The Commonwealth in Crisis

Abstract

Abstract The navy had a vital role to play in the defence of the Commonwealth, but it was not in a healthy state when the republic was first established. The second Civil War and the execution of the king had, as has been seen, alienated many captains and crews. In addition to those who openly declared for Charles II and joined Prince Rupert, many others, while stopping short of changing sides, felt a strong dislike for the New Model Army and for sectaries and radicals in general. Warwick, the Lord Admiral, had been openly opposed to the king’s trial and the abolition of the Lords; moreover he was 61, old for his age and in poor health. He had to be removed, but it was scarcely less necessary to get rid of the excessive personal authority and patronage that attached to his office. The navy needed to be brought more closely under the control of parliament and the council, so before discharging Warwick the Rump enlarged the powers of its Navy Committee. It dealt with Warwick simply by repealing, in February 1649, the act that had appointed him Lord Admiral, and then leaving that office in abeyance. The actual command of the fleet was entrusted jointly to three Generals at Sea, Robert Blake, Richard Deane, and Edward Popham, all former army colonels. Warwick had served the parliament well in his time and he suffered no disgrace, though he was unable to save his brother Holland, who had fought for the king in 1648, from execution. Warwick withdrew from public life for some years, but he was to support Cromwell as Lord Protector. He carried the sword at his second investiture in 1657, and a grandson of his was to marry Cromwell’s youngest daughter.