ABSTRACT
Richard Cromwell’s accession to the Protectorate at his father’s death marked the end of the relative governmental stability there had been in Britain since 1653- Less able but more popular than his younger brother Henry, Richard could not control the army and became a prisoner of its civilian opponents. The third Protectorate Parliament gave way to a restored Rump, Cromwell was deposed, and the army was firmly established as arbiter of government, ostensibly headed by John Lambert who had crushed the Booth Rising. Monck’s relations with the Rump in 1659 had not been altogether cordial: the MPs themselves were suspicious of him. In the summer of 1659 the Parliament had endeavored to reorganize Monck’s Scottish army and make it effectively subservient to the Rump itself, causing Monck considerable disquiet and leading to his exchange of blunt letters with the Speaker of the House.
