Restoration by stages: The debate over the House of Lords during the reign of Richard Cromwell, 1658–59

Abstract

SUMMARY It is often incorrectly assumed that the death of Oliver Cromwell in September 1658 made the restoration of the monarchy in England inevitable. On the other hand, some historians have argued that political infighting among Cromwell's advisers and his army commanders contributed to mortal weaknesses in the Protectorate of Oliver's son, Richard. It appears, however, that another force played a key role in the defeat of the Protectorate, and in the return of the Stuart monarchy to England. Conservative ideology, and in particular sympathy for the principles of aristocracy and hereditary right, was strongly in evidence in 1658–59, both inside and outside the newly restored and freely elected House of Commons. A debate in the Commons, and in English society more generally, over whether or not to restore the old House of Lords, abolished in 1649, became the focal point for a renaissance of conservative values. In the process, the virtues of England's ‘ancient constitution’ were rediscovered, and the ideological claims to legitimacy of Richard Cromwell's Protectorate were significantly undermined.