Commonwealth of England

Timeline

1. 1649Palace of Westminster, London · WestminsterOn January 30, 1649, Charles I was beheaded at Whitehall Palace. The Rump Parliament immediately legislated to abolish the office of king (March 17) and the House of Lords (March 19), and on May 19 formally declared England a republic, with Parliament as the supreme authority, assisted by a 40-member Council of State handling administrative affairs. This was an unprecedented republican experiment in British history, shocking the monarchies of Europe.
2. 1649–1651Ireland and Scotland · British IslesCromwell led the New Model Army on an expedition to Ireland (1649–1650), notorious for the massacres at Drogheda and Wexford, forcibly suppressing Royalists and the Catholic Confederation. He then turned to Scotland, crushing the Scottish army at the Battle of Dunbar in 1650 and annihilating Charles II's forces at the Battle of Worcester in September 1651. The Commonwealth thereby established military control over the British Isles and incorporated Scotland into its territory.
3. 1651–1653Palace of Westminster, London · WestminsterAfter military stabilization, the Commonwealth pursued a series of mercantilist policies: the Navigation Acts were issued in October 1651, restricting Dutch re-export trade; the First Anglo-Dutch War broke out in 1652, with Britain winning a series of naval victories under Admiral Blake. The Rump Parliament also advanced discussions on land reform and judicial reform, but factional disputes among members slowed progress, increasingly frustrating Cromwell.
4. 1653Palace of Westminster, London · WestminsterOn April 20, 1653, Cromwell forcibly dispersed the Rump Parliament with troops, then convened the Barebone's Parliament, which also dissolved itself in December of that year. On December 16, 1653, the Instrument of Government was promulgated, establishing the office of Lord Protector, with Cromwell becoming the first Lord Protector; the Commonwealth of England nominally came to an end, entering the authoritarian era of the Protectorate.
5. 1659–1660Palace of Westminster, London · WestminsterLord Protector Richard Cromwell resigned in May 1659 under army pressure; the army immediately restored the Rump Parliament, and the Commonwealth was nominally revived. However, the political situation was extremely unstable: General Lambert dissolved the Rump Parliament again in October of that year, after which General Monck marched south, ultimately bringing about the convening of the Convention Parliament and the return of Charles II. On May 29, 1660, Charles II entered London, and the Commonwealth experiment came to a complete end.