Commonwealth of England

Commonwealth of England

The Commonwealth was the republican government which ruled first England and then the whole of Britain and Ireland during the periods from 1649 (the monarch Charles I being beheaded on January 30 and An Act declaring England to be a Commonwealth being passed by the Parliament being passed on 19 May that year) to 1653 and from 1659 to 1660. The term is also loosely used to describe the system of government during the whole of 1649 - 1660, the years of the Interregnum, although during 1653 - 1659, the government is properly called The Protectorate and took the form of direct personal rule by Oliver Cromwell, the Lord Protector.

The Commonwealth was followed by the Restoration.

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British flags of the period - see external link

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