Pride's Purge
To clear the way for a trial of the King, first Parliament had to be 'cleansed' by Pride's purge
In pursuing the 'man of blood', Henry Ireton, Cromwell's son-in-law, took charge. Cromwell was keeping himself busy in the North. Why? Either he didn't really know what to do; or he didn't want his fingerprints anywhere near the action. In his absence, Ireton took over while Thomas Fairfax, the commander in chief, was increasingly sidelined.
Ireton was a brilliant tactician and ruthless operator. As a staunch Puritan, he genuinely hated Charles.
But he knew that he couldn't simply bump off the King. A quick assassination would be political suicide. His actions needed the air of legitimacy. Charles needed to be tried and his crimes shown up to fit the inevitable sentence. Ireton presented to Parliament a document called the Army Remonstrance, which called for a trial of the King and a new Parliament elected on a reformed franchise. The document seemed to present a just solution while appeasing Leveller demands for political reform.
But a Parliament controlled by conservative Presbyterian MPs would never pass the Remonstrance. So Ireton did what every military coup leader does, he crushed democracy.
On the morning of 6th December, 1648 the New Model Army loyalist Colonel Pride stood in front of the House of Commons and turned away every member he suspected of conservative or Presbyterian leanings. Only the Independent MPs, the hardline supporters of the Army got through. If you're name wasn't down, you didn't get in.
Around 140 MPs were excluded, and 40 arrested. This was a nasty little coup, as squalid and brutal as anything in any of today's banana republics. What was left was a 'Rump Parliament' of 56 MPs ready and willing to carry out the Army's wishes.
The Army Remonstrance was quickly passed and the King was to be tried. Yet still Army leaders tried to reason with Charles. Cromwell, back from the North, proposed a deal which would have saved the King. But Charles rejected all overtures, all solutions.
And by late December, Cromwell had accepted the inevitability of a trial - 'the providence of God has cast this upon us', he explained to the Commons. But note, it was 'providence' - something beyond their control. Still no one wanted to take responsibility for this incredible development.
Content last updated: 07/01/2001
