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Introduction

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2010

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Summary

On the evening of 19 April 1653, Oliver Cromwell convened a meeting between representatives of the House of Commons and leading army officers at his lodgings in Whitehall. The subject discussed was a bill concerning parliamentary elections, a measure which the House intended to pass the following morning in the face of strong opposition from the army. There was little chance of agreement at the meeting, where tempers soon deteriorated; but Cromwell, using his position as both member of parliament and Lord General, pressed hard for a compromise. When the gathering dispersed, he believed that he had secured an undertaking from the most influential M.P.s to postpone completion of the bill until further talks with the officers had been held. He was therefore surprised to learn, next morning, that parliament was proceeding with the measure ‘with all the eagerness [it] could’. Once the news was confirmed he left for Westminster, where he stationed a troop of musketeers at the door of the Commons before entering and taking his seat. For a while he listened quietly to the debate. Then, as the House prepared to put the motion, he rose to intervene. Pacing the floor, he delivered one of the most extraordinary speeches of his career. Bulstrode Whitelocke, who was among the members present, recorded the scene in an unusually vivid passage of his journal. The angry protest drawn by this unparliamentary language was silenced by the appearance of Cromwell's musketeers, who met little resistance in clearing the chamber.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 1974

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  • Introduction
  • Blair Worden
  • Book: The Rump Parliament 1648–53
  • Online publication: 29 January 2010
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511560910.003
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  • Introduction
  • Blair Worden
  • Book: The Rump Parliament 1648–53
  • Online publication: 29 January 2010
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511560910.003
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Introduction
  • Blair Worden
  • Book: The Rump Parliament 1648–53
  • Online publication: 29 January 2010
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511560910.003
Available formats
×