Interregnum (England)

The Interregnum was the period between the execution of Charles I on 30 January 1649 and the arrival of his son Charles II in London on 29 May 1660 which marked the start of the Restoration. During the Interregnum, England was under various forms of republican government (see Commonwealth of England; this article describes other facets of the Interregnum). Commonwealth of England The politics of the period were dominated by the wishes of the Grandees (Senior Officers) of the New Model Army and their civilian supporters. They encouraged (or at least tolerated) several republican regimes. From 1649 until 1653 executive powers lay with the Council of State, while legislative functions were carried out by the Rump Parliament. In 1653, the leaders of the New Model Army, known as the Grandees, with Oliver Cromwell leading these reformists, dismissed the Rump Parliament, replacing it with a Nominated Assembly (nicknamed the Parliament of Saints or Barebone's Parliament). This Barebone's Parliament was composed of 140 nominees, 129 from England and Wales, five from Scotland and six from Ireland. It proved to be as difficult for the executive to work with this parliament as it had with the Rump, so, after sitting for five months, members friendly to the Grandees engendered its dissolution on 12 December 1653. The Instrument of Government was adopted on 15 December 1653 and the pre-eminent Grandee Oliver Cromwell was installed as Lord Protector on the following day. The Instrument of Government granted executive power to the Lord Protector. Although this post was elective, not hereditary, it was to be held for life. It also created a one chamber parliament with its members chosen from redrawn districts, that ultimately favored the gentry and required the calling of triennial Parliaments, with each sitting for at least five months. This would also mark the permanent disenfranchisement of Roman Catholics and all the participants of the Irish Rebellion. In January 1655, Cromwell dissolved the first Protectorate Parliament, ushering in a period of military rule by the Major Generals.