What factors account for the limited success of the Protectorate 1653-1659

Legality/legitimacy
1. Instrument of Government never truly accepted
2. Parliament not called by a monarch
3. Attachments:
  - Protectorate
Parliamentary conservatism
1. Commonwealth's Men
  1. Redamittance in second Parlaiments 2nd session caused division
2. Elections didn't return a house submissive to Cromwell and the Army
3. Challenged Protector's right to issue ordinances, sough to restrict his power
4. Lawyers overturned law reforms
5. Supicious of Army
Army
1. Major Generals
  1. Resentment from gentry due to local power being taken away by soldiers.
  2. In charge of enforcing poor law, decimiation tax, controlling public morality
Cromwell
1. Richard's incompetence
2. Death in September 1658
3. Dismissed Parliament on many occasions, failing to come to agreements
4. Implemented Oath of Recognition
Opposition
2. Royalists - saw the Protectorate as illegal
3. Radicals
  1. Political - wanted more fundamental constitutional reforms
  2. Religous - saw Cromwell as the man who had destroyed their chance of creating the new Jerusalem
4. Republicans/Commonwealth's-men - opposed to any form of government with a 'single-person' element. Opposed to Cromwell due to military coup dissolving the Rump
  1. 80 MPs refused to take the Oath of Recognition and were excluded

Resource summary

	Created by rmparkinson almost 11 years ago