To what extent was the army mainly responsible for the changes in politics and government in the period 1648 1685?
To what extent was the army mainly responsible for the changes in politics and government in the period 1648 – 1685?
The problems facing the governments in the period 1648 – 1685 were manifold. This meant that none of the governments during the interregnum could survive and caused difficulties for the Restoration government too. For all the governments during 1648 – 1660, radicalism was a major factor that they faced. The Rump failed as they were not doing enough to satisfy radicals. Each of the regimes was fatally flawed due to the difficulty of combining the radical reform with the return to stability. The politicised army made ruling England very difficult. In 1653 the army was a huge political force, which held great influence. The army’s opposition to the Rump had caused great difficulties for it; the army had demanded reforms which the Rump had failed to provide, which therefore led to the Rumps dissolution in April 1653. The opposition from the army led to the resignation of Richard Cromwell so subsequently the failure of the Protectorate in 1659.