Restoration 1658-1660
The Collapse of the Republic 1658–1660
Oliver Cromwell had held the republic together through personal authority and military reputation. When he died in September 1658, no comparable figure existed. His son Richard Cromwell had no military career, no independent power base, and commanded little respect in the army. When he summoned Parliament in 1659, MPs challenged the army’s political role. The army responded by forcing Richard to dissolve Parliament. Then, under sustained pressure from army grandees, Richard resigned in May 1659 after only eight months as Lord Protector — derisively nicknamed “Tumbledown Dick” by contemporaries.
After Richard’s resignation England entered a period of rapid constitutional instability. The Rump Parliament was recalled, dissolved again, and recalled a second time. Army factions jostled for control. The country was exhausted by a decade of military government, heavy taxation, and moral policing. A restoration of monarchy was beginning to seem, to many, the only path to stable, legitimate government.
Richard Cromwell resigned in May 1659 after only eight months as Lord Protector. He lacked military authority and was forced out by army officers. England then entered months of constitutional chaos before George Monck intervened.
George Monck and the March South
George Monck commanded the English army in Scotland — a well-paid, disciplined force that had not participated in the political intrigues of the English army. In January 1660, Monck marched south with his army, moving deliberately towards London. His intentions were opaque: he spoke of restoring constitutional government but did not declare openly for the King. His presence stabilised an increasingly chaotic situation. He arrived in London in February 1660.
Monck’s critical act was ordering the readmission of the members excluded by Pride’s Purge in 1648 — the Presbyterian MPs who had opposed the regicide. This reconstituted the Long Parliament in something like its original form. On 16 March 1660 this revived Parliament dissolved itself, calling for elections to a new “Convention Parliament.”
Before the Convention Parliament met, Charles II issued the Declaration of Breda (April 1660), setting out the terms on which he would return. It made four key promises: a general pardon for all except those Parliament excluded; liberty of conscience in religion; settlement of the army’s back pay; and resolution of disputed land ownership through parliamentary statute. Crucially, all four were referred to Parliament for final decision. Charles was not making unconditional promises but was deferring to parliamentary authority — a deliberately reassuring constitutional signal. In practice, all four promises were partially walked back after the Restoration.
The Restoration: May 1660
The Convention Parliament met in April 1660 and voted to restore the monarchy. Charles II returned to England in May 1660, entering London on 29 May to popular celebration. The Indemnity and Oblivion Act (1660) offered pardon to most who had participated in the republic, with notable exceptions including the “regicides” — the men who signed Charles I’s death warrant or ran his trial. Thirteen were executed; others were imprisoned or went into exile.
The constitutional terms of the Restoration were deliberately left ambiguous. Charles II returned as king with broadly the powers his father had possessed before 1642 — the prerogative courts were not restored, and the Triennial Act remained. The monarchy was restored, but the constitutional changes Parliament had fought for were largely preserved. The Restoration was not a simple reversal of the revolution.
The Declaration of Breda (April 1660) promised pardon, religious toleration, army pay and land settlement — all subject to parliamentary approval. Charles returned on 29 May 1660. The Indemnity and Oblivion Act pardoned most former republicans but executed thirteen regicides.
Historians debate whether the Restoration was inevitable after Oliver Cromwell’s death. Several factors made it possible in 1660 specifically: Richard Cromwell’s failure removed the only obvious republican successor; army factionalism discredited military rule; Monck’s march provided order without demanding a particular settlement; and Charles II’s deliberate moderation in the Declaration of Breda reassured those who feared Royalist revenge. The majority of the political nation had not wanted a republic in the first place — the regicide had been achieved by a minority — and by 1660 exhaustion with military rule had created broad (if not deep) support for the King’s return.