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George Monck crossed the river Berwick with a large body of loyal troops on 1st January 1660, within 6 months Charles II had been restored to the throne. Who was Monck and what were his motivations? Those questions are at the core of this short thesis written by Eoin Purcell during his Masters year (2003) in UCD, Dublin. Eoin say of the work: "I enjoyed the process and at the time I was happy with what I had written. However, some six years later I can recognise that there are serious deficiencies in this thesis and that is something I plan at some stage to rectify in another work. Please feel free to send messages or feedback to me at eoin.purcell AT gmail.com."
Citation preview
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George Monck
& The Restoration
of Charles II in 1660
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A thesis submitted in 2003 in fulfilment of my Masters Obligations
© Eoin Purcell 2003
No part of this document may be quoted or otherwise used by any other party
for commercial benefit without specific permission of the author obtainable
from:
Eoin.purcell AT Gmail.com
www.eoinpurcellsblog.com
Non-commercial uses are allowed, but please forward links or examples of uses
to:
Eoin.purcell AT Gmail.com
www.eoinpurcellsblog.com
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2009IntroductoryNote
Also a blog post on Uncovered History
This thesis was written during my Masters year in UCD, Dublin. I enjoyed the
process and at the time I was happy with what I had written. However, some
six years later I can recognise that there are serious deficiencies in this thesis
and that is something I plan at some stage to rectify in another work. Please
feel free to send messages or feedback to me at eoin.purcell AT gmail.com.
In retrospect there are many things I would change, not the least of which
would be the sources I used. Four major areas (with many other areas needing
minor attention) could be improved. Firstly, more original documentary
evidence would have greatly improved the book. Aside from letters and papers
of the officers and officials around Monck in Scotland which I now know exist
in archives that I did not consult for the original, I believe that there are
numerous other sources that might be exploited to huge advantage. They
would, I believe, include eyewitness accounts available from:
1) The soldiers in Monck’s units
2) Monck’s officers
3) Londoners during Monck’s time in the city
4) Observers from outside the capital
5) Soldiers and officers still loyal to the last few Grandee’s like Lambert.
Secondly, I believe that more work on Monck’s character and his pragmatism
and motivations would have been sensible. There is surely more material
available to work on that. He is a truly incredible individual. His motivations
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are a mystery in many ways though I think my analysis of his actions reveals
that he was simply taking the easiest course of action to secure his own
position, I firmly believe now that had he been presented with the opportunity,
he would have crowned himself king or had himself declared Lord Protector.
I’d like to spend time proving that.
Thirdly, the role of the other actors needs a great examination, I see that now
clearly as a major failing in the original work. The Grandee’s in London and the
parliamentarians of the Rump are as powerful figures and their motivations and
actions were such critical factors in the course of events. Had any of them for
instance mounted a sufficient case against Monck while he was in London, or
managed to hold together a force in the field, events would have been different.
The brief mention of the role of Lord Fairfax is insufficient to explain the
reverence he was held in by many of the foot soldiers more work on the
importance of his siding with Monck should have been done.
Lastly, the work deserved a better and less lazy conclusion than that which I
impulsively gave it in 2003. Events in Iran that year inspired an unfortunate
idealism in me that scarred the powerful conclusions of the evidence about
Monck. I was more concerned the hammer home the deficiencies of the
Grandee’s rule and compare those with the failures of government I saw in
Iran than to properly assess Monck’s character and to bring together the
argument I had mustered in the preceding pages. That was a mistake and one I
think should be rectified in any new work.
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I am confident that there will be spelling errors in this text and there might well
be the odd factual mistake as well. I’d be keen (as mentioned above) to change
any that arise, so please alert me those.
The 1st Duke of Albermarle (as Monck became as a reward for his efforts in
restoring the monarchy) is one of the most singularly unstudied yet important
men in British history. Considering the volumes of material on other actors in
the Civil War and Interregnum this is a strange fact. Perhaps, when I have the
time I will rectify the problems with this thesis and the lack of a decent
examination of the man and publish a book on him.
Eoin Purcell
Glasthule, Dublin, July 2009
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Introduction
Every student of history wishes for some startling discovery to reinforce his or
her research. Despite my own such wishes, I long ago accepted that the study
of General George Monck and the events surrounding the restoration of
Charles Stuart would reveal no such hidden gems. Why then have I persisted in
my work? Why write about something where I know or suspect that there is
little new evidence to uncover? That decision is based on a sincere belief that
the current analysis based, even as it is, on extensive evidence and research falls
short of the required standard of analysis. Even the robust, intelligent and
cogently argued cases of Ronald Hutton put forward in both The Restoration and
The British Republic fail, in my view, to paint a sufficiently complex picture of the
era and more importantly, of the central character of the period, General
George Monck.
This account will focus firstly on the deficiencies in the current analysis. Those
deficiencies can be summed up as being too deterministic in their viewpoint,
not permitting enough influence from events and other individuals and groups
in bringing about the restoration and concluding what was, in effect, a year
long crisis. An analysis of the time line will reveal much and has been
significantly under exploited. One might call this the ‘How’ of things rather
than the ‘Why’ or the ‘Who’ of things. Clearly one must comprehend and be
aware of the influences of the men and women involved, the larger trends
within society and the impact that these have on events themselves. However
in times of crisis such as the one this study deals with, men and women try only
to survive. History follows the path of least resistance as do individuals. This is
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true as much for General George Monck and his men in Scotland as it was for
the Grandees and their men in London and the displaced republican politicians
and their followers.
Often the historiography is vague on the role played by Monck and more
importantly unclear on the character and nature of the man himself. Did
George Monck know until close to the actual event that Charles Stuart would
return to England as King? No, for how could he have known? On leaving
Scotland his mandate for anything other than a restoration of the Rump was
weak, to say the least, and non existent in the minds of many. Even on his
arrival in London his room for manoeuvre was constrained by the relative
strength of the commonwealthsmen not to mention the strong support for the
Rump parliament that he had instilled in his troops. How, for instance, was
Monck in December to know that by February or March the city and most
Londoners would be supportive of a freely elected parliament and hence the
eventual return of the king which such a move would entail?
It was only as events progressed that restoration became an option. Monck’s
opinions or views might have facilitated that event itself, but so long as he
knew that it could not be achieved he worked within the system. The aim of
this work will be to detail a realistic and evidence based image of Monck as a
rational actor motivated by rational goals and operating within the limits events
and his own skill allowed.
But as important in this equation were the motivations of those around him
and the impact their influence had on the crisis and its progression. How
effective were the words of Price, his Chaplin and a committed royalist, in
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altering Monck’s course? Of what value to Monck’s cause, and what cost to the
cause of Lambert, was the knowledge that Lord Fairfax was riding on their side
and against the grandees? What of the Devonshire gentleman Morrice who was
later to be made secretary of state after the restoration (who managed Monk’s
estates for him and was another key figure in the circle around Monck) How
important was that circle in decision making? Or what of the various officers in
his units, like Colonel Clobery who commanded Wilkes foot regiment and was
a committed royalist? Their influences must be considered and evaluated.
Even more crucial were the men that Monck and those officers commanded.
How sure of their support could they be even after they had purged their
ranks? How certain was Monck that those purged regiments would stand by his
aims, at least those he advertised and propagandised? How did his worries and
concern for their stability and their usefulness in battle guide his actions and
planning? These factors must also be considered.
The case this thesis will put forward is, that all these factors altered Monck’s
action and influenced his decision making. Had it not, he would have failed and
fallen by the wayside of the crisis as had Lambert, Fleetwood, Richard
Cromwell and many others. If anything, it was his superior ability to think
rationally and to always balance the powers at play that allowed Monck to
emerge as the saviour of the state and to emerge from the revolutionary period
a survivor of several regimes, the finisherer of two and the fosterer of yet
another.
In short, the case this thesis will make is that rather than playing a long and all
seeing game, Monck played always to the path of survival and least resistance.
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His resistance to the removal of the rump by the grandees was prompted by his
realisation that such a move could only be to his detriment, despite Hutton’s
belief that this was not the case1. He was after all the most Cromwellian, the
closest supporter to the fallen protectorate that remained, not to mention a
previous supporter of the royalist cause. Action was required to protect his
position. He failed to act against the ousting of Richard Cromwell because he
feared the result of any such action and because the soldiers around him were
firmly against any such action. He was forced to act by the ousting of the
Rump because he feared the result of inaction more than action and because he
was certain of several of the officers about him and his capacity to act against
those who did not support him. The origin of his resistance, of the entire
restoration, then can be seen as an inherently un-ideological act, one
determined by calculations of benefit and cost rather than right, wrong or
anything else.
It is not my intention to lionise George Monck. Nor is it my intention to
defame or vilify George Monck. Rather this thesis attempts to put his actions
during the build up to restoration in context. It aims to look at his character
and the influences on his decision both human and otherwise. By doing so it
will show that the path to restoration was one secured as much by chance and
events as by the motivation and determination of a single individual. It will
show that the restoration was neither an event that was predetermined nor
inevitable once Richard Cromwell fell from power, nor even inevitable at the
time the Grandees overthrew the Rump or even when finally Monck
undermined the Grandees to restore the Rump. The restoration was secured
only in February 1660, not on the back of Monck’s alliance to the royalist 1 Hutton, Ronald, Restoration,
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cause, but on the back of his rational assessment of the balance of forces. It
was secured by his awareness that such a course followed the path of least
resistance and presented the least opposition. It proffered him the most
promising course to result in his advancement and the course most probable to
succeed in achieving his rational goals. Before this can even begin however the
deficiencies within the current historiography must be established and the
challenges this thesis offers explored.
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ChapterOne
The breath of opinion on Monck and his motivation is startling. Perhaps it is to
be expected. After all he did in effect seal the fate of the republic and begin the
restoration. This depending on the personal outlook of the historian is ether a
great misdeed and a betrayal of the republican ideals or an important act that
returned civilian power so long usurped by a corrupt army and an illegitimate
regime. That his motives were unclear is fair comment. One historian aptly
summed up the dilemma faced by researchers saying “Monck’s own principles
seemed ‘dark’ at the time, and not much light has fallen since.”2Those sources
close to him are not after all entirely trustworthy influenced as they were by
their proximity3 and his own writings fail to illuminate his actions4.
Further, the success of his actions ensured certain sympathy for his position.
The organs of the state were after all beholden to him for their restoration.
Few, even independent scholars, were likely to issue a tirade against a loyal
servant of the crown, one who was made a duke for his services. This was
especially the case in the early years after 1660. However the breath of opinion
2 Pg. 324. Derek Hirst, England in Conflict: 1603-1660. Kingdom, Community, Commonwealth. 3 Grumble was a close confidant of the general.
4 Monck had written a treaties on warfare during his time in the tower but little else other than correspondence.
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suggests a controversy which persisted long after the events themselves have
passed.
The following selection of quotes represents a cross section of the opinions
and highlights this breath of these opinions. They range from the sceptical
Seward to the positively idolatry Trevelyan .
“Whatever he intended – whether to seize power himself, or to engineer a royal
restoration – the intervention of General Monck, the conservative commander
of the army in Scotland, sealed the fate of England’s experiment.” 5
“Although the motives of the former Royalist Monck are difficult to
reconstruct, his overriding concern was probably to achieve a stable settlement
and so allay the threat of anarchy posed by the religious radicals, especially the
Quakers.”6
5 Seward, Paul, The Restoration, 1660-1688. Pg. 1.
6 David L. Smith. A History of the Modern British Isles, 1603-1707: The Double Crown Pg. 195.
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“Probably wishing to preserve order, the commander of forces in Scotland,
General George Monck, demanded the return of the Rump and marched
south.”7
“Monck was a strong, patriotic and unselfish man.”8
From this selection of quotes the most obvious failure emerges. It is that all
seek to ascribe a motivation to Monck other than necessity or ability to act.
While clearly the issue of motivation is important to the history other factors
are equally so. This thesis will investigate what those other elements can
contribute to our understanding of the restoration.
The two most coherent explanations to date of how Monck achieved this
stabilisation of the situation in Britain are Maurice Ashley’s biographical work
on Monck and Hutton’s work on the Restoration. Ashley’s attributes the
success to great intelligence on Monck’s part and Hutton to great luck and a
divided opposition. Ashley also approaches Monck as a full character following
his career from start to finish. This approach offers a much greater insight to
the man and his personality. Hutton, in his work, suggests three possible
7David L. Smith in Revolution and Restoration: England in the 1650’s, Ed John Morrill. Pg 32.
8George Macaulay Trevelyan, England under the Stuarts XVI edition, Pg. 329.
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motivations. The first, that Monck’s actions were the beginning of a long-term
plan to restore King Charles II to the throne. The second, that his dislike of the
usurpation of the government by the military prompted his action. And the
last, that he was inspired by a fervent desire to secure a conservative religious
settlement. This he believed to be in danger from the “Quaker Terror” and the
rise of the sectarians that he believed the latest coup would entail.
Hutton rejects the first two possibilities. The first is too implausible suggesting
as it does that Monck was aware of events that were yet to unfold and is not
consistent with the events themselves. The second Hutton dismisses claiming
Monck had little to lose from the new regime that he notes had included him in
its command structure9. Yet none is sufficient explanation.
Even if the two ideas are combined, that Monck was at once very intelligent
and thus outsmarted his weak opponents who were internally divided and that
his luck held out the result is still only a partial explanation. It attempts, like all
other explanations, to ascribe motivation in the absence of other analysis. As 9 Monck had been installed as Commander of foot. However he had been excluded from the commission
deciding on the appointment and commissioning of officers. Given that this issue had prompted his abortive
resignation earlier in the year he almost certainly saw this as counter to his interests. Further he had sent several
missives concerning the removal of officers he considered trustworthy and their replacement by men he viewed
as too radical. In the light of these concerns Hutton’s contention that Monck was unaffected by the change of
government is unrealistic.
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such it fails to adequately explain how Monck, a general who seemed divorced
from the levers of power in London was able to resist the forces ranged against
him. How he not only resisted them but overcame them and having done that
engineered the return of the king through the legitimate tool of a free
parliament?
No work on Monck can avoid the questions of motivation and this one cannot
either. However by looking first at the man as a rational actor, at his ability and
his past actions we can begin to understand how Monck achieved what he did.
For that we need to reassess his own journey to Scotland and the banks of the
Berwick in the winter of 1659. Did he show similar astuteness in his dealings
throughout his life? Was he capable of such bold acts on a lesser stage that
might indicate his ability to strike so assuredly in 1659/60? If so were his
opponents aware of this or did they, like Samuel Pepys, on their first encounter
discount Monck. Was Monck a private character who hid behind the walls of
professional soldiering until he was needed or was he in fact a much more
subtle character who acted always in his interest and for whom those walls
provided exactly the cover he needed to operate? How is it plausible to
describe the man as a professional soldier and claim that the act of defying the
London set was an aberration in his career trajectory when in fact such events
had occurred regularly during that career? Why is it that he emerges as
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seemingly unselfish and his opponents as self-serving? These will be the
questions chapter two seeks to answer.
The current historiography fails to allow fully for the influence of events and
circumstance in the progress towards restoration. Even when Historians such
as Hutton make allowances they rarely go far enough in admitting their
influence. How vital to the success of Moncks gamble was Fairfax’s appearance
in Yorkshire in support of the purged parliament? Equally, how important to
undermining support for the Grandees and their efforts was the defection of
the Fleet under Vice admiral Lawson? Monck’s initial broadside of letters
certainly undermined the Grandees’ initial hopes for a smooth and uncontested
transfer of power. In so doing, that event itself set others in motion.
This thesis will re-examine the events in question by following the timeline
from the fall of the rump to the return of the king in chapter three. This will
help to highlight which events shaped Monck’s course and which made
Restoration more likely. Was it his goal to restore the Monarchy to begin with,
or was he forced to choose it by the tide of opinion and the practical effects of
his situation? By seeing the steps before Monck as extremely open and offering
multiple options, the analysis of the timeline will show which events closed off
options or made certain options more attractive to the General. This will
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reinforce what is learned from examining the General’s character and will
indicate how his decisions were influenced by events.
One other area has been neglected when considering the influences on the
progress of the crisis. That area is the influence of individuals and groups.
While the current historiography does mention such individuals their impact on
the events and their influence on other actors is often not given its full credit.
As already noted the arrival on the scene of Lord Fairfax to the rear of
Lambert’s forces had considerable influence on the crisis. Every historian has
noted this fact. But what reason had Fairfax for mustering forces and readying
them in arms. What effect had his personal integrity and appeal on events, both
in terms of the general atmosphere and in terms of his influence on Monck and
his ambitions? After all it would seem10 that Monck spent some time with the
old general. Considering how valued Fairfax’s support was to Monck and how
Fairfax was later to contribute again to the progress towards restoration, his
role is worth considering.
Others also warrant analysis. The Grandees themselves cannot escape
attention. Lambert especially, who made the most strenuous efforts to stop the
10 Both Grumble and Skinner place Monck with Fairfax on the 13th and 14th of January. Morrah accepts their
word.
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slide back to Monarchy with his abortive attempt to rally the forces of the good
old cause long after the rest had slid away from the spotlight? How badly
affected by his absence was the putative regime in London? His was the most
impressive resumé in the line up of generals and senior commanders. He was
certainly the most popular amongst the soldiery. Yet perhaps the most
interesting character must be Fleetwood, who was neither ruthless enough to
be the dictator he had the potential to be, nor wise enough to usurp Monck’s
role and call the king back himself as a shrewder player of the game might have
done.
But equally important to any examination of the period must be Monck’s own
officers and men. He was forced after all to purge his own ranks before
embarking on his mission to challenge the Grandees. How important to his
victory was the decisive action he took to secure their loyalty? Why was it
possible to act in October when acting to defend Richard Cromwell had been
considered impossible only a few months before? His officers played a vital
role too. The refusal of many to cooperate in reducing the resistance of the city
council in London, in defiance of orders from the Rump parliament brought to
an end the uneasy alliance between Monck and that parliament. Did Monck
simply go along with their wishes or had he been waiting for such an excuse to
act? How important a role did propaganda play in the crisis and the
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development of the soldiers’ views? All of these people’s roles will be examined
and considered in Chapter four.
The last area that must concern us is that of context, the atmosphere in which
all these events, influences and individuals operated. This thesis will consider
such factors in the light of the renewed analysis of the other factors. How
important or unimportant were the issues of religion for instance, in shaping
Moncks mind. Was the “Quaker Terror” truly an influence on Monck and his
actions? How did the generational shift effect politics within London and the
country. How vital to the change in attitude was the experience of the youth
who had known the discomfort of the army’s rule but not the supposed
tyranny of the Kings Personal rule? Equally how much did the economic
climate serve to undermine the republican regimes and the Grandees while also
bolstering the case for stability that the Restoration of the monarchy seemed to
offer? All these questions will be considered in the concluding chapter. In that
chapter, having looked at the character of Monck himself, the influence events
had on the crisis, on the influences individuals and groups had and finally at the
underlying trends socially, politically and otherwise the thesis will attempt to
draw together the strands and resolve some of the issues present in the current
historiography.
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ChapterTwo
In order for the current historiography concerning Monck’s personality and
motivation to work, we have to ignore his past actions. Monck, it has to be
assumed in the absence of evidence to the contrary, was a rational actor. By this
one means his actions are rational and are determined by his estimation of the
chances of success, likelihood of failure and the associated costs of any course
of action. Thus Monck’s actions must be understood in the context of that
balance. His actions and reactions to scenarios, the tendency or propensity to
act, can be predicted by looking at what he did in the past. If one examines the
path of Monck’s career following his return to England from service on the
continent, it becomes clear that he habitually followed a path based on a
rational assessment of his options rather than a path dictated by principles or
loyalties. This is not to censure or condemn the man, far from it, it is to clarify
that his actions following the collapse of the Protectorate, and during the
process that led to the restoration were consistent with his previous actions.
They did not represent a new, previously unknown, element of his personality
and they were guided by his rational judgement rather than by principle.
In order to show this contention to be true four separate incidents will be
examined in this section;
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i. Monck’s switching of sides in 1647/48 from an initial Royalist stance to
the cause of Parliament;
ii. His reaction to the execution of the King and his deal making with Eoin
Roe O’Neill during his tour in Ireland in 1648/1649;
iii. His inaction and his failure to defend Richard Cromwell and the
protectorate regime when the Grandees and their junior officers moved
against it in April 1659;
iv. Finally his treating with Lambert and his fellow Grandees during the last
months of 1659 which can only have been in bad faith.
We can begin with the changing of sides early in the civil war period itself.
Having initially fought for the king in Ireland he refused to take an oath to
defend the king and was sent to Bristol under arrest, if with a relatively good
report from Ormonde11. It took however, a visit to the king in Oxford for
Monck to decide to fight for his sovereign, strange given his background and
his previous service in Ireland. His first battle however, at Nantwich, resulted
in his capture and captivity, first in Hull for six months and then, following the
royalist defeat at Marston Moor, in the Tower of London.
11 Maurice Ashley, General Monck, Pg. 43
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While Monck was a captive the first civil war ended with defeat for the King
and the royalist forces. Politics was kind to Monck. A commander of his from
before the conflict, Viscount Lisle was made Lord Lieutenant of Ireland for a
year’s tenure he asked for Monck’s services, as Monck had served in Ireland
before the civil war. Being called, by parliament, to service, obviously entailed
an escape from the tower and the chance to earn money rather than waste it in
the tower. He opted to declare a loyalty to parliament by swearing an oath.
Thus George Monck had completed the transition from royalist to
parliamentarian by way of captive.
What can be made of this process then? It would be interesting to know why
he delayed in committing to the king. Maurice Ashley12 in his biographical work
suggests several possibilities. That Monck was reluctant to take oaths of any
kind, but this sits badly with Monck’s willingness later to take an oath to return
to service for Parliament. Ashley suggests another more likely interpretation,
that Monck, knowing adherents to both sides, was moved by a desire to read
the lie of the land. To sound out how the war itself was progressing before
committing himself. Such an interpretation goes to the core of Monck’s
12 Ibid
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character. How could he be viewed as merely a soldier who obeyed authority if
he was taking time to decide which side he was on?
Thus in taking his time to choose sides Monck showed himself to be anything
but a mere soldier. That he chose the side that would be defeated is immaterial.
At the time of choosing such knowledge was unavailable to him and both sides
had opportunities for victory.
Later, in changing sides, Monck reinforced that political or practical edge of his
personality. If we allow the benefit of the doubt to Monck on his early delay in
choosing to fight for the king and suggest that this was the product of soul
searching, a simple man forced to make a momentous decision that he was
determined to get correct, then the switching of sides is even more out of
character. However, if we stay with the previous explanation of Monck’s delay,
that he was judging the two sides it makes perfect sense. He changed sides
when offered the chance by Lisle and Parliament because he realised the tide of
Royalism was out and that the only way for Monck’s ship to rise was to be on
the winning team. The taking of the oath at this stage completely undermines
the possibility offered by Ashley that Monck refused the earlier oath in service
to the king because he was opposed to oaths in general. It also makes a
mockery of the idea that Monck was a simple professional soldier. By choosing
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one side and then defecting to the other, Monck showed himself to be more
concerned with his own survival than principle or authority. It establishes a
clear example of rational thought and decision making
It is from his service in Ireland that two other events of note come to occur.
The first was his reaction as Major General in Ulster to the execution of
Charles I. Unlike another parliamentary commander in the country, Inchiquin,
Monck remained loyal to the purged Parliament. A defection from the former
royalist would not have been extreme. He had served the King both in Ireland
and during the civil war, if only briefly, and it is not inconceivable that his
principles might have been stirred by the combination of Pride’s Purge and the
following execution. Yet Monck accepted the new regime indeed in the words
of Ashley he “accepted the new republican regime in England and was as firm
as he knew to be with those who did not.”13
The second event was Monck’s agreement with Owen O’Neill in 1649. The
Ulster Scots, under Sir George Munro, had made it clear they would not serve
the new regime. Monck was unable to swear the covenant the Scots required
lest he be construed as a traitor in London. His position was tenuous. His
13 Maurice Ashley, General Monck, Pg. 61.
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forces were low on supplies and would have been outnumbered had O’Neill
combined with the royalist forces of Ormonde and Inchiquin. Monck, along
with Sir Charles Coote in Londonderry and General Jones in Dublin were the
remaining loyal Parliamentarians in Ireland. O’Neill had a sizeable force at his
command and had already made overtures to the council of state in London
concerning the future. He was willing to conclude a deal in return for
“toleration of the catholic religion, security of possession of catholic lands, and
indemnity and oblivion for the outrages of 1641.”14 Monck was concerned to
keep at least one of his potential enemies from the field. He thus agreed to a
deal under which he “resolved to give [O’Neill] the necessary powder on
condition of an offensive and defensive alliance for three months, during which
O’Neill bound himself to make no terms with Ormonde or Inchiquin or with
any opponent of Parliament”15
In the end it was of little use. Inchiquin somehow received news of the
exchange of powder and ambushed the men O’Neill had sent to retrieve it on
their way back from Dundalk. With the agreement now undermined Inchiquin
proceeded to invest Dundalk, which Monck was in no position to hold for
more than a few days. Under the surrender terms many of Monck’s troops
14 Roger Hainsworth, The Swordsmen in Power: War and politics under the English Republic 1649-1660. Pg. 60.
15Richard Bagwell, Ireland under the Stuarts Vol. II, Pg. 182.
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enlisted with Inchiquin’s forces and only Monck and a few other officers
returned to England. Despite his loss of Dundalk and the treaty with O’Neill
he retired to Devon with the thanks of the Council of State and the Parliament.
These two instances are not designed to undermine Monck or to paint him in a
negative light. They do show that Monck was capable of a considerable degree
of flexibility when it came to interpreting his principles, interpreting his orders
also, and dealing with situations. These attributes were important because they
were to be of great use to him during the months of crisis surrounding the end
of the protectorate and the restoration of the king. Even more importantly they
were consistent with his actions to that point. Far from being a simple
professional soldier Monck displayed considerable political know how. He was
capable of judging situations and acting in a way that advantaged him most.
The next example of this facility reinforces and confirms this view of Monck.
This particular occasion was his decision not to come to Richard Cromwell’s
aid in April 1659. As Roger Hainsworth and others point out, Richard
Cromwell was considerably more astute, far more capable and achieved more
than his historical nickname “Tumbledown dick” implies16. Richard had made a
16 Roger Hainsworth, The Swordsmen in Power: War and politics under the English Republic 1649-1660. (1997)
- 27 -
surprisingly good start of continuing the protectorate. However the army was
suspicious of his intentions and those of the new parliament he had secured. It
should be noted, given the make up of the parliament that their fears were not
ungrounded. By deft political manoeuvring and compromise Richard managed
to reach April balancing competing demands. It was at that point that he faced
impossible odds.
The Parliament failed to tackle the finances of the regime, and instead began to
concern itself with the future of the army. The army as Hutton says “Accepted
him only with Fleetwood as an informal, and then formal, intermediary”17. This
angered the ordinary foot soldiers and the senior commanders alike. They felt
pushed by the latest threat from Parliament, were suspicious of the Protector’s
ambitions and they were concerned for their own welfare. It is unsurprising
that they refused to obey Richard and his regime.
Monck might have been expected to act in Richard’s defence. He had after all
been a loyal supporter of the elder Cromwell and owed much of his position to
that now dead commander. He had offered his advice to Richard early in the
17 Hutton, Ronald. The Restoration. Pg. 41
- 28 -
new Protectors’ regime in a letter18delivered through Dr. Clarges, Monck’s
brother in law. Yet Monck remained inactive because the soldiers of his units
were set against the Protectorate if not necessarily Richard himself. Assuredly
he must have felt depressed by this event and indeed his subsequent attempt to
resign his commission must have been partly influenced by this occurrence.
It does indicate however the key ability that Monck had now displayed on
several occasions to interpret both duty and principle flexibly. Monck can thus
be viewed to be the most rational of actors, when despite his overwhelming
sympathy and association with the protectorate of the Cromwell’s he would not
act because he knew his attempt would fail. He was further conscious that even
close to him the soldiers of his own units could not be trusted to support him.
Each of his actions was weighed up and considered on the basis alluded to
earlier. What were his chances of success, how likely or vigorous was
opposition going to be?
The final display of this aspect of Monck’s personality occurred during the
crisis itself and warrants examination because it is an example of Monck’s
rational decision making ability in action. While we do not know what Moncks
18 Birch, T, Thurloe State Papers, VII. Pg. 387-8
- 29 -
exact motives or goals were in declaring for the Purged parliament in October
1659 what we do know and what can be said is that he envisioned a future
without the cabal of officers around Fleetwood and Lambert. Thus any
pretence at negotiation was just that, pretence. Hutton suggest it was an effort
to spin out the inevitable clash between himself and Lambert19. Monck
benefited greatly by waiting. At the same time his enemies suffered great harm.
The coherency and local popularity of Lamberts forces which were
inadequately supplied and relied on free quarter to keep them fed was gradually
being undermined.
The reality was that Monck never had any intention of keeping any deal. No
situation could have emerged in which an agreement that was satisfactory to
him would be reached, though it is important to note that this knowledge was
not available to his contemporaries. They thus had faith in negotiation at least
for a sufficient period to allow events develop in Monck’s favour. Hutton as
much as acknowledges this when he suggests the spinning out of negotiations
was merely a ploy and a play for time.
19 Hutton, Ronald. The Restoration. Pg. 79.
- 30 -
So in this final guise Monck emerges as the rational, unscrupulous actor he was.
By acting only when he knew the rewards and benefits outweighed the risks,
Monck was capable of disarming his opposition and ending the first phase of
the crisis unreservedly in his favour. With the pretensions of the grandees
crushed many other factors would now come into play. The following chapters
will deal with these and consider their implications and effects on Monck’s
character also.
- 31 -
ChapterThree
Having looked at Monck’s personality and character, the focus of consideration
must move on to events. In doing so, events will be considered for their
impact. First on Monck’s chances of success and on the trajectory of his aims,
which after all changed as his circumstances did, and also affected other players
in the crisis. Secondly they will be viewed as key elements in Monck’s and those
other players’ calculations and rational decision-making. The most practical
method for doing this is to examine the timeline from the ousting of the Rump
by the Grandees through to the return of the king in May 1660.
It is possible to divide the period from the fall of the restored Rump in 1659 to
the return of the King in May into three distinct phases. Phase one constitutes
that time before Monck crossed the Berwick (including his actions dealing with
Scotland) and ending with the collapse of the Grandees and their pretensions
to power in the dying days of December. Events in this period shaped the
ascendancy of Monck and confirmed the collapse of the Grandees’ aims.
The second phase can be viewed as running from the crossing of the Berwick
until the dissolution of the Rump parliament on16th March 1660. This period
covers the key decision by Monck to allow the secluded members to return to
- 32 -
the Rump and to declare for a full and free parliament. In essence this brought
an end to the republic. In many ways this period covers the clash between the
restored rump and the flow in favour of conservatism and a Royal return.
The last and final phase extends from the end of the Rump to the return of the
king and covers the final decision by Monck to opt for a restoration and the
actions both of the King and parliament that made that conclusion to the crisis
likely.
Phase One: October 1659-December 1659
When one considers the events of this period perhaps the most momentous for
the stability of the republic following the coup of the Grandees was the trio of
letters from Monck himself to Speaker Lenthall, Lambert and Fleetwood.
These shattered the image of a united army acting in the defence of the
commonwealth. Anything that happened after this event happened without the
legitimacy that unity of the army offered. It also suggested several problems
that had to be dealt with by the Grandees and their new council of state.
Firstly, even if Monck’s personal attachment to the rump could be discounted
by sceptical colleagues, some element of the army was at least claiming to be in
- 33 -
support of the now once again defunct parliament. That opposition,
furthermore, was capable of resisting and mounting effective operations against
their own forces. In short, it offered the daunting prospect of conflict, if not
right away then when the campaigning season opened. Even successful
operations against Monck would force the grandees to delay other actions to
stabilise their state. Thus the second and complimentary problem arose. The
need to deal rapidly with the security threat posed by Monck caused the
Grandees to divert vital management resources to that threat, depriving them
of key abilities when they were most needed. Even negotiations with Monck
took away resources from those other desperate tasks. Monck had the
advantage of not having to deal with these issues.
So the opening salvo of the crisis, which had in Scotland been preceded by a
purge of his own forces by Monck to remove radicals and suspect officers,
already changed the stakes. Monck had presented problems and possibilities
previously unsuspected and unexpected by the new council of state. He would,
by pacifying and neutralising the Scots over the following weeks, create even
larger ones and make his victory in the crisis more likely.
Perhaps Monck’s greatest single achievement in preparing for his clash with the
Grandees was ensuring peace in Scotland. By doing so he removed the danger
- 34 -
that Scottish forces would rise against the English occupation and also made it
unlikely that he could be accused of abandoning his duty or sacrificing English
security for personal ambition. The novel element of this balance was that
options for the future of Scotland remained open and no administration was
bound by agreements made by Monck. In this he showed his usual political
‘nous’ but was also the beneficiary of incredible luck.
His political skill has to be acknowledged especially in the context of the type
of regime that Monck had presided over in Scotland during his time as
Governor. As Julia Buckroyd highlights, in her intriguing article on the 1659-
1660 period in Scottish history, “The whole tenor of the Cromwellian
administration ... had been to limit the power of the nobility as far as possible.
Monck’s repeated imprisonment of and demands for assurances of good
behaviour from the nobility made it most unlikely that he would suddenly
reverse his policies.”20Yet despite this, Monck was able to establish a balance
between competing Scottish interests one that allowed the nobility an increased
role but did not pose a danger of Royalism emerging in the ascendant. The
factor of luck emerges when one considers the possibilities Monck’s departure
offered to men wishing to cause mischief in Scotland.
20 Buckroyd, J. Scottish Historical Review Pg. 11
- 35 -
Despite drawing off so many troops and marching south in January, it is
unlikely that a sufficiently large and well trained force could have been
mustered to challenge the remaining, well trained, well positioned, well-
supplied and veteran troops who remained in Scotland. However consider
events counterfactually for a moment. Had even a small force, ill equipped,
badly led and ultimately unsuccessful tried to take advantage of the absence of
the commander and the majority of his forces what would have been the
result?
Monck’s cloak of respectability would have vanished, as he would, quite rightly,
have been painted as more concerned about his personal goals then security.
The morale of his troops facing enemies to their rear and to their front (at least
prior to Lambert’s collapse) would surely have been diluted. Indeed given his
initial problems in creating a stable unit from the troublesome and quarrelsome
ranks21 it is unlikely that he would have ever stabilised the force. This is a
crucial point as the superior morale of Monck’s troops was vital to his success
in waiting out Lambert on the Tweed and allowing circumstance to undermine
his opponents. Given the damage done to Lambert’s troop’s morale by such a
position (although that, as we will see, was a degree more complex) this
21 Well over 100 officers and NCOs were purged from the ranks and several incidents of desertion were
recorded.
- 36 -
consideration is important. In doing this and ensuring that events in Scotland
were more in the nature of non-events, Monck secured room for manoeuvre
and freed his hands for action.
Another aspect of this peace was that local government continued in Scotland
without any breakdown and tax assessments could continue to be collected.
This meant that Monck had a Treasury that could be replenished. This fact was
later to prove a significant boon to the General in his conflict with the
Grandees.
The rest of this period can only have been viewed by the Grandees and their
putative administration as a series of astounding hammer blows. Events played
out almost routinely against them. It must have seemed that sense had returned
to the situation when Monck had engaged in negotiations and the exchange of
commissioners. Yet even accepting negotiation with Monck showed that the
Grandees were on the back foot, disadvantaged by a move that took them by
surprise. The rejection by Monck of the agreement his commissioners had
made, displayed the strength and the weakness of the relative players. What
emerged was that Monck was unyielding in the North. His forces had
solidified; his hold of Scotland assured and his opponents would have had the
worst of any engagement, especially if they had advanced into Scotland. The
- 37 -
Grandees on the other hand were meekly forced to accept a reopening of
negotiations, for what other alternative but conflict, did they have?
The defection of the Portsmouth garrison December 3rd showed that the
Scottish contingent was not the only opposition to the seizure of power and
also that the opposition was not confined to a limited element. Monck was now
not the only centre of opposition. This was reinforced by the presence of
Haselrig and Morley in Portsmouth, both considerably more radical than
Monck in their outlook. Further, the different fronts appealed to different
opponents of the Grandees drawing support from both edges of any base the
Grandees might have had.
The move by the fleet under Vice Admiral Lawson a mere ten days later,
displayed the Grandees inability to provide security and stability even in
London. Both these events worsened the already considerable problems faced
by the Grandees. Crucially they also reflected the deepened scope of
opposition. The fleet had initially resolved not to act against the Grandees.
That the fleet chose now to join in the expression of opposition showed the
grandees to have a weak handle on events in general.
- 38 -
If Portsmouth and the defection of the fleet damaged the prestige and stability
of the Army, then the rising of Fairfax in Yorkshire robbed the grandees of any
moral legitimacy they had left. Fairfax, as the former commander of all the
senior officers, could not be dismissed as Monck or Morley might have been,
as just one ambitious officer. Nor could he be labelled as one who desired a
return to a royalist system, having played so large a part in the king’s defeat.
The impact of this particular event however damaged the morale and
disposition of Lambert’s forces in the field. Faced now with opposition to the
rear and the front, Lamberts forces began to disintegrate. The added authority
of Fairfax, parliamentary commander in the struggles against the executed King
surely aided that disintegration.
How little, by itself, the coup, by forces under Broghill in Ireland, must have
meant amidst the welter of disastrous news. It was if anything merely a sign of
the flow of events and the likely path events would take in the future. The
hammer blows that the army commanders had experienced from events shook
their self-belief. Fleetwood could not see a way to continue because; barring
bloodshed, there was no way forward. Events had closed all options previously
available to the Grandees after they removed the Rump. Faced now with the
only option of surrender in the face of credible and likely overwhelming
- 39 -
opposition or a bloody repression, the would-be forgers of a new republican
alliance caved.
Phase Two: 1st January 1660 - 16th March 1660
So as the final days of December closed around the principle actors in the
drama, events had changed for good the political lie of the land and the
possibilities profoundly. That this was the case was demonstrated on January
4th. As Monck marched towards London with his forces (having crossed the
Berwick on 1st January) the Lord Mayor and common council of London sent
their sword bearer to meet Monck and express to him their desire for a full
parliament. This request was an explicit call for either a new house or the
readmission of the excluded members to the Londoners. It seemed a
reasonable request considering the absence of any London representation in
the rump. At this early stage however that a body as influential as the City of
London would call for something directly against the Rump’s interests
strengthened Monck’s hand and made clear that the Rump was not necessarily
safe. Further, it suggested to Monck that potential allies against the Rump
existed within the capital.
- 40 -
This confirms that very little of the events of the previous three months had
been to the benefit of the Rump itself (except of course that they were now
reinstated) and much advantage had accrued to Monck. Without having to
engage fellow English men Monck had spearheaded the return of the Rump
parliament. Yet even if the Parliament was back in place it was by no means
back in power. Its power rested on the muskets and horsemen of Monck’s
regiments and his wishes were all but clear.
Parliament was in the awkward position of being beholden to a man whose
intentions for their existence were unclear. At best they had an uneasy alliance,
but it was clear that they viewed Monck as a rival for power and that he in turn
was not as loyal a servant as he might at one stage have appeared. Events and
influences again acted in Monck’s favour and against his opposition.
For the Rump, Monck’s dallying with Fairfax in York for two days was even
more worrying. What was their agenda? Were they in collusion? Was Monck
intent on restoring the Monarchy and was Fairfax to join him? The loyalty of
Fairfax to the Republic was not absolute after all. He had resigned with as
much haste as possible following the execution of the King and was deemed to
have disapproved of the Purge that had led to it. The power of Fairfax’s name
had been made manifest by the muster in York his rising had prompted.
- 41 -
The weakness of the Rump in the face of Monck’s challenge and the other
opponents was further demonstrated by the order of the 30th January which
moved Fleetwood’s troops out of London. Cosmetically this was a boon to the
Rump which could not trust those soldiers. In reality it merely highlighted the
fact that Monck’s regiments were the last trustworthy units in the land and with
them rested the power. In the same way as events had acted against the leaders
of the October Coup events were moving against the Rump and in favour of
Monck.
A mutiny by soldiers over pay on February 2nd was echoed by an apprentice riot
over liberty and showed the extreme tensions which were still to be dealt with
by the rump and its officers. While these troubles might be considered as
merely demonstration of discontent they also showed the weakness of the state
in financial and fiscal terms. As had been clear form the last years of Oliver’s
rule, the republic was bankrupt. Its debts had mounted to an extraordinary
extent, overdue pay to soldiers had mounted and current expenditure exceeded
current income by a significant degree. The Rump had shown itself incapable
of managing the finances during its last tenure. It had also shown itself
incapable of providing stability. These events highlighted for all, the gap
between rhetoric and reality and demonstrated further the fact that Monck’s
military might was the only stable linchpin remaining in the state. But if the
- 42 -
reality of Monck’s strength was growing other events were showing how
hollow the Rumps claim to legitimacy and prominence were.
On February 8th the common council of London refused to pay taxes until
parliament was filled22. Essentially they repeated the requests made to Monck
on 4th of January, and backed this demand with action. Monck, by now in
London, vacillated over the next few days. He initially acted on Parliament’s
orders to take down the posts and chains set up to defend the principle gates of
the city. But on the 9th February as he acted in “obedience to the civil power”23
Monck came up against opposition from his own ranks.
A decisive encounter with his officers ensued. Accommodation was reached
and the posts and chains were removed but not the portcullis. Senior officers
such as Colonel Thomas Saunders and Major Nathaniel Barton pleaded with
Monck to change his course on the evening of the 10th. The seemingly ever
present Dr. Clarges, Monck’s Brother in law, also championed resistance. This
event is critical in understanding Monck. He had not yet acted in open defiance
of the Rump, not yet used his power to destabilise the renewed regime. It is a
mark of his flexibility that he waited till it seemed that all other options were
22 Morrah, Patrick 1660: The Year of the Restoration, Pg. 65
23 Ibid, Pg. 66
- 43 -
closed and even his own officers were demanding action against the Rump
before he did indeed act.
Thus on 11th February Monck who history and historians paint as a bluff man
stunned his opponents, or rather his erstwhile allies, with yet another incendiary
letter24. This one demanded the end of the filling up of the rump and that the
house would quickly brings itself to conclusion allowing for a free parliament.
It was news of this missive leaking out to the general public that led to the
celebrations and seemingly ostentatious revelry. Monck had effectively won the
public relations battle by a landslide. His popularity soared and conversely that
of the rump, what was left of it, disappeared.
Monck had chosen his moment well. As Morrah records by the 16th February
addresses from Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and Oxford had arrived promising that
“until the parliament was filled up, no taxes would be paid”25. The delay in
issuing writs for the filling up of the house gave others the chance to push for
the readmission of the members excluded during Prides purge in 1648. In an
example of Monck following the path of least resistance and making decisions
based on rational judgements, he secured the support of some 73 secluded
24 Baker, R. A Chronicle of the Kings Of England Pg. 598
25 Morrah, Patrick, 1660: The Year of the Restoration, Pg. 72
- 44 -
members and ensured their safe arrival in the house on the morning of the 21st
February.
Interestingly Monck made sure that his version of this change made its way to
the army before any other version might. A meeting between him and his
officers produced a missive that was copied and sent to all army units in
England, Scotland and Ireland.
While events were to follow a long course before the newly expanded Rump
dissolved and the new parliament was to sit, Monck had created the conditions
that made his the deciding voice in national affairs. He had neutralised all major
opposition and events had worked in his favour. The Grandees had collapsed
with more alacrity than might have been expected, the Rump had been
outmanoeuvred and most importantly the army was quiet. As yet of course the
General had not declared for the king nor had he entered negotiations to
secure his return. However, as the Rump dissolved itself on the 16th March
1660 he must have been well aware of the legitimacy of the incoming
parliament and certainly he was conscious of the likely leanings of any such
newly elected house. If the second phase was over with the end of the Rump
then the third phase, in which Monck used his pre eminence to ease the return
of the King was about to begin.
- 45 -
Phase Three: 17th March - 25th May
In many ways the events of the last few months before Charles Stuart’s return
were driven by Monck rather than, as had been the case to date, events driving
Monck. But others had an effect on the course of events, their contribution,
along with others will be considered in the next chapter. What must be dealt
with now is the nature of the last phase. Superficially this period may seem to
have been the least contentious. After all the main decisions regarding the
future had been made. The long parliament was dissolved and a new parliament
was about to come into being with a renewed mandate and thus greater
legitimacy. The army had been cowed by purges and its radical leaders were
marginalised. As Hutton says, “By the beginning of March at the latest, it must
have been obvious to George Monck that the policy he had initiated was
making a royal restoration likely.”26
The meeting between Monck and his cousin Sir John Grenville on the 17th
March was the catalyst for contact between Monarch and General. Monck’s
advice was taken with a degree of scepticism by the King. After all, as Hutton
26 Hutton, Ronald, Restoration, Pg. 106
- 46 -
points out, Monck was a man who had played a significant role in destroying
the king’s forces at Dunbar. The King and his counsellors considered the
terms but “they were no more willing to be bound [by them] than by
others.”27However the alliance now between Monck and his party and the king
and his counsellors made certain that the return would be relatively untroubled.
The only event which might have derailed the process occurred on the 10th
April Lambert escaped from the Tower and sought to rally the forces of the
republic to resist the slide into monarchy. Monck acted vigorously and swiftly,
sending two flying columns to apprehend Lambert once the location of his
gathering was discovered. It was a mark of the change in atmosphere and
expectations that Lambert’s attempt brought about only muted unrest and did
not result in a widespread mutiny. This proves the efficiency of the purges
Monck had used to bolster the ranks of the army and to remove the
malcontents and radicals. Even Hutton, who considers the affair of more
importance than it truly warrants, admits that the defeat of Lambert was in a
sense inevitable because as he eloquently comments, “men like Ingoldsby who
had signed away the old king’s life, Monck, who had destroyed the present
27 Ibid, Pg. 108.
- 47 -
king’s soldiers, Pury, whose father had voted for the commonwealth, and
Streater, who had printed defences of one, were now determined to end it.”28
The Convention Parliament met on the 25th April. Initially the old
parliamentary Lords managed to hold back the tide of royalist opinion that the
elections had revealed by occupying the House of Lords and electing their own
speaker. But by the 27th the hereditary peers had regained the Lords for the
majority opinion. On the 1st May 1660 Sir John Grenville presented letters
from the king, first to the Lords, then to the Commons, asking for support.
Both houses complied. On the 2nd the army sent out an address of loyalty to all
the regiments and garrisons in England, Scotland and Ireland. Those who
refused to endorse the address were to be noted and their names forwarded to
Monck. The Navy underwent a similar process on the 3rd and on the 8th the city
of London approved the decision of parliament. Everything was set for the
return of Charles which happened on 25th May.
Events had been guided carefully in this last phase. Certainly it had none of the
dangers of the first two phases. Monck must surely have known, before he met
Grenville that the most likely option was restoration, unless he intended to
28 Ibid, Pg. 116.
- 48 -
seize power for himself. Yet the outbreak by Lambert shows that nothing was
decided until the king was firmly on the throne again. Indeed one cannot help
but wonder how much it would have taken to make George Monck shift once
more with the wind? How might events have changed if Lambert’s rebellion
had garnered more support or been more successful? These questions can only
be considered counterfactually and as such can only result in speculation. It
remains to say that this last phase saw the likely outcome of Restoration
become reality and that reality was one in which Monck had played a significant
part. Having considered in depth the role events played in the crisis and in the
shaping of Monck’s goals we must now turn to the impact of individuals on the
crisis and its development.
- 49 -
ChapterFour
Monck’s personality and his rational assessment of events has been examined
thus far, the effect events themselves had on his decisions has also been
explored. The last crucial component in that rational decision-making process
must be the effect and influence that other actors had on Monck’s decision
making. Hutton has pointed out that Monck’s officers cannot be ignored when
considering the question of what motivated Monck. He after all, had to tackle
their concerns on a regular basis. The most important body in that regard was
the Army under his command in Scotland. That force will be the first focus of
this chapter.
Looking at the Army of Scotland intriguing questions present themselves. The
army George Monck led down into England was very different from the army
whose reaction on the overthrow of Richard Cromwell had been to accept
“this with enthusiasm, and [Monck] had to send to Richard privately expressing
this inability to act, and to write to the General Council openly his support.”29
What had happened to allow Monck act as he did in October? What placed
him in a position to act then, when earlier he had been unable?
29 Hutton, Ronald, The Restoration, Pg. 40
- 50 -
It was indicative of Monck’s weakness in the early days after the overthrow of
the protectorate that he had been forced to accept a purge of his officer corps
by the successful Grandees and the Rump Parliament. Both these groups were
concerned about what they viewed as reactionary forces within Monck’s units.
The officers he was forced to cashier were those he trusted and who
sympathised with his more conservative outlook.
It is perhaps not surprising then that the reverse happened as he seized control
of events following his decision to resist the removal of the Rump in October.
He removed officers he distrusted or considered too radical from his ranks in
Scotland after sending his trio of letters which reached London on 20th
October 1659. Thomas Talbot, a known supporter of Lambert and commander
of one of the regiments of foot was in England. His regiment however was
considered trustworthy. Moncks own regiment was “Full of politicians and
extremists”30. Using the trusted soldiers of Talbot’s regiment Monck’s unit was
purged at gunpoint.
Monck then reinstated the officers previously cashiered by the Rump
parliament and removed those officers they had imposed upon him. By the
time he actually crossed over the Tweed and marched south his army was
effectively purged. Using methods similar to those used on his own regiment in
Edinburgh he expelled from all his units those soldiers and officers distrusted
30 Davis, Geoffrey, The Restoration of Charles II: 1658-1660, Pg162.
- 51 -
by him and his close associates. The table below shows the losses for just three
of Moncks Regiments, His own Wilkes’ and Cobbet’s31.
Monck’s lost Wilkes’ lost Cobbet’s Lost
One Lt. Col 1 Major One Lt. Col
One Major 2 Lieut. 3 Field Officers
4 Capts. 2 Ensigns 5 Capts.
7 Lieut. Others later 6 Lieut.
4 Ensigns 2 Ensigns
Quarter master and 9
NCOs.
The very fact that he had to purge his units indicates distrust, but more
importantly for this discussion, it indicates why Monck was forced to play for
time. The state of his army forced his hand as much as his actions forced the
hand of his opponents. He was wise to distrust several of his officers. They
had, after all, been against the protectorate and wished for a far more radical
solution or settlement than Monck himself could ever have envisaged. But as
Davies points out, “Monck, like Cromwell before him, saw that a cashiered
31 Ibid, Pgs. 160-165.
- 52 -
officer has little or no influence with his late regiment, provided that the
remaining officers did not share his views.”32
This then represents the first major influence Monck’s soldiers had on his
decisions, forcing him to adopt a cautious approach to advancing into England.
This was ramified by his concern to ensure Scotland remained calm in his
absence and in effect limited his scope for swift action. He was fortunate in
many ways that his opponents were as circumscribed in their ability to act as he
was.
So what did the purges achieve for Monck? Primarily it removed dangerous
men and opponents of his plans (such as they were) and thus their ideas. This
was vital for the stability of the army. Another bonus to the purges was that it
installed men of a similar disposition and ideology to Monck and his senior
commanders. This meant that he could rely on them to follow orders but more
importantly that they would need less convincing to follow his chosen path. In
appointing or reappointing these men he created an officer corps who had
been reinstated at his behest and thus had an interest in his victory as any other
32Davies, Geoffrey, The Restoration of Charles II: 1658-1660, Pg. 164
- 53 -
outcome would endanger their newly regained or simply new positions. This
group of officers had no option then but to be personally loyal to him.
The changes necessary in the army affected Monck’s planning and the pace of
his actions. But in other ways they also strengthened his hand at key moments.
The army’s stability once the purges and reinstatements were completed meant
that Monck was the only commander fielding a fully formed, fully trained and
fully equipped army. Further as has been noted it was an army with a dedicated
officer corps and one, which was as immune as he could make it to radical
elements.
An equally important influence on Monck was that of officers. One for
instance, Colonel John Clobery, it is now known, was a royalist and had contact
with royalist agents through his correspondence with Dr. John Barwick. While
it is unlikely that the Colonel was too open in his views it is not inconceivable
that his advice at moments of consultation and planning would have been
tinged by his leanings. The influence that men such as Clobery exerted was vital
to the changing state of play during the crisis.
As has already been noted in earlier chapters the officers were to have a big
effect on Monck during his time in London. The crunch came when ordered to
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confront the city of London in early February, men such as Hubblethorne
refused to partake in the destruction of London’s defences. This encounter
between officers and commander sealed the fate of the Rump and depending
on how you read Monck’s personality, either gave him the chance he desired to
break the hold of the rump or allowed him to move along the path of least
resistance.
It should be recalled however that despite what was to occur later, there was as
yet little indication that the officers of Monck’s force favoured the return of the
king. Even if they had been at that early stage, their soldiers’ opinions were
certainly not in favour of royal return and there is no reason to believe that
Monck’s instincts favoured such a manoeuvre either. Indeed the thrust of this
thesis has been to show exactly how late that decision was actually taken, at
least in Monck’s mind.
In conclusion then, the army’s influence was twofold. At a basic level the need
to establish the reformed army forced Monck to play a long game and one
which gave him time to secure his position in Scotland. On another level
Monck’s close circle of officers influenced his actions at a key point already
highlighted and most probably at other junctures throughout the crisis. That
influence was far more subtle and less noticeable than the direct confrontation
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that was witnessed on that occasion in London on the 10th February. It took
place no doubt in numerous untold and unrecorded ways. For instance, it could
have taken the form of advice to their commander on which officer ought to
be promoted, or which trooper ought to be made an NCO. Or even it may
have taken the form of advocating one course of action over another which
taken at face value might not have been seen as driving any particular agenda
but as part of an overall scheme would seem suspect or questionable. However,
in the context of a military command in which officers advise and council their
seniors who then make a decision and given the eventual confrontation which
occurred between the officers and Monck it is not unreasonable speculation. So
Monck’s officers and men played a role in shaping his course and thus the
course of the state during the crisis.
But having considered the effect Monck’s men had on the crisis, attention must
now turn to his opposition and their forces. In many ways it appears that
Monck was waiting for was the tipping point.33. All he had to do was wait for
33 This term has been used recently to describe that point at which regimes crumble. Prior to the collapse the
regime may appear to be secure and unchallenged but a constant application of pressure has undermined the
foundations of the regime and once this point is passed, collapse is swift and seemingly inevitable. Examples of
this trend have been seen recently both in Eastern Europe with regimes such as East Germany and Romania
and in Afghanistan with the Taliban.
- 56 -
the regime to pull itself down. He knew it was unpopular and that his side
would benefit from delay and the enemy grow weaker.
The differences between Monck’s forces and those of Lambert and the army in
England were pronounced. Monck had, thanks to his free use of the purge, a
reasonably stable fighting force. It is true that it had taken some time to settle
down and bed in new officers and promoted soldiers. Yet Monck had the
advantage of having enough supplies and money to pay and feed his army. His
treasury was full, having recently been sent a subvention by the parliament in
London and having the power to collect the assessment in Scotland. He had
also, as has been highlighted in other chapters, taken great pains to ensure that
local government and tax collection did not dissolve in Scotland34. In
comparison the Grandees were faced with a tax revolt by portions of the state
and thus they suffered from a lack of funds to equip Lambert’s forces.
However, the soldiers Monck led had no reason to expect the army of England
to collapse. They must surely have been conscious that the prospect of civil war
lay ahead of them. Not to mention the prospect of fighting against soldiers they
only recently fought alongside. This worry was also faced by Lambert. His
34 CF pg. 26
- 57 -
soldiers were also being asked to fight their former comrades. Whereas
Monck’s motto was simple and explicable, he was fighting for parliament, what
was Lambert to tell his men, except perhaps to appeal to the “good Old
Cause”.
Controlling the officer corps however must have been relatively easy for
Lambert as they were solidly behind the recent actions of their commanders.
However such control did not ensure the loyalty of the soldiers. The fate of
Richard Cromwell provides an illustration of the perils of loyalty amongst the
officer corps but not the soldiers. When the clash came between him and the
warlords in April 1659, he lost out to their superior command of the army rank
and file. They did respond to his summons, “Instead, inadequate pay, the
propaganda of the commonwealthsmen, and perhaps the visceral distrust of
Richard Cromwell himself made the common soldiers vote with their boots to
end parliament and to put the leadership of the nation firmly back with the
council of officers.”35As events progressed rapidly in those three months
between October and December Lambert was to find exactly the same
problem. Once Fairfax had declared for the Rump his forces began to melt
35 Seward, The Restoration, Pg. 117
- 58 -
away and he himself was lucky to escape the advance of Monck and evade the
troopers of Fairfax in Yorkshire.
Another concern when exploring opposition to Monck is the loss that Lambert
represented to the Grandees. Lambert’s skills were lost to the council of
officers by sending the General North to confront Monck. Lambert was
dealing with Monck’s challenge and therefore away from the centre. Had he
been free to deal with the challenges events placed at the feet of his fellows
officers, his superior capacity and ability might well have helped secure their
future. As it was his talents in the field and his popularity amongst the troops
failed to overcome the absence of proper supplies and the devastating blow
that was Fairfax’s call to arms in Yorkshire.
As a counterpoint, the weakness at the core of the coup seems to be
concentrated in Fleetwood. This man had long been at the centre of national
affairs having fought in the civil wars and achieved high rank; he was related to
the Cromwell’s by marriage and also popular amongst the troops. However, he
lacked the ruthlessness or the desire to retain power once he had seized it.
Fleetwood was unwilling to engage in the heavy repression necessary to
maintain their regime. The Council of officers were also faced with the need to
raise revenue significantly, as had every administration since the early 1650s,
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but lacked the mandate that even the Rump parliament had to raise
assessments.
Given the origin of the Revolution and the noises made during the years of
Charles’ Personal Rule it was unthinkable for the Grandees to act without
approval from some form of representative assembly. They were faced at that
moment with the absence of their most talented and charismatic figure. They
were concurrently bedevilled by problems that had destroyed several other
administrations, weighed down by the continuing prospect of conflict with
Monck in the North, the Rumpers in Portsmouth and the fleet in the Thames,
and beset by crisis after crisis. The Grandees must have felt some relief when in
the dying days of December they relinquished control back to the Rump and
Monck.
As an individual who merits mention, Lord Fairfax stands out. His record to
that point in defence of the Republic was exemplary. He had commanded
parliamentary forces in a succession of civil wars against the king and stood by
when the army and their allies in parliament engineered the execution of the
King. Even though it can be assumed that he had not been totally in favour of
the purge and its consequences, Fairfax had not raised forces against the
progress of the protectorate or the republic. That he chose to do so in 1659 is
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interesting and indeed challenging. Had he sensed a change in the atmosphere
amongst his peers in Yorkshire or, was he like Monck exploiting the weakness
of his opponents?
Whatever his motivation he, like Monck, affected the evolution of the crisis in a
radical way. His declaration of support changed the nature of the conflict. It at
once robbed the already damaged image of the Grandees as an army of unity. If
first one section of the army and then the former commander of that force
declared the actions of the army of England wrong and unjustified the ordinary
soldier was faced with a dilemma. Who was more trustworthy? Fairfax it is clear
swung that balance in favour of those supporting a return to parliamentary rule.
His consultations with Monck and the subsequent push from Yorkshire
confirms that he and the local elite in Yorkshire were as intent as the city of
London to see a change in the parliament. Yorkshire was one of the counties to
threaten to withhold taxes unless the parliament was filled up or a new one
elected. Fairfax himself was elected to the Convention Parliament. Fairfax then
brought legitimacy to Monck’s cause and established a moderate following for
the General that was closely in tune, it seems, from the returns to the
Convention Parliament, with the general feeling in the country. His influence
then was to make a return to Monarchy more likely and to push Monck’s
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course, consciously or otherwise ever further in that direction. As Monck was
to discover during the early months of 1660, that was the prevailing flow of
opinion and thus the path of least resistance.
On reflection the cabal of men around Monck seems perfectly formed to bring
about a restoration. Price, his chaplain, who seems to have had a great deal of
access, if perhaps not the influence he himself imagines, was a covert Royalist.
Dr. Clarges his brother in law was an excluded member of parliament, as was
Morrice his trusted advisor once he reached London. Both men played a part in
the build up to restoration. Morrice was later to serve the King after his return.
Their exclusion during Pride’s purge indicates their sympathy and both showed
it in those early months. That Morrice had tended to Monck’s holdings in
Devon while the general had campaigned indicated the level of trust between
the two men. It was through Morrice that the letter carried by Sir John
Grenville was finally presented to Monck. Clarges seems, as already mentioned,
to have been everywhere during the crisis especially at crucial moments
influencing the generals mindset. This is shown by his presence at the meeting
between Monck and his officers in London on 10th February.
That the general had such a group of people about him who could on the one
hand advise him and most likely advise in a certain direction is startling. He was
- 62 -
certainly one of the few senior generals who had such a diverse group about
him. He was fortunate in having that group to either back or counter the
arguments he would have faced from the officers in his army.
Their other purpose was to act as a link to the outside world. Morrice was well
connected in Devon. Clarges had been a member of parliament for London
and would be so again. Their presence, the sway of the City, and the influence
of Fairfax and his fellow Yorkshire men meant that where the rump had a
limited mandate and the grandees too had suffered from this constriction,
Monck can be viewed as having had a wider remit broader support and this in
the final call was crucial.
The friends, allies and, relations close to Monck influenced and guided the
General and worked alongside him in bringing about an end to the crisis.
Certainly he must have been guided in the direction of restoration given their
own leanings. In short this group like many other groups and individuals
around Monck affected his decision making and in some ways eased the
transition to Monarchy.
- 63 -
ConclusionandContext
Having considered the effect Monck’s personality had on the crisis, the role
played by events and the influence people and groups had on the progress
towards restoration it is time to place these details in a more general context.
The atmosphere in which these events took place was one of deep unrest. The
republican regimes were unpopular and the state of society unsettled. Davies
highlighted this as one of several reasons for the fall of the republic and the
restoration36. As Hutton described it “the direct cause of the restoration was
that the enfranchised public mandated a Parliament to produce one, after fierce
agitation against the existing regime.”37This work would contest that this
disaffection arose only after the Cromwellian experiment proved itself to be an
insufficient replacement for monarchy. There was after all, a significant
grouping of former Parliamentary followers for whom any action after Colonel
Pride’s purge, was viewed as illegitimate. To a degree the restoration of the king
represented a triumph for their more conservative viewpoint over the radicals
who had executed the monarch in 1649, a counter revolution in all but name.
36 Davis, Geoffrey, The Restoration of Charles II: 1658-1660
37 Hutton, Ronald, Restoration, Pg. 119
- 64 -
The question of a shift in generations emerges in this context too, yet another
explanation referred to in Davies’s text. In this regard late Protectorate Britain
resembles the current state of play in Iran. The analogy is not perfect yet the
comparison illuminates problems present in both cases. The generational divide
between the older more mature and battle hardened men who had experienced
the years of civil war and the young of the city of London and the provinces
who had not, is reflected in Iran. The revolutionaries who overthrew the
despotic regime in Iran remain entrenched in the order of society acting as they
do on the council of elders advising the Ayatollah and the president. From their
perspective, they act as the guardians of the revolution and the new order. They
are determined to protect the people’s rights, even against their wishes and
against their elected representatives. They echo the Grandees and Republican
Politicians who tried desperately to find a formula that could gain popularity
and legitimacy.
Opposed to old revolutionaries in Iran, the radicals on the streets are the
students who remain restless and unconvinced by the rhetoric and intentions of
the elite. Most of them believe the principles of the revolution are designed
more to keep the Conservatives in power and society under control than to
improve the position of the people. They now form the same troubled mass
that their fathers and mothers did twenty years ago. For them the target of rage
- 65 -
is not the Shah nor even America, but the regime which holds them down and
tramples their rights.
They play the role the apprentices and youths played in the closing days of the
crisis in Republican Britain. Those youths were troubled by the decay in trade.
They were worried by the instability they knew could only worsen their
prospects. They had experienced the army more as a boot trampling their
liberty than the protector of their rights. They viewed with scepticism the
republican ideals. Their forebears of the 1640’s were to be the foot soldiers and
horse troopers of Parliament in the civil wars, they were the foot soldiers or at
least the masses, of the counter revolution. On the street the modern Iranian
students throw stones at the forces of the revolution just as London
apprentices threw roof slates at soldiers of the parliamentary and army regimes
in 1659 and 1660.
In Iran the reformist politicians, Human rights lawyers, teachers, print
journalists and moderate clerics gain power from the activities and unrest
amongst the students. They are determined more than anything to see a return
to stability and a return to practicality in national affairs. These men attempt in
Iran to draw the extremist revolutionaries into compromise by using the
system. It is here that the analogy breaks down. In Britain, more radical action
- 66 -
was taken by this element in society. Instead of working in the system they
plotted to overthrow the system and in the end succeeded. It was a disparate
group composed of conservative landed elites, royalist conspirators, religious
moderates, and excluded members of parliament. Its activity was not coherent;
indeed often it was counterproductive and mistimed as Booth’s failure shows.
The group produced both Booth’s uprising and the call to arms of Fairfax in
Yorkshire. It is fair to include Monck within its ranks.
It is clear that major differences exist between the two periods. The disparities
are equally illuminating and must be considered. The crucial likeness is the
fractured nature of both societies, the sense that both lack or lacked a
settlement or an agreed structure acceptable to the majority of the population.
What made Britain in 1659 different from Iran of 2003? Most significant was
that a focus point for dissent existed. Charles Stuart may have been the king in
exile but for those opposed to the commonwealth and the republican ideals in
general, he provided a point of reference. He also provided an existing option
for continuing government and what is more, one that had proved tolerable to
many in the past. The King in parliament had been acceptable to most sections
in society until 1640. Following the civil wars it had remained the choice of a
- 67 -
majority of Parliamentarians, despite a wish to place some restraints on the
Monarch’s freedom.
The other decisive factor and the dynamic most central to this premise was the
presence of a tool for instigating change. That tool was George Monck and the
army of Scotland. As this thesis has demonstrated Monck determined his
course of action by rational assessment of his options. As these options
dwindled and it became clear that the only viable route forward was restoration
of the Monarchy, Monck changed course to enable this event.
Yet vital to understanding the nature of Monck and his path to restoration is
appreciating the changing circumstance he encountered. Events moved in his
direction constantly and not always with his knowledge or involvement. The
collapse of the Grandee’s aims was heralded by his announcement of
opposition, but executed by the succession of blows delivered by various
sources from October to December 1659. No one incident on its own would
have been sufficient to undermine their rule but combined they exposed the
fragile nature of their control.
In those events and occurrences, and in Monck’s calculations, the influences of
certain discrete groups and individuals were important. Ranging from the
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declaration of Fairfax in Yorkshire, to the loyalty of Monck’s soldiers, these
groups or individuals affected the progress of the crisis.
Success rested on the fact that more people were convinced that restoration
benefited them to a greater degree than the existing system. This holds true of
the City of London and its unruly apprentices, the Politiques to whom Hutton
refers38, the army or what was left of it following the purges and confusion of
the crisis, and most importantly for Monck.
In the final analysis, George Monck’s role in restoring the Monarchy was
principally not to oppose it. Instead he consistently followed the path of least
resistance, always ensuring that the wind was behind his sails. He subtly or not
so subtly shifted his position to ensure that he was supported by a majority. He
only considered the option of restoration when it became clear that this was a
feasible route forward and after it became clear that his officers supported that
route.
This work has contended that the restoration was the product of a mix of
forces. It has gone further to suggest that the balancing of those forces required
38 Hutton, Ronald. The Restoration, Pg. 73
- 69 -
the capacity of a rational actor, George Monck. That contention remains
coherent and is supported by the evidence. It offers the most comprehensive
and complex description of the influences and events which affected Monck,
his decisions, and thus the course of the crises that led to restoration.
- 70 -
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