The History of the English Revolution ... Translated ... by H. Evans Lloyd

Front matter

HISTORICAL WORKS, PRINTED FOR LONGMAN, BROWN, GREEN, AND LONGMANS. i. AN HISTORICAL MEMOIR OF A MISSION TO THE COURT OF VIENNA in 1806. By the Right Honourable Sir Robert AnAiR, G. C.B. With a Selection from his Despatches, published by permission of the proper Authorities. 8vo. 18s. ii. BLAIR'S CHRONOLOGICAL TABLES, from the Creation to the present Time : with Additions and Corrections from the most authentic Writers ; including the Computation of St. Paul, as connecting the Period from the Exode to the Temple. Under the revision of Sir Henry Ellis, K.H., Principal Librarian of the British Museum. Imperial 8vo. 31s. 6d. half bound morocco. in. THE LIFE AND TIMES OF RICHARD THE THIRD, as Duke of Gloucester and King of England : in which all the Charges against him are carefully investigated and compared with the Statements of the Cotemporary Authorities.

By Caroline A. Halsted, Author of " The Life of Margaret Beaufort, Mother of King Henry VII.," and " Obligations of Literature to the Mothers of England." 2 vols. 8vo., with Original Portrait and other Illustrations, 30s. IV. THE CHRONICLE OF THE KINGS OF NORWAY, from the Earliest Period of the History of the Northern Sea Kings to the Middle of the Twelfth Century, commonly called The Heimshringla. Translated from the Icelandic of Snorro Sturleson, with Notes, and a Preliminary Discourse, by Samuel Laing, Author of " Notes of a Traveller," &c. 3 vols. 8vo. 36s. v. THE HISTORY OF GREECE. By the Bight Rev. the Lord Bishop of St. David's (the Rev. Connop Thirlwall, D. D. ). 8 vols. foolscap 8vo., with Vignette Titles, 48s. vi. THE BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge.

Half-volumes 1 to 7 (Aa to Az-zubeydi, completing letter A). 8vo. 12s. each. *»* Published Quarterly. — The work will probably not exceed Thirty Volumes. VII. THE TREASURY OF HISTORY; comprising a General Introductory Outline of Universal History, Ancient and Modern, and a Series of separate Histories of every Principal Nation that exists ; their Rise, Progress, and Present Condition, the Moral and Social Character of their respective Inhabitants, their Religion, Manners, and Customs, &c. By Samuel Maunder. Foolscap 8vo. 10s. ; bound, 12s. A Historical Works, printed for Longman £f Co. VIII. A DICTIONARY GEOGRAPHICAL, STATISTICAL, AND HIS- TORICAL, of the various Countries, Places, and Principal Natural Objects in the World. By J. R. M'Culloch, Esq. 2 thick vols. 8vo., illustrated with Six large important Maps, 41.

Preface

. The object of the work here introduced to the notice of the British public, is to trace the rise, progress, and final completion of the English Revolution of 1688 ; to exhibit all the singular events of that important era, without the party-spirit of the English historians, on the one hand, or the tameness of the German, on the other; and, omitting all details not immediately bearing on the subject, to give a grand and faithful picture of one of the mightiest events in the history of the world. The high reputation of Professor Dahlmann justified the expectation that he woidd produce a work worthy of the subject. In the opinion of his own countrymen, at least, this ex pectation has been more than fulfilled. The History of the Engbsh Revolution was received in the most flattering manner, and was soon out of print.

To show the estimation in which it is held in Germany, I subjoin some extracts from a searching review, published in the " Augsburg Allgemeine Zeitung," the ablest, the best conducted, and the most influential of the German journals : — " Dahlmann's History of the Engbsh Revolution will, undoubtedly, have a most extensive circulation, and be received with unmixed approbation by all the translator's preface. VI intelligent classes of our countrymen. Few subjects so important and attractive have ever been handled so ably and thoroughly, and, what is so rare in Ger many, with such freedom and maturity of thought." ..." Among our numerous great historical works, there are few in which a subject, embracing so vast a variety of details, is compressed with such pregnant brevity — where every deviation into tempting bypaths is so happily avoided, and a grand and faithful picture of one of the mightiest events in the annals of mankind is presented to the reader.

We are not annoyed with the dust of the library ; we have no wilderness of notes — no trace of the midnight oil : we feel that it is the fruit of many years' profound study, purified in the process of fermentation, and presented to us in one compact, well-digested whole." ..." The drawing of individual characters is spirited and decided, without any laborious over-finishing of petty details in the Dutch style. The greatness and the infirmity of the Virgin Queen could scarcely be depicted with more simplicity and truth than in the words, ' Elizabeth inherited aU the passions of her father — his haughtiness and his love of pleasure, together with a very considerable portion of the unamiable qualities of her grandfather ; but, after the most violent internal struggles, the interest of the state prevailed.' The psychological discrimination of character rises, in some places, to the most consummate historical art ; in others to the most dignified pathos : and we feel ourselves deeply moved, when it is observed of the un happy forsaken Charles L, ' Charles was placed translator's preface.

VII between England and Scotland in a position like that of the aged Lear — between his hard-hearted daughters Regan and Goneril.' " I would wiflingly quote other passages from this Review; but these will suffice to show the opinions entertained of the work in Germany, for other critiques are in the same style of panegyric. With respect to the translation, I find it necessary to add a few words, especially for those who may be disposed to compare it with the original. As the subject related to English history, it was indispensable not merely to translate, but to give the various sayings, speeches, and official documents, in the very terms of the originals, when they could be conveniently procured. Recourse, therefore, has been had to Rapin, Clarendon, Hume, Lingard, Miss Strickland, and other writers.

These aids, together with the general knowledge which a translator ought to possess of his subject, have led to the detection of some (perhaps typographical) errors, and to one or two misapprehensions of facts. In conclusion, the translator begs to state that he has carefully collated all the material facts and dates with the Engbsh historians ; and he will esteem him self fortunate if he shall be the means of directing the attention of the British public to the work of Profes sor Dahlmann, who is no less esteemed for the depth of his erudition, than for the soundness of his judgment, and the liberality of his views. H. EVANS LLOYD. London, 1 st June, 1 844. CONTENTS. Page Introduction - - - 1

Chapter I. The Tudors

CHAPTER IV. THE COMMONWEALTH UNDER THE LITTLE PARLIAMENT.

4th July to 12th of December, 1653 - - - X CONTENTS.

CHAPTER V. THE PROTECTORATE OF OLIVER CROMWELL.

Page 16th December, 1653— 3d September, 1658 - - 218

CHAPTER VI. THE LAST PANGS OP THE COMMONWEALTH.

September, 1658— May, 1660 - - - - 229 CHAPTER VH. THE LAST TWO STUARTS. 1660—1688. Charles H. 1660—1685 - - - - - 249 James H. 1685—1688 - - - - - 296 CHAPTER VHI. THE SOLUTION. HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH REVOLUTION.

Introduction

. Should any person be tempted to despair of the French nation, because nearly two generations have passed away since its great revolution, and it has not yet regained a state of repose, let him call to mind that the English nation required more than two centuries to bring their revolution to its completion, and to recover from its effects. Traces of this revolution, both in Church and State, may be discovered as far back as the reign of the Tudors, when the governing power bore with heavy pressure upon the lower classes; until, under the Stuarts, a violent reaction took place, which shook both the Church and the State to their very foundations. It is true that although no portion of the varied history of mankind is so barren as to hold out no recompence to the labourer, yet there are some tracts in her domain, whose exuberantly fertile soil yields a double and triple harvest. Such portions, while they are deeply instructive, at the same time open a vista extending to more distant ages, solve r,

INTRODUCTION.

. 1066, questions that embarrass the present, and even partially remove the veil that conceals the future. Such, if I am not mistaken, is that portion of the history of England which is the object of my present investiga tion. There is perhaps no other period in the annals of modern history fraught with such manifold in struction ; it opens the way to an accurate judg ment of the most important events of our own times — the revolutions of North America and France, which have changed the face of two quarters of the globe. The interval is indeed long between Queen Boa dicea, who knew no resource but voluntary death, to escape subjection to the Romans, and Queen Victoria, who now prescribes laws to the vast empire of China ; yet we may venture to take a rapid glance at the state of ancient Britain.

During the eleven hundred years that elapsed between the landing of Jubus Cæsar and that of William the Conqueror, the ground was prepared on which the future destiny of Eng land was to be founded. Celtic Britain, under the sway of many petty princes was succeeded by the sole domination of Rome, and Celtic and Roman heathenism by Christianity. Then came the Saxons and Angles, the Frieslanders and Jutes, first heathens, then Christians, originally divided into several king doms, subsequently united into one, at the time of Charlemagne and his pious son; next succeeded a short period of Danish rule ; and lastly, in 1066, the victorious Normans became undisputed masters of the whole realm. Never was the face of a political soil so thoroughly ploughed up and changed as that of Britain. The Conqueror formed an army of 60,000 cavalry,

INTRODUCTION.

. 3 1087, which was furnished by about 1400 great immediate feudataires and 8000 mediates. There were besides at that time about 250,000 landowners in England, enjoying various degrees of liberty, and 25,000 slaves : the whole of England might contain a population of 2,000,000. London and York were the only cities which had more than 10,000 inhabitants. Many towns lay in ruins, partly in consequence of the acts of violence which attended the Conquest, and partly because many dwelbngs had been recklessly demo lished to supply materials for the erection of castles, to keep the vanquished in awe. At that time England still contained extensive forests ; yet William trans formed a large tract on the sea coast near Winchester, winch comprehended sixty parishes, into a vast hunt ing ground. He caused all the churches and villages within its compass to be burned down, and enacted the most rigorous laws for the preservation of game : the penalty for killing a deer, for instance, was the loss of both eyes.

The scene of the monarch's death at Rouen on the 9th of September, 1087, exhibits, in striking colours, the moral character of his reign. We here behold the body of the aged king, from which the vital spark had scarcely fled, lying naked on the floor, and abandoned by all his attendants. His unprincipled sons have hast ened to seize upon the inheritance. His bishops, his courtiers, and his physicians, are gone, while his ser vants are eagerly engaged in plundering the royal palace. At length, with much difficulty, a funeral car is procured, and the solemn service begins. Suddenly a loud voice overpowers the deep notes of the dirge, and pronounces the all-prevailing bann of Rollo : — " This B

INTRODUCTION.

. ground was my father's; the kingwrested it from him by force. Make instant restitution, or remove the corpse." The prelates guarantee the indemnity, and then — as the corpse is hastily lowered into the grave — the heavy body bursts, corruption had already silently conquered the bastard of Robert le Diable. Were we, however, to judge of the entire character of the man by this disgraceful scene, and see in William only the tyrannical and hated despot, we should greatly err. An important principle of political culture guided his actions, which united the motley population of England, and subjected it to a uniform government. To the feudal system by which Germany is divided, England is mainly indebted for its unity ; for here was effected at once, and to the advantage of the whole, that which, in Germany, was the work of centuries, after the system of the elective monarchy, and the division of the empire into numerous principalities, had been long introduced.

The fiefs into which Wil liam distributed the immense possessions which he had seized, were from the very beginning as hereditary and indivisible as his crown ; they were not lost, except when the feudatory, or the family of the holder, forfeited the fief by disloyalty. The same was the case with the arriere fees, which were granted for cavalry service. The king likewise bound the arriere vassals to himself by the oath of allegiance, and did not permit them to swear fealty to their barons, but with the express reservation of their duties to the king and his heirs. By these means he attached the whole of the great national army, in all its branches, to the sovereign, and further contrived to make the fiefs, though they were hereditary, in many respects depen-

INTRODUCTION.

. dent, and profitable to the crown. Not only were escheats and forfeitures frequent, not only did the king in certain cases, as for instance on the marriage of his eldest daughter, demand contributions from his barons ; but on every change in the fief, the heir had to pay a fixed sum for entering on possession ; while in the event of a minority, the king was the guardian, and in the interim received the revenues. On any deviation of the principle that the heir was to receive the fief, alone and undivided — on appbcation for a partition, and especially for the alienation of a portion of the estate, large sums were demanded for the royal consent. On the extinction of the male line, if the fief fell to a daughter, the king, in order to preserve its military character, insisted on the right of marry ing her according to his pleasure.

In this manner the feudal system, which has impo verished so many crowns, became a source of revenue to King William, who, in fact, never suffered any thing to escape him which could tend to his advantage. Thus when after the conquest he seized on the ancient domains of the crown, added to them the extensive forfeited Anglo-Saxon estates, and richly endowed his Norman nobles with hereditary fiefs, he did not lose sight of what he had given away. He knew per fectly web what portion of his fief every baron cul tivated by vassals, and what portion by tenants, but especially the number and territory of his mounted arriere vassals. " He knew," says the Chronicle, " every hide of land, by whom it was possessed, and what was its value." The truth of this assertior is proved by the great register, commonly called Dooms day Book, which is still preserved, and which he B

INTRODUCTION.

. 1264. caused to be compiled, with the aid of the courts of justice. The law of primogeniture, which he founded, is inseparably entwined with the English constitution, and hereditary right and penal law, bear to this day the impress of his legislation. Here, too, we trace the origin of the ancient Engbsh peerage, or old parliament of England, except that among the barons we must reckon the prelates, who bkewise did homage for their extensive landed possessions. Till the middle of the thirteenth century, the prelates and the great barons alone, constituted the king's council (his parliament) and the royal tribunal, both administering justice collectively, or travelling in divisions through the counties for the same purpose. Whenever it was found necessary to levy a tax, advantage was taken of these journeys to obtain the required sum, by negotiating with the different towns and counties ; for there was not at that time any assembly attached to the parliament, empowered to grant taxes upon occasions of urgent necessity.

Deputies from the shires, or knights chosen by the inhabitants, were summoned before the king to make arrangements respecting the contributions. The king afterwards indemnified them for the ex penses of their journey, which were subsequently refunded by the respective counties for which they appeared as deputies, whereas the peers attended in their own right, and consequently at their own charge. In this state of things the crisis of the year 1264 intervened, when the barons made war on Henry III. and took him prisoner. The supreme authority was usurped by Count Simon de Montfort, who being

INTRODUCTION.

. 1264. compelled to seek the support of the deputies from the boroughs, cities, and counties, summoned them to assemble in parliament. The crisis passed away, but the innovations of the year 1264 continued in force; and Edward I., son of Henry III., made a permanent institution of an expedient adopted by the enemy of his family. The newly summoned deputies, however, did not meet in the same house with those who sat in par bament in their own right, but formed a distinct assem bly in an apartment assigned to them. From that time we meet with the distinction of the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The former were consulted on affairs of state and the concerns of the church, and the latter on those relating to trade and commerce. The deputies of the counties, though they claimed equestrian rank, made no difficulty of sitting in the elective chamber with the deputies of the towns and boroughs, who were merchants and artisans.

Both parties were led to this union by mutual interest and the common ground of their quabfication. It was equally natural that the elective chamber should claim the exclusive right of granting taxes, since these were paid by the commons alone. At that time, a greater freedom of action began to obtain in all the concerns of life. The male line of the Normans had ceased to sit on the throne since the year 1154, and it was now occupied, in right of a Norman princess, by the house of Anjou, which was called Plantagenet, from bearing a sprig of broom as its device. The equal pressure which had borne upon all classes in England from the tune of the Con queror (who even introduced the language of the victors into the parliament and the supreme courts of B

INTRODUCTION.

. justice), produced at length a general reaction. In the year 1215 the most cruel of the game laws were abolished, and the rights of the people secured by the Magna Charta, which relieved the arriere vassals from those services from which the barons were exempt. It likewise introduced equal weights and measures throughout the whole kingdom; and, what is more important, secured equal justice to all the subjects of the realm. No Engbshman could henceforth be de prived of liberty of person and property, except by law and a jury of his peers. " The English," says De Lolme, " would have been a free people from that moment, were there not so wide a difference between the giving of laws and their observance." The pro tective laws were not yet completed ; for it was not till fifty years after the granting of Magna Charta, that the commons were called to parliament, and ob tained, after a severe struggle, the formal recognition of the principle, that matters relative to taxation should no longer be decided by itinerant judges, but by the lower house.

Edward L, though so great a monarch, was at constant variance with Magna Charta. He was obliged to confirm it no less than eleven times, in order to repair its infringements ; and ulti mately gave a specific assurance, by which the right of imposing taxes is especially attributed to the com mons alone. Under his son Edward II., the lower house began to annex petitions, or more properly speaking conditions, to its grants of taxes, and thus laid the foundation of its legislative power. In the reign of Edward III. the commons declared that their consent was indispensable, to the validity of the laws, but that they would not interfere in questions of

INTRODUCTION.

. 1399 to 1400. general policy, or in those relating to war and the army. The law which was at that time in force, required that the parliament should assemble at least once a year. The allowance of a knight, who sat in the lower house, was four shillings a day, and that of a citizen half that sum. The English language was restored ; and the use of French, both in parliament and the courts of justice, abolished. Nearly two cen turies had elapsed since the Norman conquest, when parliament was for the first time opened in the English language. From this era the bberties of the people were rapidly developed, even under the most eminent and warlike monarchs, who subdued Ireland and tri umphed in France. Towards the close of the fourteenth century the presumption of a weak-minded king led to a violent change in the sovereignty, the consequence of which was the relaxing of the general bonds of obedience, which naturally induced a return to despotic power.

Richard II., son of the Black Prince and grandson of Edward III., was dethroned and murdered by another grandson of the same mon arch, who belonged to the third or Lancastrian fine ; and ascending the throne by the title of Henry IV., triumphed over all opposition. The heroism of his son Henry V. eclipsed even that of the Black Prince ; but it only led England still further astray into the delusive paths of conquest. The victor of France confessed on his early death-bed, that he had intended to crown all his achievements by rescuing Jerusalem from the hands of the Sara cens. He left the crowns of England and France to his son Henry VI., an infant only nine months old ;

INTRODUCTION.

. 1471 1452 to 1485. but this baby -king never outgrew the cradle. Besides the general imbecility of his character, he was subject to such total impotency that he lost all conscious ness and memory, and was reduced to utter help lessness both of body and mind. All France, with bttle more than the exception of Calais, was lost ; and Henry experienced the fate of Richard II. from the ambition of the princes of the house of York, the fourth male line of the royal family of Edward III. The war between the two contending factions of the Red and White Roses of Lancaster and York now broke out. This war desolated England for a whole generation, annihilating the greater part of the royal family, and sweeping away more than half of the nobility. The interruption of the constantly progressive ad vance to freedom, which had taken place under the great Edward, must be considered as of the highest importance.

Its form, it is true, still remained, to the inestimable advantage of future ages ; but the spirit of internal peace and conciliation was gone, and two centuries passed away before, by a wonder fully complex train of events, it was again recovered. These two centuries will now engage our attention.

CHAPTER I.

Œfje Œu&ors. 1485 to 1603. Henry VII. 1485—1509. On the fall of Richard III. of York in the battle of Bosworth — the most sanguinary tyrant that ever disgraced the crown — Henry, Earl of Richmond, as cended the throne. There was a universal yearning for repose. The longcontinued hostilities with France, and the civil war between the Roses, had undermined the welfare of the people, and disturbed the develop ment of the national economy.* * Agriculture and the breeding of cattle had improved in the thirteenth century. In proportion as the forests of England were thinned, the breeding of swine was abandoned for that of horses, oxen, and sheep. This is always a sign of advance in agriculture, for the horned cattle not only atford food to man, but improve the land by tillage and ma nure, while the sheep supply him with clothing.

Such rapid pro gress had been made in England in this respect, that in the fourteenth century several nobles possessed 2000 oxen, nearly as many swine, 500 horses, and 24,000 sheep. The English had, besides, a sufficient surplus of wool, to form a valuable article of exportation, which was eagerly purchased by the Hanseatic league. Ox hides, also, were exported by the Hanseatic merchants, who, since the year 1250, had their factory, called the Steel-yard, in London, at the head of which were the Cologne merchants. This export, trade was limited to eleven English and three Irish ports. A duty of one mark was paid for every sack of wool ; but when Edward I., at the time of his disputes with France, demanded three marks per sack of coarse wool, five marks for fine, and the same sum for a last of hides (144 hides), the duty suddenly fell on the sellers, and the The claim of the Tudors to the crown of England rested on the foUowing foundation.

When Catherine of France, daughter of Charles VI., lost her heroic husband Henry V. of England, her infant son Henry VI. remained under the guardianship of his uncles, while she, following the example of her sister-in-law, the Dowager Duchess of Bedford, gave her hand to a Welsh nobleman named Owen Theodor or Tudor. The husbands of both these ladies were severely punished, because they had presumed to unite them selves with vassals of the crown without the royal permission. After the death of Catherine, Tudor was price declined. The purchasers also suffered by the financial difficulties of the crown, for the king extorted from them a loan, equal to the value of the wool which they purchased. When besides these, demands of cattle and wheat were made for the supply of the army in France, the barons and commons did not rest till they had obtained from the king the concession respecting the taxes (de tallagio non concedendo).

The Hapseatic merchants found means amply to indemnify themselves for their losses. This was so notorious, that it became a common saying on the Continent, " We purchase from the English the fox's skin for a penny, and sell them the fox's tail for a florin." The raw wool was exported at a low rate by foreign merchants, who imported it when manufactured, and sold it at a high price. England bore what could not be avoided. She had neither ships nor manufactures to compete with the Hanseatic league, and even when Edward III. engaged Flemish manufacturers to settle in England, and forbid the importation of Hanseatic woollen cloths, the prohibition could not be enforced. Later attempts of Richard II. and Edward IV. were equally unsuccessful. _ The ordinary revenues of the crown, had nominally increased but little since the Conquest, while its wants were more numerous, and a pound sterling went by no means so far as formerly.

The annual income of the crown at that time scarcely amounted to as many thousands as the parliament now grant millions, i. e. 40,000/. or 50,000/. ; and in the war of the Roses, the revenues declined to 5000/. As, however, the public expenditure was to be provided for, and war carried on, it was necessary to have recourse to extraordinary taxes, and to contract debts. The public debt increased under Henry VI. from 144,000/. to 372,000/ which was considered as a burden absolutely intolerable. To this was added the impoverishment of families, the confused state of affairs in general the insufficiency of the laws, the insecurity of the most important rio-ht of" all, that to the crown, at the time when the first of the Tudors ascended the throne. imprisoned, but subsequently set at liberty. He faith fuUy adhered to the cause of his royal step-son, was taken prisoner when fighting under his standard, and beheaded in 1461.

He had three sons by Catherine, the eldest of whom, Edmund, was the father of Henry VII. The rank of his grandmother could not give young Henry any claim to the Engbsh throne ; but as all the sons of Catherine had been elevated to the rank of the chief nobility of England, Edmund, who had been created Earl of Richmond, was quabfied to ask in marriage Margaret, great grand-daughter of John, Duke of Lancaster, son of Edward III., and founder of the Lancastrian line. Henry Richmond was the issue of this marriage. His descent on his mother's side gave him, in the public opinion, a title to the throne ; and in the war of the Roses the house of Tudor did not escape the suspicious jealousy of the house of York. Henry avoided present danger, by flying from Wales to the Duke of Brittany, who generously refused to deliver him up.

But when Richard III. had ascended the throne, and cut off one branch of the royal family after another, the heart of the young Tudor was inspired with lofty hopes. A con spiracy was formed in England in his favour, he himself prepared an armament, and his landing was to give the signal for a general rising ; but the whole scheme was defeated by incidental circumstances. He could now no longer remain in Brittany, and therefore took refuge with Charles VIII. , king of France ; but Richard never after lost sight of his dreaded adver sary. The daily increasing hatred of this tyrant, made Henry of Richmond formidable, for though he had a superior claim, as a member of the house 1485, of Lancaster, yet John Beaufort, Earl of Somerset, Margaret's grandfather, was only a natural son of the founder of the bne.