Sinon is heavily disfigured and left as a messenger. He says that the horse is a tribute to Tritogeneia, but Laocoon sees through the deception. He tries to urge the Trojans to burn the horse, but he is struck with blindness by Athena. He and his children are killed by two serpents. The Trojans attempt to sacrifice to the gods, but the sacrifices refuse to catch fire. Statues begin to weep and temples are stained with blood, but the Trojans are not impressed by these negative omens. Cassandra also knows the truth about the horse, but is cursed so that nobody believes her. She attempts to burn the horse but is prevented from doing so.

The Trojans celebrate their victory, but are left unprepared for the Argives as they exit the horse and kill the Trojans. Priam is killed by Neoptolemos. Menelaos kills Deiphobos, who has married Helen after Paris' death. Troy is burned to the ground. The women of Troy are given to the heroes of the Argives. Much of the events here are similar to the events in Euripides' Trojan Women. Ajax the Lesser rapes Cassandra in Athena's shrine, so he is killed by the gods.

Lol

Book 2: The Trojans debate their situation. Thymoetes is despondent, Priam encouraging. The wise Polydamas’ suggestion that Helen should be given back meets with an angry response from Paris. The rest of the book is similar in plan to Book 1. Trojan hopes are raised by the arrival of Priam’s nephew Memnon and his Ethiopian troops. Like Penthesileia, he is royally entertained, enjoys initial success in the battle, and is defeated by Achilles. His divine mother, the Dawn, has his body carried away by the winds and metamorphoses his troops into birds. The book closes with mourning, both divine and human. Memnon featured in the Aethiopis, in the Memnon and the Weighing of Souls of Aeschylus, and in the Ethiopians and the Memnon of Sophocles. The bird metamorphosis is not mentioned in Proclus’ summary of the Aethiopis. Quintus’ account of it is close to that given by Dionysius in his didactic poem on fowling, Ixeutica, a summary of which survives; cf. Ovid, Met. 13.576–622.

Book 3: Apollo warns Achilles to stop the slaughter and, when he defiantly continues, shoots him in the ankle with an arrow. After a desperate struggle over his body, in which Ajax, son of Telamon, takes the lead on the Greek side, the Trojans fall back and the body is recovered. Book 3, like Books 1 and 2, ends with mourning. Achilles is lamented by Phoenix, Briseïs, the Nereids, and his mother (Thetis), and the preparations for his funeral are described. Poseidon consoles Thetis with an assurance that Achilles will join the gods and receive special worship. Achilles’ funeral featured in the Aethiopis. Quintus’ account recalls the funeral of Patroclus in Book 23 of the Iliad and alludes to the description of Achilles’ funeral in the Odyssey (24.43–84).

Book 4: The gods react variously to Achilles’ death, and the Greeks prepare to resume hostilities. But Thetis wishes to hold funeral games in honor of her son, and in the remainder of the book these competitions are described. Funeral games for Achilles were described in the Aethiopis, but Quintus is chiefly concerned to engage with the Homeric narrative of the games held by Achilles for Patroclus in Book 23 of the Iliad. He adds all-in wrestling, the long jump, and horse riding, all of which featured in the games of the Roman imperial period; and Nestor’s verse encomium of Achilles probably reflects the artistic contests commonly included in games in Quintus’ time.

Book 5: Achilles’ armor is displayed by Thetis, and there is a long description of the shield. She offers the armor as a reward for the man who recovered Achilles’ body. Ajax (son of Telamon) and Odysseus claim the prize, and the invidious decision between them is left to Trojan prisoners of war. After hearing the speeches, they award the armor to Odysseus. Quintus has narrated the fighting in Book 4 so as to show that this is the wrong decision. Ajax, raging with disappointment, plans to slaughter the Greeks during the night, but Athena diverts his fury against a flock of sheep. Once his madness leaves him, he feels humiliated and kills himself. He is lamented by his half-brother Teucer and his concubine Tecmessa. Odysseus tries to conciliate the army with a patently insincere speech. The book closes with Ajax’ funeral, which recalls that of Achilles at the end of Book 3. Four of the first five books have ended in lamentation, and each side has lost two champions. Having engaged closely in Book 4 with Homer’s account of funeral games, Quintus now offers a description of the shield of Achilles described already by Homer in Book 18 of the Iliad. He alludes to some of the Homeric scenes but shows considerable independence, incorporating more of the horrors of war and including an allegorical scene, the lofty Mount of Virtue. The effect is disconcerting: Quintus and Homer cannot both be right. (Lines 97–98 hardly remedy this problem.) The contest for Achilles’ arms and its dénouement were described in the Aethiopis (which seems not to have had the story of Ajax’ madness) and in the Little Iliad. By Quintus’ time, countless rhetoricians and poets had composed speeches for Ajax and Odysseus. The fullest surviving version of the episode is in Book 13 of Ovid’s Metamorphoses, where, unsurprisingly, several similar arguments are deployed. Quintus’ account of the madness and suicide owes some details to Sophocles’ Ajax.

Book 6: Menelaüs tests the Greeks’ resolve by proposing retreat, but Diomedes threatens to kill anyone who tries to leave before Troy is taken. In response to advice from the seer Calchas that this will not happen unless Achilles’ son Neoptolemus is present, Odysseus and Diomedes set sail for Scyros to fetch him. Eurypylus, leader of the Cetaeans, comes with his army to the aid of the Trojans. He is the grandson of Heracles and the son of Telephus, who once fought Achilles. Like Penthesileia in Book 1 and Memnon in Book 2, he is royally received. There is a long description of his shield, which depicts the Labors of Heracles; this complements the description of Achilles’ shield in Book 5. The second half of the book tells of various encounters in battle between the Greeks and the Trojans, with Eurypylus leading the Trojan attack. The testing of troops is inspired by a similar episode in Book 2 of the Iliad, the battle scenes by parts of Book 11. Eurypylus figured in the Little Iliad and in a tragedy of Sophocles, now lost, named after him.

Book 7: Some of the Greeks hold funerals for Nireus and Machaon, victims of Eurypylus. Machaon’s grief-stricken brother Podalirius is offered consolation by Nestor. The Greek forces are driven back to their wall by Eurypylus. A truce allows burial of the dead. Meanwhile Odysseus and Diomedes find Neoptolemus eager to join the war, in spite of the pleading of his mother, Deïdamia. They return to Troy just in time to rescue the Greek cause. Neoptolemus is given his father’s armor, and he rushes into battle. The book closes with his formal welcome from Phoenix and the Greek commanders. Both sides are now confident of success. The embassy of Odysseus and Diomedes to Scyros was told in the Little Iliad. Sophocles and Euripides wrote plays entitled Men of Scyros, now lost, which treated the same episode. Deïdamia’s tearful farewells are inspired by the scene between Jason and his mother, Alcimede, in Book 1 of Apollonius’ Argonautica. Neoptolemus is mentioned in both the Iliad (19.327–33) and the Odyssey (11.505–37).

Book 8: Eurypylus and Neoptolemus lead out their forces, and each is successful in the battle. Eventually they meet, exchange proud words, and fight. Eurypylus is slain. Neoptolemus runs riot. Ares rallies the Trojans but is warned by Zeus not to fight Neoptolemus. Apollo encourages the Trojans, and fierce fighting ensues. Just as the Greeks seem about to break into the city, Ganymede begs Zeus not to let him see Troy’s destruction. Zeus hides the city in cloud, and Nestor warns the Greeks not to incur divine anger. They stop fighting, bury their dead, and honor the exploits of Neoptolemus. Both sides keep watch through the night. The killing of Eurypylus was narrated in the Little Iliad and is mentioned in the Odyssey (11.519–21). The second half of the book is inspired by the interventions of Ares and Athena in Book 5 of the Iliad.

Book 9: The Trojans bury Eurypylus, and Neoptolemus prays at the tomb of his father, Achilles. Deïphobus encourages the fearful Trojans to fight, and both he and Neoptolemus slay countless victims. Finally they meet, but Deïphobus is removed from the battlefield by Apollo. Poseidon supports the Greeks and warns Apollo not to kill Neoptolemus. Calchas reveals that Troy may not be captured without the help of Philoctetes. Odysseus and Diomedes go to fetch him from the island of Lemnos. They find him living in a cave and still suffering from the putrid wound whose stench had caused the Greeks to abandon him. He is persuaded to accompany them to Troy, where he is cured by Podalirius, honored, and offered compensation. Philoctetes and his wound are mentioned in the Iliad (2.721–25). The embassy to fetch him was told in the Little Iliad. Sophocles’ tragedy Philoctetes will have been known to Quintus. Euripides wrote a play, now lost, on the same subject.

Book 10: In an opening similar to that of Book 2, the wise Polydamas advises the Trojans to fight defensively from their walls, but Aeneas is for continuing the battle. Intense fighting ensues. Philoctetes, whose baldric is described at length, shoots many victims with the bow of Heracles and eventually wounds Paris. It has been prophesied that he can be cured only by Oenone, the wife whom he deserted in favor of Helen. She rejects his plea with scorn. Hera and the Seasons discuss what will happen after his death. Hecuba and Helen lament him, and the remorseful Oenone leaps on his funeral pyre. The opening debate recalls that between Polydamas and Hector in Book 18 of the Iliad. In the Little Iliad Paris was killed by Philoctetes in the battle itself. Oenone’s story had been familiar at least since the Hellenistic period.

Book 11: The first part of the book tells of the battle on the plain. Aeneas and Eurymachus are urged on by Apollo. The Trojans are driven back by Neoptolemus and his Myrmidons, but Aeneas rallies them. When Athena intervenes on the Greek side, Aphrodite removes Aeneas from the battlefield, and the Trojans retreat within their walls. The second part of the book describes the Greeks’ assault on the city on the following day. The result is an impasse. The removal of Aeneas from the fighting is based on Iliad 5.311–17, 445–46, and several other scenes are inspired more generally by Books 5 and 13. The narrative of the siege has elements in common with the messenger speech in Euripides’ Phoenician Women (1090–1199) and with Virgil’s account of the attack on the Trojans’ camp at Aen. 9.503–89.

Book 12: Prompted by an omen, the seer Calchas advises the Greeks to resort to trickery. Odysseus suggests a wooden horse. Neoptolemus and Philoctetes wish to continue fighting, but an omen from Zeus guarantees the plan. Epeüs is inspired by Athena to construct the horse. A fight between the gods on opposing sides in the war is quelled by Zeus. Sinon volunteers to stand by the horse and persuade the Trojans to take it inside their city. Nestor is keen to join the ambush, but is dissuaded. Quintus invokes the Muses to help him list those who entered the horse. The rest of the Greeks, with Nestor and Agamemnon, sail away to Tenedos. When questioned by the Trojans, Sinon maintains his story. The priest Laocoön urges them to burn the horse, but his sudden blinding by Athena persuades them that they should ignore his advice and drag it into Troy. Two serpents emerge from the sea and devour Laocoön’s sons. Troy is filled with sinister omens. Cassandra warns the Trojans of their danger, but they prevent her from attacking the horse and begin their final carouse. The battle between the gods is inspired by the Theomachy in Book 20 of the Iliad. The story of the wooden horse was told in the Little Iliad and the Sack of Troy and is recounted in the Odyssey (8.492–520; cf. 4.271–89, 11.523–32). Sophocles wrote plays entitled Laocoön and Sinon, now lost, and many other authors treated the subject. The best-known extant account is that in Virgil’s Aeneid (2.13–249), where the narrator is Aeneas.

Book 13: As the Trojans sleep, Sinon summons the Greeks. The slaughter begins. Ilioneus vainly begs Diomedes for his life, but Priam is eager to be killed when confronted by Neoptolemus. Hector’s young son Astyanax is murdered; his mother, Andromache, begs for death but is taken into slavery. Antenor is spared as reward for past hospitality. Calchas warns the Greeks not to harm Aeneas, who is destined to found a new city. Menelaüs kills Helen’s new husband, Deïphobus, but Aphrodite prevents him from killing Helen. Locrian Ajax rapes Cassandra in the temple of Athena, incurring the goddess’s wrath. The city is set ablaze. Theseus’ mother, Aethra, unexpectedly meets her grandsons. Priam’s daughter Laodice prays to be swallowed up by the earth. Most of these events were narrated in the Sack of Ilium. The best-known extant account is that in Virgil’s Aeneid (2.250–804), where the narrator is Aeneas.

Book 14: The women of Troy are assigned to their new masters. Helen’s beauty prevents the Greeks from blaming her. There are general celebrations, with bards singing of the war. Menelaüs forgives Helen. Achilles appears to Neoptolemus in a dream, gives him moral advice, and demands the sacrifice of Polyxena to appease his continuing anger over Briseïs. Her sacrifice, and the misery of her mother Hecuba, are described at length. Hecuba is metamorphosed into a dog made of stone. The voyage gets under way, with very different emotions experienced by the Greeks and the captive women. Athena complains to Zeus of Locrian Ajax’ sacrilege and is lent the weapons of storm. The ships are scattered. Ajax is defiant to the end. Many perish on the Capherean Rocks. Poseidon destroys all trace of the Greeks’ walls at Troy. The survivors come to land. The Odyssey can begin. Most of these events were treated in the Sack of Ilium and the Returns. The sacrifice of Polyxena and Hecuba’s metamorphosis feature in Euripides’ Hecuba (cf. Ovid, Met. 13.429–575). Sophocles wrote a Polyxena, now lost. The storm scene has elements in common with that in Book 1 of the Aeneid (34–123). The storm and the assigning of the women are described in Euripides’ Trojan Women (48–97, 235–92). Locrian Ajax’ death is mentioned in Book 4 of the Odyssey (499–511). The destruction of the Greek walls is foretold in Book 12 of the Iliad (3–33).

Random

2023 estimate
	8,258,035	8,804,190	−6.20%
3,820,914	3,898,747	−2.00%
2,664,452	2,746,388	−2.98%
2,314,157	2,304,580	+0.42%
1,650,070	1,608,139	+2.61%
1,550,542	1,603,797	−3.32%
1,495,295	1,434,625	+4.23%
1,388,320	1,386,932	+0.10%
1,302,868	1,304,379	−0.12%
985,843	949,611	+3.82%
979,882	961,855	+1.87%
978,468	918,915	+6.48%
969,655	1,013,240	−4.30%
913,175	905,748	+0.82%
911,311	874,579	+4.20%
879,293	887,642	−0.94%
808,988	873,965	−7.43%
755,078	737,015	+2.45%
716,577	715,522	+0.15%
702,767	681,054	+3.19%
687,788	689,447	−0.24%
678,972	689,545	−1.53%
678,958	678,815	+0.02%
660,929	641,903	+2.96%
653,833	675,647	−3.23%
633,218	639,111	−0.92%
630,498	652,503	−3.37%
622,981	633,045	−1.59%
618,639	633,104	−2.28%
565,239	585,708	−3.49%
561,385	577,222	−2.74%
560,274	564,559	−0.76%
547,239	542,629	+0.85%
545,716	542,107	+0.67%
526,384	524,943	+0.27%
511,648	504,258	+1.47%
510,823	498,715	+2.43%
510,704	508,090	+0.51%
488,664	478,961	+2.03%
483,335	486,051	−0.56%
482,295	467,665	+3.13%
455,924	442,241	+3.09%
453,649	459,470	−1.27%
449,468	466,742	−3.70%
436,504	440,646	−0.94%
425,115	429,954	−1.13%
413,381	403,455	+2.46%
411,894	413,066	−0.28%
403,364	384,959	+4.78%
398,431	394,266	+1.06%
396,119	397,532	−0.36%
395,052	386,261	+2.28%
364,136	383,997	−5.17%
362,656	372,624	−2.68%
341,778	350,964	−2.62%
340,512	346,824	−1.82%
337,305	317,610	+6.20%
320,742	307,573	+4.28%
320,154	322,570	−0.75%
319,543	320,804	−0.39%
318,858	314,998	+1.23%
316,595	317,863	−0.40%
314,621	307,670	+2.26%
311,097	309,317	+0.58%
310,539	310,227	+0.10%
304,960	311,549	−2.11%
303,820	311,527	−2.47%
303,255	302,971	+0.09%
302,296	299,035	+1.09%
296,186	283,506	+4.47%
294,757	291,082	+1.26%
291,657	292,449	−0.27%
290,190	285,494	+1.64%
286,075	291,247	−1.78%
284,771	262,527	+8.47%
281,754	301,578	−6.57%
280,305	269,840	+3.88%
280,167	275,987	+1.51%
275,411	267,918	+2.80%
274,915	264,165	+4.07%
274,678	278,349	−1.32%
274,333	275,487	−0.42%
269,994	263,886	+2.31%
266,878	257,141	+3.79%
265,304	270,871	−2.06%
263,553	258,308	+2.03%
257,602	255,205	+0.94%
254,373	256,684	−0.90%
253,886	249,422	+1.79%
253,855	248,325	+2.23%
252,975	249,545	+1.37%
245,021	204,851	+19.61%
244,394	241,361	+1.26%
243,470	246,018	−1.04%
235,421	235,684	−0.11%
230,930	238,005	−2.97%
229,447	228,989	+0.20%
229,247	226,610	+1.16%
226,208	230,504	−1.86%
225,564	215,006	+4.91%
225,007	200,509	+12.22%
224,455	194,016	+15.69%
224,028	228,673	−2.03%
223,728	222,101	+0.73%
222,906	219,346	+1.62%
221,300	223,109	−0.81%
219,573	227,470	−3.47%
218,915	218,464	+0.21%
215,465	208,393	+3.39%
213,509	195,308	+9.32%
212,392	208,634	+1.80%
210,381	214,133	−1.75%
209,749	208,501	+0.60%
209,593	199,723	+4.94%
207,657	211,569	−1.85%
207,621	206,518	+0.53%
207,274	211,328	−1.92%
206,410	192,517	+7.22%
203,842	202,591	+0.62%
202,408	200,393	+1.01%
202,221	196,169	+3.09%
202,134	196,100	+3.08%
201,877	206,922	−2.44%
200,884	202,081	−0.59%
198,750	190,985	+4.07%
198,488	202,063	−1.77%
198,162	190,740	+3.89%
197,089	197,238	−0.08%
196,644	200,733	−2.04%
196,608	198,917	−1.16%
196,442	190,915	+2.90%
195,287	200,603	−2.65%
192,129	198,711	−3.31%
190,792	190,934	−0.07%
190,158	186,738	+1.83%
189,834	180,587	+5.12%
188,701	190,469	−0.93%
187,050	196,543	−4.83%
187,030	181,099	+3.28%
184,255	182,760	+0.82%
183,118	186,247	−1.68%
182,595	187,041	−2.38%
182,457	175,265	+4.10%
180,716	166,722	+8.39%
180,010	174,721	+3.03%
178,444	176,124	+1.32%
177,959	187,593	−5.14%
177,899	176,654	+0.70%
177,563	180,542	−1.65%
177,432	175,535	+1.08%
175,845	178,127	−1.28%
174,405	174,453	−0.03%
171,119	171,178	−0.03%
170,376	169,810	+0.33%
170,188	169,176	+0.60%
170,020	174,068	−2.33%
168,234	171,949	−2.16%
166,236	173,516	−4.20%
165,430	152,769	+8.29%
161,404	169,450	−4.75%
160,238	157,136	+1.97%
159,643	153,095	+4.28%
159,506	163,542	−2.47%
159,135	147,773	+7.69%
158,349	139,869	+13.21%
158,285	143,148	+10.57%
156,512	157,346	−0.53%
156,452	159,732	−2.05%
155,961	155,984	−0.01%
155,675	162,954	−4.47%
155,369	150,227	+3.42%
155,230	159,467	−2.66%
153,859	153,067	+0.52%
153,672	155,929	−1.45%
152,933	156,607	−2.35%
151,967	155,805	−2.46%
151,574	151,854	−0.18%
150,489	150,362	+0.08%
150,245	149,540	+0.47%
148,122	151,038	−1.93%
148,028	148,654	−0.42%
147,748	147,780	−0.02%
147,461	141,290	+4.37%
147,317	150,108	−1.86%
146,716	151,950	−3.44%
146,593	142,210	+3.08%
146,120	148,655	−1.71%
145,812	141,085	+3.35%
145,560	148,620	−2.06%
145,502	151,713	−4.09%
144,998	141,384	+2.56%
144,922	141,867	+2.15%
144,816	138,486	+4.57%
143,709	153,701	−6.50%
142,416	136,632	+4.23%
139,866	135,158	+3.48%
139,250	143,617	−3.04%
139,224	147,067	−5.33%
138,869	134,810	+3.01%
138,397	132,524	+4.43%
138,337	139,911	−1.13%
138,319	134,721	+2.67%
137,098	137,148	−0.04%
136,655	139,387	−1.96%
136,226	135,470	+0.56%
135,958	137,710	−1.27%
135,829	137,298	−1.07%
135,566	119,760	+13.20%
135,512	137,644	−1.55%
135,319	134,023	+0.97%
134,906	134,394	+0.38%
134,801	117,635	+14.59%
134,470	140,230	−4.11%
133,560	138,699	−3.71%
133,553	111,822	+19.43%
133,378	136,588	−2.35%
133,306	134,346	−0.77%
133,188	125,990	+5.71%
132,918	133,434	−0.39%
131,062	127,647	+2.68%
130,406	119,468	+9.16%
130,046	128,026	+1.58%
129,330	126,254	+2.44%
129,043	125,182	+3.08%
128,628	127,315	+1.03%
127,736	125,828	+1.52%
125,826	120,124	+4.75%
125,475	126,587	−0.88%
125,192	120,511	+3.88%
125,113	126,356	−0.98%
124,880	125,845	−0.77%
124,130	117,415	+5.72%
123,463	126,966	−2.76%
122,807	126,090	−2.60%
122,698	115,451	+6.28%
122,413	121,395	+0.84%
122,315	125,410	−2.47%
122,264	112,641	+8.54%
121,469	114,852	+5.76%
121,467	121,374	+0.08%
121,414	124,402	−2.40%
120,922	123,011	−1.70%
120,864	117,116	+3.20%
120,768	119,881	+0.74%
119,669	121,054	−1.14%
119,381	123,851	−3.61%
119,194	113,540	+4.98%
118,962	124,321	−4.31%
118,214	118,403	−0.16%
117,435	119,469	−1.70%
117,096	115,291	+1.57%
116,926	114,059	+2.51%
116,850	117,292	−0.38%
116,320	114,392	+1.69%
115,743	114,428	+1.15%
115,474	115,644	−0.15%
115,332	117,298	−1.68%
114,990	114,403	+0.51%
114,908	116,961	−1.76%
114,892	111,385	+3.15%
114,875	116,317	−1.24%
114,296	115,554	−1.09%
114,268	100,200	+14.04%
114,106	116,448	−2.01%
113,619	112,046	+1.40%
113,495	114,746	−1.09%
113,433	102,527	+10.64%
113,343	115,162	−1.58%
113,310	114,797	−1.30%
112,609	108,795	+3.51%
112,544	114,394	−1.62%
112,193	115,282	−2.68%
112,115	112,644	−0.47%
111,878	110,949	+0.84%
111,805	95,294	+17.33%
111,620	104,627	+6.68%
111,338	99,600	+11.79%
111,180	110,629	+0.50%
111,077	111,876	−0.71%
110,958	90,403	+22.74%
110,920	107,436	+3.24%
110,717	111,640	−0.83%
110,685	114,247	−3.12%
110,682	110,003	+0.62%
110,660	104,046	+6.36%
110,460	113,150	−2.38%
110,327	105,995	+4.09%
110,323	108,445	+1.73%
110,119	105,240	+4.64%
109,987	109,707	+0.26%
109,058	110,763	−1.54%
108,909	91,502	+19.02%
108,816	114,355	−4.84%
108,515	111,026	−2.26%
108,354	111,918	−3.18%
108,248	89,956	+20.33%
108,235	102,976	+5.11%
107,799	105,691	+1.99%
107,730	106,447	+1.21%
107,321	105,053	+2.16%
106,883	108,418	−1.42%
106,836	107,588	−0.70%
105,898	108,250	−2.17%
105,811	109,976	−3.79%
105,799	100,243	+5.54%
105,793	108,080	−2.12%
105,744	107,395	−1.54%
105,617	109,501	−3.55%
104,890	105,643	−0.71%
104,578	95,342	+9.69%
104,557	99,178	+5.42%
104,491	106,785	−2.15%
104,184	101,108	+3.04%
104,094	98,977	+5.17%
103,794	109,450	−5.17%
103,395	103,453	−0.06%
103,391	104,026	−0.61%
103,194	103,639	−0.43%
102,991	106,215	−3.04%
102,865	107,762	−4.54%
102,755	107,337	−4.27%
102,691	102,316	+0.37%
102,526	102,386	+0.14%
102,296	99,757	+2.55%
102,113	89,258	+14.40%
101,680	93,949	+8.23%
101,597	101,636	−0.04%
101,327	105,661	−4.10%
101,301	101,475	−0.17%
101,241	101,253	−0.01%
101,228	99,224	+2.02%
100,858	95,548	+5.56%
100,695	101,079	−0.38%
100,659	94,324	+6.72%
100,633	99,818	+0.82%
100,354	101,724	−1.35%

Distribution

The total 2020 enumerated population of all cities over 100,000 is 96,598,047, representing 29.14% of the United States population (excluding territories) and covering a total land area of 29,588 square miles (76,630 km²). The mean city population is 301,765, and the mean density is 4,151 inhabitants per square mile (1,603/km²).

Population	Number of municipal governments
1,000,000+	9
700,000–999,999	11
500,000–699,999	18
400,000–499,999	11
300,000–399,999	20
200,000–299,999	55
100,000–199,999	212
Total	336

State	Number of listed cities
California	74
Texas	42
Florida	23
Arizona	13
Colorado	12
North Carolina	10
Massachusetts, Washington	9
Georgia, Illinois, Virginia	8
Michigan, New Jersey	7
Indiana, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Tennessee	6
Alabama, Connecticut, Kansas, Nevada, Utah	5
Louisiana, Oklahoma	4
Idaho, Iowa, Minnesota, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Wisconsin	3
Arkansas, Kentucky, Nebraska	2
Alaska, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maryland, Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota	1
Delaware, Maine, Vermont, West Virginia, Wyoming	0

Gallery

• 
  1. New York, New York
• 
  2. Los Angeles, California
• 
  3. Chicago, Illinois
• 
  4. Houston, Texas
• 
  5. Phoenix, Arizona
• 
  6. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• 
  7. San Antonio, Texas
• 
  8. San Diego, California
• 
  9. Dallas, Texas
• 
  10. Jacksonville, Florida
• 
  11. Austin, Texas
• 
  12. Fort Worth, Texas
• 
  13. San Jose, California
• 
  14. Columbus, Ohio
• 
  15. Charlotte, North Carolina
• 
  16. Indianapolis, Indiana
• 
  17. San Francisco, California
• 
  18. Seattle, Washington
• 
  19. Denver, Colorado
• 
  20. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
• 
  21. Nashville, Tennessee
• 
  22. Washington, District of Columbia
• 
  23. El Paso, Texas
• 
  24. Las Vegas, Nevada
• 
  25. Boston, Massachusetts
• 
  26. Detroit, Michigan
• 
  27. Portland, Oregon
• 
  28. Louisville, Kentucky
• 
  29. Memphis, Tennessee
• 
  30. Baltimore, Maryland
• 
  31. Milwaukee, Wisconsin
• 
  32. Albuquerque, New Mexico
• 
  33. Tucson, Arizona
• 
  34. Fresno, California
• 
  35. Sacramento, California
• 
  36. Mesa, Arizona
• 
  37. Atlanta, Georgia
• 
  38. Kansas City, Missouri
• 
  39. Colorado Springs, Colorado
• 
  40. Omaha, Nebraska
• 
  41. Raleigh, North Carolina
• 
  42. Miami, Florida
• 
  43. Virginia Beach, Virginia
• 
  44. Long Beach, California
• 
  45. Oakland, California
• 
  46. Minneapolis, Minnesota
• 
  47. Bakersfield, California
• 
  48. Tulsa, Oklahoma
• 
  49. Tampa, Florida
• 
  50. Arlington, Texas

Elections

Year	Majority vote?	Winner	Most seats in Commons?	Majority?
1830	Yes	Whig	No	No
1831	Yes	Whig	Yes	Yes
1832	Yes	Whig	Yes	Yes
1835	Yes	Whig	Yes	Yes
1837	Yes	Whig	Yes	Yes
1841	Yes	Conservative	Yes	Yes
1847	Yes	Whig	No	No
1852	Yes	Whig	No	Yes
1857	Yes	Whig	Yes	Yes
1859	Yes	Liberal	Yes	Yes
1865	Yes	Liberal	Yes	Yes
1868	Yes	Liberal	Yes	Yes
1874	Yes	Liberal	No	Yes
1880	Yes	Liberal	Yes	Yes
1885	No	Liberal	Yes	No
1886	Yes	Conservative	Yes	Yes
1892	No	Conservative	Yes	No
1895	No	Conservative	Yes	Yes
1900	Yes	Conservative	Yes	Yes
1906	No	Liberal	Yes	Yes
1910	No	Conservative	No	No
1910	No	Conservative	No	No
1918	No	Conservative	Yes	Yes
1922	No	Conservative	Yes	Yes
1923	No	Conservative	No	No
1924	No	Conservative	Yes	Yes
1929	No	Conservative	No	No
1931	Yes	Conservative	Yes	Yes
1935	No	Conservative	Yes	Yes
1945	No	Labour	Yes	Yes
1950	No	Labour	Yes	Yes
1951	No	Labour	No	Yes
1955	No	Conservative	Yes	Yes
1959	No	Conservative	Yes	Yes
1964	No	Labour	Yes	Yes
1966	No	Labour	Yes	Yes
1970	No	Conservative	Yes	Yes
1974	No	Conservative	No	No
1974	No	Labour	Yes	Yes
1979	No	Conservative	Yes	Yes
1983	No	Conservative	Yes	Yes
1987	No	Conservative	Yes	Yes
1992	No	Conservative	Yes	Yes
1997	No	Labour	Yes	Yes
2001	No	Labour	Yes	Yes
2005	No	Labour	Yes	Yes
2010	No	Conservative	Yes	No
2015	No	Conservative	Yes	Yes
2017	No	Conservative	Yes	No
2019	No	Conservative	Yes	Yes