Wikipedia
This text was copied from Wikipedia on 23 December 2024 at 3:10AM.
 Flag of the Commonwealth | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 14 February 1649 (first time) 25 May 1659 (second time) |
| Preceding agencies |
|
| Dissolved | 30 April 1653 (first time) 28 May 1660 (second time) |
| Superseding agencies |
|
| Type | Advisory body |
| Status | Executive government |
| Headquarters | London, Commonwealth of England |
| Agency executive |
|
The English Council of State, later also known as the Protector's Privy Council, was first appointed by the Rump Parliament on 14 February 1649 after the execution of King Charles I.
Charles's execution on 30 January was delayed for several hours so that the House of Commons could pass an emergency bill to declare the representatives of the people, the House of Commons, as the source of all just power and to make it an offence to proclaim a new King. This in effect abolished the monarchy and the House of Lords.
History
The Council of State was appointed by Parliament on 14 and 15 February 1649, with further annual elections. The Council's duties were to act as the executive of the country's government in place of the King and the Privy Council. It was to direct domestic and foreign policy and to ensure the security of the English Commonwealth. Due to the disagreements between the New Model Army and the weakened Parliament, it was dominated by the Army.
The Council held its first meeting on 17 February 1649 "with [Oliver] Cromwell in the chair". This meeting was quite rudimentary, "some 14 members" attending, barely more than the legal quorum of nine out of forty-one councillors elected by Parliament. The first elected president of the council, appointed on 12 March, was John Bradshaw who had been the President of the Court at the trial of Charles I and the first to sign the King's death warrant.
The members of the first council were the Earls of Denbigh, Mulgrave, Pembroke, and Salisbury; Lords Grey and Fairfax; Lisle, Rolle, Oliver St John, Wilde, Bradshaw, Cromwell, Skippon, Pickering, Masham, Haselrig, Harington, Vane the Younger, Danvers, Armine, Mildmay, Constable, Pennington, Wilson, Whitelocke, Martin, Ludlow, Stapleton, Heveningham, Wallop, Hutchinson, Bond, Popham, Valentine Walton, Scot, Purefoy, Jones.[1]
When the Rump Parliament was dissolved by Cromwell with the support of the Army Council on 20 April 1653, the Council went into abeyance. It was reconstituted on 29 April with thirteen members seven of whom were Army officers.[2][3] With the failure of Barebone's Parliament, the Council was re-modelled with the Instrument of Government to become something much closer to the old Privy Council advising the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell. Constitutionally between thirteen and twenty-one councillors were elected by Parliament to advise the Protector, who was also elected by the Council. In reality Cromwell relied on the Army for support and chose his own councillors.
The replacement constitution of 1657, the pseudo-monarchical Humble Petition and Advice, authorised 'His Highness the Lord Protector'; to choose twenty-one Councillors and the power to nominate his successor. Cromwell recommended his eldest surviving son Richard Cromwell, who was proclaimed the successor on his father's death on 3 September 1658 and legally confirmed in the position by the newly elected Third Protectorate Parliament on 27 January 1659.
After the reinstatement of the Rump Parliament (7 May 1659) and the subsequent abolition of the position of Lord Protector, the role of the Council of State along with other interregnum institutions becomes confused as the instruments of state started to implode. The Council of State was not dissolved until 28 May 1660, when King Charles II personally assumed the government in London.
Lord President of the Council of State
The role of the President of the Council of State (usually addressed as "Lord President") was intended to simply preside over the Council of State.[4]
John Bradshaw, the first president, served in the office longer than any other person to do so (serving for two years and ten months total). The reason no other individual served in the position longer than Bradshaw was due to a resolution passed by the Parliament on 26 November 1651 stating that "That no Person of any Committee of Parliament, or of the Council of State, shall be in the Chair of that Committee, or Council, for any longer Time, at once, than one Month" (Commons Journal, 7:43–44).[4] Even during the Protectorate of Oliver and Richard Cromwell, the position of Lord President of the Council of State, known during this period as the Protector's Privy Council, remained in existence until the re-establishment of the monarchy in 1660.
| Start | End | Name | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17 February 1649 | 12 March 1649 | vacancy | Pro tempore Oliver Cromwell |
| 12 March 1649 | 29 December 1651 | John Bradshaw | |
| 29 December 1651 | 26 January 1652 | Bulstrode Whitelocke | |
| 26 January 1652 | 23 February 1652 | Sir Arthur Haselrig | |
| 23 February 1652 | 22 March 1652 | Philip Sidney, Lord Lisle | |
| 22 March 1652 | 19 April 1652 | John Lisle | |
| 19 April 1652 | 17 May 1652 | Henry Rolle | |
| 17 May 1652 | 14 June 1652 | Sir Henry Vane the Younger | |
| 14 June 1652 | 12 July 1652 | Philip Herbert, Earl of Pembroke | |
| 12 July 1652 | 9 August 1652 | Denis Bond | |
| 9 August 1652 | 7 September 1652 | William Purefoy | |
| 7 September 1652 | 5 October 1652 | Sir James Harrington | |
| 5 October 1652 | 25 October 1652 | Sir William Constable | |
| 25 October 1652 | 22 November 1652 | Sir William Masham | |
| 22 November 1652 | 1 December 1652 | Sir William Constable | |
| 1 December 1652 | 29 December 1652 | unknown | |
| 29 December 1652 | 26 January 1653 | Henry Rolle | |
| 26 January 1653 | 23 February 1653 | John Bradshaw | |
| 23 February 1653 | 23 March 1653 | Thomas Chaloner | |
| 23 March 1653 | 20 April 1653 | Denis Bond | |
| 20 April 1653 | 29 April 1653 | Dissolved along with the Rump Parliament by Cromwell with the support of the Army Council | |
| 30 April 1653 | 6 May 1653 | John Lambert | Reconstituted with thirteen members of whom nine were Army officers.[a] |
| 6 May 1653 | 13 May 1653 | Sir Gilbert Pickering | |
| 13 May 1653 | 27 May 1653 | unknown | |
| 27 May 1653 | 10 June 1653 | John Desborough | |
| 10 June 1653 | 24 June 1653 | unknown | |
| 24 June 1653 | 5 July 1653 | Philip Jones of Fonmon | Welsh |
| 8 July 1653 | 21 July 1653 | Sir Gilbert Pickering | |
| 21 July 1653 | 4 August 1653 | Edward Montagu | |
| 4 August 1653 | 17 August 1653 | unknown | |
| 17 August 1653 | 31 August 1653 | Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper | |
| 31 August 1653 | 14 September 1653 | Robert Tichborne | |
| 14 September 1653 | 28 September 1653 | unknown | |
| 28 September 1653 | 14 October 1653 | Charles Howard | |
| 4 October 1653 | 3 November 1653 | Samuel Moyer | acting |
| 14 October 1653 | 3 November 1653 | Samuel Moyer | |
| 3 November 1653 | 6 December 1653 | Edward Montagu | |
| 6 December 1653 | 12 December 1653 | Walter Strickland | |
| December 1653 | 6 May 1659 | Henry Lawrence | During the Protectorate |
| 7 May 1659 | 18 May 1659 | Replaced by a Committee of Safety | |
| 19 May 1659 | 25 October 1659 | Josiah Berners (or Barnes) | Members of the Council known to serve as president during most of 1659 the first year of the second period of the Commonwealth, which started in May when the Protectorate of Richard Cromwell came to an end.[b] |
| Sir James Harrington, | |||
| Sir Arthur Haselrig | |||
| Archibald Johnston, Lord Warriston (Scot) | |||
| Richard Salwey | |||
| Thomas Scot | |||
| Sir Henry Vane the Younger | |||
| Bulstrode Whitelocke | |||
| 26 October | Late December | Replaced by another Committee of Safety | |
| 30 December 1659 | 23 February 1660 | unknown | |
| 23 February 1660 | 28 May 1660 | Arthur Annesley | Anglo-Irish |
Notes
- ^ The thirteen members were Captain-General Oliver Cromwell; Major-Generals John Lambert, Thomas Harrison, John Desborough and Matthew Thomlinson; Colonels Anthony Stapley, Robert Bennet, William Sydenham and Philip Jones; and four civilians, Walter Strickland, Sir Gilbert Pickering, John Carew and Samuel Moyer. (Jenkins 1890, p. 67)
- ^ The presidents of the council during this period are listed in alphabetic order—as is done by the source (Schultz 2010)—not in the chronological order of the rest of the list.
References
- ^ Hume 1983, Chapter: LX: The Commonwealth: Endnote [a].
- ^ Tanner 1928, p. 168.
- ^ Emerich & Acton 1934, p. 437.
- ^ a b Schultz 2010.
Sources
- Emerich, John; Acton, Lord Edward Dalberg, eds. (1934), The Cambridge Modern History, vol. 5, CUP Archive, p. 437
- Hume, David (1983) [1778], "Chapter: LX: The Commonwealth: Endnote [a]", The History of England from the Invasion of Julius Caesar to the Revolution in 1688, Foreword by William B. Todd, 6 vols., vol. 6, Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, retrieved 13 September 2013
- Jenkins, Edward (1890), The Constitutional Experiments of the Commonwealth: A study of the Years 1649–1660, Cambridge Historical Essays, vol. III, CUP Archive, p. 67
- Schultz, Oleg, ed. (13 March 2010), "Commonwealth of England: Council of State: 1649–1660", Archontology, archived from the original on 16 July 2012, retrieved 13 September 2013
- Tanner, Joseph Robson (1928), English Constitutional Conflicts of the Seventeenth Century, 1603–1689 (reprint ed.), CUP Archive, p. 168, ISBN 9780521065986
Further reading
- Firth, C. H.; Rait, R. S., eds. (1911), "13 February 1649: An Act of this Present Parliament for Constituting a Counsell of State for the Comonwealth [sic] of England", Acts and Ordinances of the Interregnum, 1642–1660, pp. 2–4
- House of Commons (1802), "House of Commons Journal: 14 February 1649", Journal of the House of Commons (1648–1651), vol. 6, pp. 140–141, retrieved 13 September 2013
- Plant, David, Council of State, British Civil Wars website, archived from the original on 26 September 2008, retrieved 25 April 2005
- "Presidents of the Council of State: 1649–1660.", Archontology.org, retrieved 18 February 2024
9 Annotations
First Reading
Derek • Link
The Council of State was the executive arm of government during the Commonwealth, consisting of councillors elected by and answerable to Parliament. For more information see:
http://lego70.tripod.com/england/…
David Quidnunc • Link
Some Council employees Pepys knew
Thomas Doling
messenger
http://www.pepysdiary.com/encyclo…
Samuel Hartlib, Jr.
underclerk to the Council of State and later to the Privy Council, he had moved by 1666 to a post at the Hearth Office
http://www.pepysdiary.com/encyclo…
Thomas Lea (
Cumgranissalis • Link
Leads to comings and firings of the board. an example;
Public Revenue.
Mr. Annesley, Lord President of the Council of State, reports from the Council of State, a Particular of the Sums of Money charged by Order and Warrants from the Council of State, upon the several Treasuries therein named, from the Twenty-fifth of February 1659, to the Fifteenth of May 1660."
Followed by monies paid out : example monies advanced to General [ADM] Mountague, Sam Hartlib, etc..
From: 'House of Commons Journal Volume 8: 16 May 1660', Journal of the House of Commons: volume 8: 1660-1667 (1802), pp. 27-33. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/…. Date accessed: 03 September 2005.
Third Reading
San Diego Sarah • Link
THE COUNCIL OF STATE 1659-60
The reinstatement of the Rump Parliament and the subsequent resignation of Richard Cromwell brought the Protectorate to an end in May 1659.
A 31-member Council of State was elected on 19 May with wider-ranging powers than the Protectorate Council. A majority of its members was opposed to military rule, which led to friction with high-ranking officers.
Parliament was again forcibly dissolved by the Army in October 1659, leaving the Council of State as the sole legal constitutional authority until it was dissolved by order of the Council of Officers and superseded by the Committee of Safety on 25 October 1659.
However, 9 members of the Council of State, headed by Thomas Scot, Sir Arthur Hesilrige and Anthony Ashley-Cooper, continued to meet in secret and to agitate for the restoration of Parliament and a civilian republic.
Two months later, with Gen. Monck threatening to march from Scotland in support of Parliament, Gen. Fleetwood once again restored the Rump Parliament to power (26 December 1659).
Elections were held for a new 31-member Council of State which held office until 21 February 1660 when the MPs excluded by Pride's Purge in 1648 were re-admitted.
The fully restored Long Parliament voted to call an election, then dissolved itself on 16 March.
A new Council of State governed the nation between the dissolution of the Long Parliament and the meeting of the Convention Parliament on 25 April 1660. The Council continued to sit for another month and initiated proceedings against the regicides. It was finally dissolved on 28 May 1660 when Charles II arrived in London.
http://bcw-project.org/church-and…
San Diego Sarah • Link
House of Commons Journal Volume 7:
Tuesday, 21 February, 1659
https://www.british-history.ac.uk…
Council of State.
Mr. Weaver acquaints the House, That he had given Notice, to the Council of State, of the Order of this House for suspending the Council of State, according to the Command of the Parliament: And that ready Obedience will be yielded thereunto.
Instructions, formerly given to the Council of State, were read.
Mr. Serjeant Maynard reports, A Bill, constituting a Council of State: Which was this Day read the First and Second time; and, upon the Question, committed: Viz. unto Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper, Colonel Lassells, Sir Wm. Lewis, Sir John Evelyn, Mr. Weaver, Sir John Holland, Serjeant Maynard, Mr. Francis Bacon, Sir Wm. Brereton, Sir Richard Onslow, Sir Wm. Waller, Sir Gilbert Gerrard, Colonel Mountague, Mr. Ralegh, Mr. Knightley, Colonel Birch, Mr. Ansley, Mr. Pryn, Sir John Temple, Colonel Ingoldsby, Colonel Harvey, Colonel Norton, Mr. Jennings, Colonel Rossiter, Mr. Trevor, Colonel White, Lord St. John, Mr. Nelthorpe, Colonel Popham, Mr. Solicitor Ellys; or any Five: And they are to meet this Afternoon, in the Speaker's Chamber: With Power to consider of these Instructions, and of former Instructions given to the Council of State: And to present such Instructions, to . . given to the Council of State, to the Parliament, for their Consideration, as they shall think fit.
Council of State.
Resolved, That the Number of the Council of State be One-and-thirty.
Resolved, That General George Monck be one of the Council of State.
¶Resolved, That the respective Members of Parliament do, To-morrow Morning, prepare their Papers, to make up the Thirty Persons more, to be of the Council of State: And that the Council of State be chosen by the Glasses, as formerly was accustomed, To-morrow Morning.
San Diego Sarah • Link
House of Commons Journal Volume 7:
Wednesday, 22 February 1659
https://www.british-history.ac.uk…
New Parliament to be summoned.
Resolved, That a new Parliament be summoned to appear, upon the 25th Day of April 1660: And that the Lords Commissioners for Custody of the Great Seal do issue forth Writs for Election of Knights, Citizens, and Burgesses, and Barons of the Cinque Ports, with the Members thereof, and the Town of Berwick upon Tweed, to sit and serve in Parliament, returnable the 25th Day of April 1660.
Members Qualifications.
¶Ordered, That it be referred to a Committee, to prepare Qualifications of Members to sit and serve in Parliament; and report them to the Parliament: Viz. Sir Gilbert Gerrard, Mr. Ansley, Mr. Crew, Colonel Morley, Colonel Dove, Mr. Scoen, Mr. Long, Mr. Pryn, Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper, Mr. Robert Goodwin, Sir John Potts, Mr. Hay, Mr. Ralegh, Sir Roger Burgoyn, Colonel Montague, Sir Richard Onslo, Sir John Evelyn, Mr. Corbet, Mr. West, Mr. Hungerford, Colonel Thompson, Mr. Stevens, Mr. Lechmere, Mr. Gerrard, Sir Wm. Brereton, Mr. Weaver, Sir John Holland, Sir Peter Wentworth, Colonel Fagg, Mr. Knightley, Colonel Rossiter, Lord Chief-Baron Wild, Mr. Nelthorpe, Mr. John Goodwin, Colonel John Birch, Mr. Baker, Mr. Povey, Mr. Solicitor Ellys, Mr. Attorney-General, Colonel Lee, Sir Anthony Irby, Mr. Serjeant Maynard: And are to meet this Afternoon, in the Inner Court of Wards; and bring in the Qualifications on Friday next, the first Business; nothing to intervene: And that Mr. Scoen do take care of it.
Council of State.
Ordered, That the House do proceed To-morrow Morning, at Ten of the Clock, to the Election of the Council of State: And that the Members of this House do prepare their Names, accordingly.
San Diego Sarah • Link
House of Commons Journal Volume 7:
https://www.british-history.ac.uk…
Thursday, 23 February, 1659.
Council of State.
The House, according to former Order, proceeded in Election of the Council of State.
Mr. Speaker nominated Colonel Norton, Lord Ancrame, Colonel Hutchinson, Colonel Harley, to tell the House.
Resolved, That the Door be shut.
The Tellers report the Number of Names of the Members in the House to be 113.
Mr. Serjeant Maynard, Mr. Wrey, and Sir Gilbert Gerrard, came in after the House was told.
Two Glasses were prepared, for every Member to put in his Paper of Names of the Persons whom he would have to be of the Council of State.
The Clerk of the Parliament, and Clerk-Assistant, thereupon went to the several Members, with the Glasses; and received from every of them, respectively, a Paper of Names for the Council of State: And so both the Glasses were brought, and set upon the Table.
Mr. Speaker appoints Tellers of the Papers; Colonel Norton, Lord Ancrome, Colonel Feilder, Colonel Harley:
They report the Number of the Papers to be 114.
Mr. Gold and Sir Gilbert Pickering, put in no Papers.
And the Four Members opened each Paper in the Glass; and caused the Clerk to read each Name, distinctly, and to write down each Name, and, with a strait Line drawn against that Name, to give one Stroke of the Pen cross the said Line; and, as often as any Name was repeated, the Clerk did make another Stroke cross the said Line.
The Lord Ancrome reports from the Gentlemen appointed to tell the Papers, these Gentlemen to have the greatest Number of Voices; viz. William Peirpoint, John Crew, Colonel Rosseter, Richard Knightley, Colonel Popham, Colonel Morley, Lord Fairfax, Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper, Sir Gilbert Gerrard, Lord Chief Justice St. John, Lord Commissioner Widdrington, Sir John Evelyn of Wilts, Sir Wm. Waller, Sir Richard Onslow, Sir Wm. Lewis, Colonel Edward Mountague, Colonel Edward Harley, Richard Norton, Arthur Ansley, Denzell Hollys, Sir John Temple, Colonel Geo. Thompson, John Trevor, Sir John Holland, Sir John Potts, Colonel John Birch, Sir Harbottle Grimston, Mr. John Swinsen, Mr. John Weaver, Serjeant Maynard.
San Diego Sarah • Link
CONT.
Whereupon the Question being put upon each of the aforesaid Names distinctly; It was
Resolved, That Wm. Peirpoint be one of the Council of State.
Resolved, That John Crew be one of the Council of State.
Resolved, That Colonel Rosseter be one of the Council of State.
Resolved, That Richard Knightley be one of the Council of State.
Resolved, That Colonel Popham be one of the Council of State.
Resolved, That Colonel Moreley be one of the Council of State.
Resolved, That the Lord Fairfax be one of the Council of State.
Resolved, That Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper be one of the Council of State.
Resolved, That Sir Gilbert Gerrard be one of the Council of State.
Resolved, That the Lord Chief-Justice St. John be one of the Council of State.
Resolved, That the Lord Commissioner Widdrington be one of the Council of State.
Resolved, That Sir John Evelyn of Wilts be one of the Council of State.
Resolved, That Sir Wm. Waller be one of the Council of State.
Resolved, That Sir Richard Onslow be one of the Council of State.
Resolved, That Sir Wm. Lewis be one of the Council of State.
Resolved, That Colonel Edward Mountague be one of the Council of State.
Resolved, That Colonel Edward Harley be one of the Council of State.
Resolved, That Richard Norton be one of the Council of State.
Resolved, That Arthur Ansley be one of the Council of State.
Resolved, That Denzell Hollis be one of the Council of State.
Resolved, That Sir John Temple be one of the Council of State.
Resolved, That Colonel Geo. Thompson be one of the Council of State.
Resolved, That John Trevor be one of the Council of State.
Resolved, That Sir John Holland be one of the Council of State.
Resolved, That Sir John Potts be one of the Council of State.
Resolved, That Colonel John Birch be one of the Council of State.
Resolved, That Sir Harbottle Grimston be one of the Council of State.
Resolved, That John Swinfin be one of the Council of State.
Resolved, That John Weaver be one of the Council of State.
Resolved, That Serjeant Maynard be one of the Council of State.
¶Ordered, That Mr. Ansley do bring in the Instructions for the Council of State, To-morrow Morning.
San Diego Sarah • Link
House of Commons Journal Volume 7:
https://www.british-history.ac.uk…
Friday, 24 February, 1659
Council of State.
An Act, constituting a Council of State, was read the Third time.
Resolved, That the Names of the Persons named the Council of State be inserted, in the Blank, in the Second Line of this Bill.
The Question being put, That a particular Time be limited for the Continuance of the Council of State;
The House was divided.
The Yeas went forth.
Sir Wm. Wheeler, Tellers for the Noes: 36.
Lord of Ancram, With the Noes,
Mr. Attorney-General, Tellers for the Yeas: 26.
Mr. Corbet, With the Yeas,
So it passed with the Negative.
Resolved, That the Blank for the Continuance of the Council of State be filled up with these Words; viz. "until the Parliament take further Order."
Resolved, That this Bill, so amended, be ingrossed.
Dissolving Parliament.
Resolved, That a Bill be brought in on Monday next, for the Dissolution of this Parliament: And that Mr. Ansley, Mr. Pryn, and Mr. Solicitor General, do prepare and bring in the said Bill.
Gen. Monck Commander in Chief.
Resolved, That the Bill constituting George Monck Esquire, Captain-General, and Commander in Chief, of all the Land-Forces in England, Scotland, and Ireland, be ingrossed.
@@@
114 people voted for the participants, but only 62 voted on the bill, which passed with a majority of 10. I wonder what the 26 wanted to do? Hardly a ringing endorsement.