Pride\'s Purge - Citizendia

Pride’s Purge took place in December 1648, when troops under the command of Colonel Thomas Pride forcibly removed from the House of Commons all those who were not supporters of the Grandees in the New Model Army and the Independents. Thomas Pride (died October 23, 1658) was a parliamentarian general in the English Civil War, and best known as the instigator of " Pride's The House of Commons' is the Lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords Grandee is a word either to render in English the Iberic high aristocratic title 'Grande' used by the Spanish Portuguese and Brazilian peerage or by analogy to refer to other The New Model Army was formed in 1645 by the Parliamentarians in the English Civil War. It is arguably the first and only military coup d’état in English history.

1 Background
2 The Purge
3 Aftermath
4 Further reading

Background

In 1648, King Charles I was in captivity at Carisbrooke Castle and the English Civil War was over, bar a few pockets of royalist resistance across the country. Charles I, (19 November 1600 &ndash 30 January 1649 was King of England, Scotland and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution. Carisbrooke Castle is a historic Castle located in the village of Carisbrooke, near Newport, Isle of Wight. The English Civil War (1642-1651 was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists. The Long Parliament issued a set of demands for the future government of the Kingdom and sent commissioners to negotiate with the King. The Long Parliament is the name of the English Parliament called by Charles I, on 3 November 1640, following the Bishops' Wars. The leaders of the New Model Army had previously tried to negotiate with the King themselves in 1647, shortly after the end of the first civil war in 1646. Its leaders, the "grandees", were sorely disappointed when Charles stalled these negotiations by quite clearly attempting to play different factions in the Parliamentary alliance off against others. He eventually escaped captivity, leading to the second civil war that raged between 1647 and 1649. By the time Charles was recaptured, most of the army leaders were convinced that they could no longer trust him. So the army sent in a Remonstrance on 20 November 1648 which was rejected by 125 votes to 58 in the House of Commons on 1 December. Events 284 - Diocletian was chosen as Roman Emperor. 762 - Bögü Khan of the Uyghurs, Events 800 - Charlemagne judges the accusations against Pope Leo III in the Vatican When the Commissioners returned with the King's answers, which were far short of what was hoped, the House of Commons eventually declared them acceptable by 129 votes to 83 early in the morning of 5 December 1648 (though this was technically a vote on whether the vote should be called). Events 63 BC - Cicero reads the last of his Catiline Orations.

The Purge

On Wednesday 6 December Col. Events 1060 - Béla I of Hungary is crowned king of Hungary 1240 - Mongol invasion of Rus: Kiev Pride’s Regiment of Foot took up position on the stairs leading to the House, while Nathaniel Rich’s Regiment of Horse provided backup. Nathaniel Rich ( 1585 - 1636) English Merchant adventurer, born about 1585 was probably eldest son of Richard Rich an illegitimate son of Pride himself stood at the top of the stairs. As MPs arrived, he checked them against the list provided to him; Lord Grey of Groby helped to identify them. Thomas Grey Lord Grey of Groby (c 1623&ndash1657 was the Member of Parliament for Leicester during the English Long Parliament, an active member of Of 489 MPs at the time, 18 were permanently absent before the purge. 45 were barred from Parliament and imprisoned. 186 were barred from Parliament but not imprisoned. 86 were not barred but absented themselves voluntarily. 83 were allowed back in Parliament after formally dissenting from the decision to accept the King's proposals. 71 were supporters of the army from the outset.

The imprisoned members were taken first to the Queen’s Court within the Palace of Westminster, and then to a nearby public house. There were three public houses next to the Palace in 1648, called Heaven, Purgatory, and Hell. The imprisoned members were taken to Hell where they spent the night. On the next day they were moved to two inns in the Strand. By 12 December the first of the imprisoned members was allowed home; many more were released on 20 December. Events 627 - Battle of Nineveh: A Byzantine army under Emperor Heraclius defeats Emperor Khosrau II 's Persian Events 69 - Vespasian, formerly a general under Nero, enters Rome to claim the title of Emperor.

The purged House, later nicknamed the Rump Parliament by critics, now had a majority that would establish a Republic. The Rump Parliament was the name of the English Parliament after Colonel Pride on December 6 1648 had purged Long Parliament of those Any doubts the remaining members may have had over the wisdom of this course was suppressed by the presence of the Army in great numbers. On 4 January 1649 an Ordinance was passed to try the King for treason; the House of Lords rejected it. Events 46 BC - Titus Labienus defeats Julius Caesar in the Battle of Ruspina. The House of Lords is the second house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is also commonly referred to as "the Lords" The House of Commons then passed an ‘Act’ by itself for the same purpose, and the King was beheaded on 30 January. Events 1648 - Eighty Years' War: The Treaty of Münster is signed ending the conflict between the Netherlands and Spain On 6 February the House of Lords was abolished; the monarchy went the same way on 7 February , and a Council of State established on 14 February. Events 46 BC - Julius Caesar defeats the combined army of Pompeian followers and Numidians under Metellus Scipio Events 457 - Leo I becomes emperor of the Byzantine Empire. 1074 - Battle of Montesarchio in which the Prince The English Council of State, later also know as the Protector's Privy Council, was first appointed by the Rump Parliament on 14 February 1649 Events 842 - Charles the Bald and Louis the German swear the Oaths of Strasbourg in the French and German

Aftermath

Pride’s Purge was reversed on 21 February 1660 when all the barred members were restored, events which led to the Restoration of the Stuart monarchy. Events 362 - Athanasius returns to Alexandria. 1245 - Thomas, the first known Bishop of Finland The English Restoration, or simply The Restoration began in 1660 when the English monarchy, Scottish monarchy and Irish monarchy were restored

Pride's Purge was arguably the most significant event of the English Civil War, directly leading to the execution of Charles I and thus a permanent end to hostilities between Crown and Parliament. Historians argue over the extent to which this was an independent action by Pride's regiment. Army chief Sir Thomas Fairfax and his second in command, Lieutenant-General Oliver Cromwell, stayed aloof from the proceedings. Thomas Fairfax 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron (17 January 1612 &ndash 12 November 1671 was a general and parliamentary commander-in-chief during the English Civil War. Oliver Cromwell (25 April 1599 Old Style &ndash 3 September 1658 Old Style) was an English military and political leader best known But Cromwell's swift journey to London from Pontefract on the day of the purge implies that he may have been involved in its planning. Pontefract is a Market town in West Yorkshire, England near the A1 (or Great North Road the M62 motorway, and Castleford. He most certainly benefited from and supported the outcome of the purge after it had taken place.

Contents

Background

The Purge

Aftermath

Further reading