OLIVER CROMWELL – HERO OR VILLAIN? PART TWO In 1628 Oliver’s life began to change, for in that year he was elected to attend Parliament as one of the two Burgesses for the constituency of Huntingdon. Parliament in the early years of the seventeenth Century was not the body elected by universal suffrage that we know today, rather it consisted of representatives of the landed gentry, nominated by their peers, and increasingly merchants and lawyers, as the House of Commons, and the hereditary nobility sitting as the House of Lords. While not drawn from the population at large, it was more representative than any comparable body in Europe. It had long been a precedent that taxation could only be approved by Parliament, and as the keepers of the purse strings this gave its members a hold over excessive royal spending. Again, unlike today, Parliament was not in permanent session: rather it was called by the king when he wished to secure support for his foreign policy or when the government needed money. At the beginning of a reign a king would normally be granted a regular income – customs duties on certain exports and imports was usual – and was then expected to finance the running of the country with that and the income from crown lands. Often, however, that proved insufficient, particularly when the country was at war, and Parliament would be asked to approve additional taxation or loans. It was the attempt by the king to circumvent Parliament’s right to approve taxation and raise money, added to the increasing religious differences within the nation, that would lead to the bloodshed and horrors that were to come.
OLIVER CROMWELL - HERO OR VILLAIN? PART TWO
OLIVER CROMWELL - HERO OR VILLAIN? PART TWO
OLIVER CROMWELL - HERO OR VILLAIN? PART TWO
OLIVER CROMWELL – HERO OR VILLAIN? PART TWO In 1628 Oliver’s life began to change, for in that year he was elected to attend Parliament as one of the two Burgesses for the constituency of Huntingdon. Parliament in the early years of the seventeenth Century was not the body elected by universal suffrage that we know today, rather it consisted of representatives of the landed gentry, nominated by their peers, and increasingly merchants and lawyers, as the House of Commons, and the hereditary nobility sitting as the House of Lords. While not drawn from the population at large, it was more representative than any comparable body in Europe. It had long been a precedent that taxation could only be approved by Parliament, and as the keepers of the purse strings this gave its members a hold over excessive royal spending. Again, unlike today, Parliament was not in permanent session: rather it was called by the king when he wished to secure support for his foreign policy or when the government needed money. At the beginning of a reign a king would normally be granted a regular income – customs duties on certain exports and imports was usual – and was then expected to finance the running of the country with that and the income from crown lands. Often, however, that proved insufficient, particularly when the country was at war, and Parliament would be asked to approve additional taxation or loans. It was the attempt by the king to circumvent Parliament’s right to approve taxation and raise money, added to the increasing religious differences within the nation, that would lead to the bloodshed and horrors that were to come.