- Rule of the Major-Generals
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The Rule of the Major-Generals from August 1655 – January 1657,[1] was a period of direct military government during Oliver Cromwell's Protectorate.[2]
England was divided into 10 regions[3] each governed by a Major-General who answered to the Lord Protector.[2]
The Major-Generals and their regions
There were ten regional associations covering England and Wales administered by major-generals. Ireland under Major-General Henry Cromwell,[4] and Scotland under Major-General George Monck were in administrations already agreed upon and were not part of the scheme.[5]
Name Period Region Deputies Notes James Berry Appointed in 1655 Herefordshire, Shropshire, Worcestershire and Wales John Nicholas in Monmouthshire;
Rowland Dawkins in Carmarthenshire, Cardiganshire, Glamorgan, Pembrokeshire.William Boteler (Butler) Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, Northamptonshire and Rutland Zealous and uncompromising in his hostility to his religious and political enemies, Boteler was a severe persecutor of Quakers in Northamptonshire; in 1656 he advocated that James Nayler should be stoned to death for blasphemy. Boteler was also aggressive in his persecution of Royalists in his area, unlawfully imprisoning the Earl of Northampton for failing to pay his taxes. John Desborough Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire Charles Fleetwood Appointed in 1655 Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Isle of Ely, Norfolk, Oxfordshire and Suffolk George Fleetwood (a distant kinsman) in Buckinghamshire;
Hezekiah Haynes in Essex, Cambridgeshire, Isle of Ely, Norfolk, Suffolk;
William Packer as military governor of Hertfordshire and OxfordshireOwing to his other responsibilities on the Council of State, day to day matters in his region were overseen by Fleetwood's three deputies.[5] William Goffe October 1655 Berkshire, Hampshire and Sussex Thomas Kelsey Surrey and Kent John Lambert Cumberland, County Durham, Northumberland, Westmorland and Yorkshire Charles Howard[disambiguation needed ] in Cumberland, Northumberland, Westmorland;
Robert Lilburne in County Durham, YorkshireOwing to his other responsibilities on the Council of State, day to day matters in his region were overseen by Lambert's two deputies.[5] Philip Skippon Middlesex; including the cities of London and Westminster Sir John Barkstead Skippon was by now elderly, and on the Council of State, so most of the day to day matters in his region were largely undertaken by Barkstead,[5] Edward Whalley Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Warwickshire, Charles Worsley;
Tobias Bridge1655–June 1656;
June 1656–January 1657Cheshire, Lancashire and Staffordshire Notes
- ^ Little, Paterick; Putting the Protector back into the Protectorate BBC history magazine Vol 8, no 1, January 2007. Page 15
- ^ a b Plant. Rule of the Major-Generals.
- ^ Royle, p. 698
- ^ Henry Cromwell was nominally under the Lord Deputy of Ireland, Charles Fleetwood, but Fleetwood's departure for England in September 1655 left him for all practical purposes the ruler of Ireland
- ^ a b c d Royal, pp. 698,699
References
- Plant, David; Rule of the Major-Generals.
- Royal, Trevor; Civil War: The Wars of the Three Kingdoms 1638-1660; Pub Abacus 2006; (first published 2004); ISBN 978-0-349-11564-1
Categories:- English Civil War
- Republicanism in England
- 1650s in England
- 1655 establishments in England
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