Spotlight On The Putney Debates

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1. Source 1: Video starter activity

   This video presented by Neil Johnston, Head of Early Modern Records at The National Archives, covers the period of the English Civil Wars in the 17th century. It looks at political pamphlets from the State Papers Collection, SP 116/530.

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      Spotlight On The Putney Debates

      Video transcript for "Spotlight On The Putney Debates"

      Hello, I'm Dr Neil Johnston and I'm an historian at the National Archives.

      In this film, I'll be looking at the Putney Debates, which together amount to one of the most significant moments in English political history.

      The 1640s was a time of great upheaval, where futures that had previously seemed impossible were now earnestly and publicly debated, often in printed pamphlets.

      Following the collapse of royal censorship in England in 1641, printed pamphlets proliferated.

      But pamphlets weren't neutral news reports, they were the 17th century equivalent of a highly biased newspaper opinion column or a blog.

      They were printed on cheap paper, like newspapers are today, folded into small sizes known as quartos, and sold for a few pence on the streets of towns and cities.

      They were weaponised by rival factions: Royalists supporting Charles I; Parliamentarians; religious and political radicals like the Levellers and various groups reacting to the wars that were ongoing across England, Ireland and Scotland.

      They often featured striking, crude woodcut illustrations on the title page to capture the attention of passersby and to communicate a message, even to those who were semi-literate.

      The volume we're looking at here has the archival reference SP1 116/530.

      SP stands for "State Papers", a massive collection of government records from Henry VIII's reign up to 1782.

      116 indicates the sub-series and 530 is the volume number, which is a bound set of papers, in this case mainly pamphlets, which were acquired by officials in Whitehall and have ended up becoming part of the collection here at The National Archives.

      The state papers hold hundreds of such pamphlets demonstrating how new ideas emerged during the 1640s.

      The English Civil War began in 1642, after years of political tensions between the king and the English Parliament, whose MPs believed that Charles was damaging their interests.

      Parliament's New Model Army, a professional fighting force established in 1645, proved decisive and the king was forced to seek support from the Scottish.

      Failing in this, he returned to England and was captured in 1646.

      Parliament ruled in the king's absence, but it was deeply unpopular given the high taxes that were needed to maintain its army.

      When the king was captured, he was placed under house arrest at Hampton Court Palace, where he schemed to see if he could exploit the army's differences with Parliament to secure a favourable settlement for himself.

      The New Model Army was under the command of General Thomas Fairfax, while multiple senior MPs were also successful military commanders such as Oliver Cromwell and his son-in-law, Henry Ireton.

      The army briefly entered London in June 1647 as a warning to Parliament not to risk its position, before retreating just outside the city to Putney, where Fairfax set up camp.

      Fairfax also did something innovative.

      He established a forum for debate among his soldiers over the summer of 1647, known as the General Council of the Army, where representatives from each regiment assembled to debate what a settlement with the king would look like.

      Fairfax was greatly respected by his officers, but he was not a political animal.

      Another commander was needed to develop a settlement, and this was Henry Ireton.

      The leadership of the new model, known as the Army Grandees, worked out plans for a future government known as The Heads of the Proposals.

      Mainly written by Ireton, these were to form the basis of a negotiated settlement with the king.

      They were published in the summer of 1647 as the New Model slowly advanced towards London.

      The Heads of the Proposals were genuinely innovative, and are only considered to be conservative because they were subsequently compared to more radical proposals, and they had four main elements.

      That Charles I would be restored to the throne, but his executive power would be severely restricted, forcing him to govern alongside a Council of state for a fixed period.

      Parliaments were to be called every two years with redistributed seats to make representation fairer, ensuring Parliament could not be dissolved without its own consent.

      Control of the army and navy would be handed over to Parliament for a period of ten years, to prevent the king from using military force against his subjects.

      And the proposals also advocated for a broad religious freedom for Protestants, repealing the legal enforcement of the Book of Common Prayer.

      The proposals were presented to the king at the end of July, and had he agreed to them a new Parliament would have been elected, that would likely have endorsed the Heads, enabling him to lead a new form of government.

      But these were not conservative proposals, and the king failed to take his chance to engage with them.

      The Heads were first debated at the General Council of the Army at Putney on the 9th of September, and then again on the 16th of September, when a new authorised edition of them was published.

      But not everyone in the army agreed with the Heads, and a split emerged, especially between the Army Grandees and the lower ranks, who were represented at Putney by the Agitators, as well as their civilian allies known as the Levellers.

      Few could conceive of a post-war government without the king at its head, but throughout the 1640s, new ideas were emerging from the crucible of war.

      From 1645, the Levellers began to advocate for radical political reforms that would have fundamentally altered the English political landscape, expanding the suffrage and allowing all men over 21 to vote while dissolving the social contract by revoking the crown's political authority and vesting it solely in 'the people', claiming that they, and not the crown, were sovereign.

      These were truly radical ideas.

      The Levellers' proposals evolved rapidly, and by October 1647 a reasonably coherent and radical political agenda had been established, enabled by the breakdown of authority during the war.

      Effectively, new men with new ideas had gained an audience.

      For most soldiers, however, their goals were simpler.

      The army was owed a large amount of back pay, which Parliament was attempting to withhold, and this created serious tensions among the general ranks of soldiers.

      Having fought and risked their lives for Parliament while seeing many of their comrades die in battle, they now wanted not just payment, but they began to respond to the new ideas about their place in the world.

      The General Council of the Army convened again at Saint Mary's Church on the 28th October, 1647, when radical Levellers presented a manifesto titled An Agreement of the People, which declared that ultimate political power rests with the people, not a monarch or parliament, establishing foundational native rights that no government could legally strip away.

      The Levellers went on to argue that the Long Parliament should be dissolved, with future parliaments elected every two years based purely on population size rather than historic unequal boroughs.

      They called for equality under the law, explicitly stating that no individual's tenure, estate, degree or birth could exempt them from the ordinary legal process, and they argued that religious freedom was to be treated as an unalterable right.

      The government was strictly forbidden from compelling any citizen in matters of religion or enforcing national worship styles.

      These were extraordinary ideas at the time.

      The following day, 29th October, was the most famous day of debate when Colonel Thomas Rainsborough argued for the rights of the poor, famously stating that "the poorest he that is in England, had a life to live as the greatest he."

      This was a step too far for the Army Grandees, and Henry Ireton fiercely countered that voting rights should belong only to men who own property, as they alone had a vested interest in the future of the country.

      On the 1st November, the Levellers demanded a complete overhaul of the government, maintaining that ultimate power must rest squarely with the representatives of the people, not a king.

      Then, on the 5th November, the Levellers won a crucial committee vote to push forward with the radical franchise reforms, extending voting rights to all men except servants and beggars.

      This deeply alarmed the Army Grandees, and in the coming days, Cromwell and Fairfax reasserted control, fearing that the army would fracture into anarchy and mutiny.

      Fairfax proposed the suspension of the General Council debates, instead meeting each regiment individually.

      This effectively brought an end to the debates, and was soon followed by the king's escape, which reignited the Civil War.

      But the ideas that emerged over the summer and autumn of 1647 could not be unheard.

      While the Levellers might have failed to achieve their immediate aims, their ideas had a significant legacy.

      The second Civil War again ended in Royalist defeat, which ultimately led to Charles I being put on trial and executed.

      This was the biggest single rupture in English history, nor did the Levellers' ideas disappear.

      True Levellers or Diggers, led by Edward Saxby, continued to seek a new settlement, and the New Model rank and file periodically sought to influence political moments.

      One such instance was in 1659, when Richard Cromwell's government collapsed, and with it the Protectorate, and there was political agitation for the Good Old Cause that had been advocated by the Levellers.

      The ideas were influential on the Enlightenment in France in the mid-18th century, and they influenced the development of modern democracy by promoting popular sovereignty, equality before the law, religious tolerance and expanded suffrage.

      Though suppressed in their own time, the Levellers' vision helped shape later movements such as the Radical Whigs, the Chartists, and broader democratic reforms in Britain and beyond.

   Video questions

   • Why did the number of political pamphlets grow in the 1640s?
   • How were these pamphlets used as political propaganda by Royalists, Parliamentarians and others during the Civil Wars?
   • How did these pamphlets aim to appeal to the reader?
   • Why is the State Papers' collection of pamphlets important for historians of the Civil Wars?
   • What was the purpose of the General Council of the Army set up by General Fairfax in 1647?
   • What were the four key proposals in the New Model Army’s Heads of the Proposals?
   • How did Charles I respond to these proposals?
   • How and why was the army divided in opinion over the Heads of the Proposals at the Putney Debates?
   • What demands were ultimately made by the Levellers through an Agreement of the People? Why was it so radical?
   • Who were the Diggers?
   • What was the legacy of Leveller ideas beyond the 17th century?

2. Source 2: Mercurius Civicus: Londons Intelligencer

   The collapse of royal censorship during the English Civil Wars offered a fantastic opportunity for political pamphlets. New political ideas in opposition to the King could be shared without restriction. The King countered with his own pamphlets and proclamations.

   This pamphlet was published in 1643 in London. It consists of four quarto pages and cost one penny and can be considered one of the earliest newspapers.

   'Mercurius Civicus' is Latin for: ‘The City Mercury’.

   1. 

      A true Relation of the Repulse of Cavaliers

      From Plymouth, Arundel Castle surrendered to [Lord] Hopton:

      Mr Pym interred in Westminster Abbey

      Mercurius Civicus

      LONDON’S

      INTELLIGENCER

      OR,

      Truth impartially related from thence to the whole Kingdome to prevent misinformation

      From Thursday Decem.7. to Thursday Decem.14. 1643

   Examine the source

   • How often was this news pamphlet published?
   • Why do you think it was possible to publish pamphlets like this during the English Civil Wars?
   • What techniques of persuasion are used in the pamphlet? Can you infer its bias?
   • Who is the audience for this document? Explain your reasons with reference to the document.
   • According to the document, ‘Mr Pym [was] interred in Westminster Abbey’ and the illustration probably shows his portrait. Find out about his role in the English Civil Wars.
   • What evidence is there of Victorian archiving techniques in the document?

3. Source 3: Mercurius Britanicus

   This pamphlet refers to another pamphlet called Mercurius Aulicus or Court Messenger which supported King Charles I. The pamphlet promoted the Royalist cause in London, which supported the Parliamentarian cause. In November 1642, Charles I had moved his court to Oxford.

   1. 

      ‘Mercurius Britanicus (The British Mercury):

      Communicating the affaires of great

      BRITAINE:

      For the Better Information of the People’

      From Thursday the 3rd of November to Thursday the 7 of December 1643.

      Aulicus this week takes notice of Sunday, because it is, sayes he The Anniversary of our most gracious Soveraigne Lord the King; This is pure Court-Divinity, he doth not observe it you see, because it is the Lords-Day, but our Soveraigne Lord the Kings Day: Good Reader helpe me against this blasphemy, and profanation (disrespect to God) from Oxford, against this Sabbath Treason; for like an insolent Subject, he entitles his sacred Majestie to the violation; Are these the Royalists the good Subjects? Hath his Majestie Royallized them with his presence so long, till he hath almost ruined his Kingdomes, and is this the recompense? The service? The loyalty? The Allegiance?

      The King’s deeds and sufferings

      He tells us the King hath done and suffered more than all his predecessors since the Conquest; Aulicus, we acknowledge it with sad hearts and hands, he hath done more than any of his Predecessors; What do you mean? He hath deserted his Grad-Council more than ever his Predecessors have done; Proclaimed his Parliament Traitors, suffered them to call them to be called Pretended Houses, more than ever his Predecessors; Protected Delinquents against Law and Justice; Set up a Standard for Papists, and Foreigners; tolerated Priests and Jesuits at his Court; Left a Kingdome of Ireland to the mercy of bloody Rebells; Broken his Protestations, his Declarations, his promises to his people, more than ever his Predecessors: Aulicus, this is your meaning…

   Examine the source

   • Why do you think this pamphlet was named Mercurius Britanicus?
   • How and why is Charles I criticised about the observation of the Sabbath day (Sunday)?
   • What other criticisms are made of Charles I’s rule?
   • How would you describe the writing style and tone of the article?
   • How effective is the article as an example of political propaganda for the parliamentarian cause?
   • How frequently was this pamphlet published?

4. Source 4: The Scotish Dove, Sent Out, and Returning

   This was another important pro-Parliament pamphlet published during the English Civil Wars. Other issues included an image of a dove accompanied by the words ‘be wise as serpents, innocent as doves’. It was printed in London, but showed support for the Scots, who during the Civil Wars made a military alliance with the English Parliament against Charles I.

   1. 

      The Scotish Dove, Sent out and Returning;

      Bringing Intelligence from their Army, and makes some Relations of other observable Passages of both KINGDOMES, for Information and instruction.

      From the 20. of October to the 27. of the same.

      Our Dove having discharged her first duty, and returned with her Intelligence, hath her Commission renewed; makes further Relation at Edinburgh, of the present condition of the affairs in England, and brings Intelligence from thence of their proceedings: First, she relates to them with lamentation, the continuance of our miseries in England, daily augmented (made worse) by cruelties, outrages, rapine, plunder and violence of all kindes; to all sexes, goods, and persons of His Majesty’s best Subjects: And that His Majesty will not yet see how he is misled by the seducing flatteries of incarnate devils; to protect the persons of those that seek his own destruction, and the destruction of his three kingdoms…

   Examine the source

   • Explain the meaning of the title and its biblical reference in the pamphlet.
   • To which city does the Scotish Dove report England’s difficulties? Why do you think this is the case?
   • What problems were experienced by the English, according to this article?
   • Who does the article blame for King Charles’s mistakes and poor judgement?
   • What are the similarities and differences between this source and Source 3?

5. Source 5: Extracts from the Heads of the Proposals

   In the summer of 1647, Thomas Fairfax, commander of the New Model Army, set up a forum for his soldiers called the General Council of the Army. Representatives from each regiment debated what a future settlement with Charles I would look like.

   The Heads of the Proposals were published as a pamphlet. These were a series of proposals drawn up by leaders or ‘Grandees’ of the New Model Army intended to negotiate with King Charles I to end the civil war. The aim was ‘the clearing and securing of the Rights, and Liberties of the Kingdome, and the settling of a just and lasting Peace’.

   1. 

      1. That Parliaments may Biennially (called every two years) be called, and meet a certain day, with such provision for the certainty thereof, as in the late Act was made for the Trienniall- Parliaments, (called every three years) and what further or other provision shall be found needfull by the Parliament , to reduce it to more certainty; and upon the passing of this, the said Act for Trienniall-Parliaments to be repealed.
      2. Each Bienniall parliament to sit 120 dayes certain (unless adjourned or dissolved sooner by their own consent) afterwards to be adjournable or dissolveable by the King; and no Parliament to sit past 240 dayes, from their first meeting or some other limited number of dayes now to be agreed on: upon the expiration whereof, each Parliament to dissolve of course, if not otherwise dissolved sooner.
      3. The King upon the advice of the Councell of State in the intervals betwixt Bienniall-Parliaments, to call a Parliament extraordinary, provided it meet above seventie days before the next Biennial day, and be dissolved at least sixtie days before the same, so as the course of Bienniall-elections may never bee interrupted.
      4. That this Parliament and each succeeding Bienniall Parliament, at, or before adjournment, or dissolution thereof, may appoint Committees to continue during the interval, for such purposes as are in any of these Proposals referred to such Committees.
      5. That the Elections of the Commons for succeeding Parliaments, may be distributed to all Counties, or other parts or divisions of the Kingdomes, according to some rule of equality or proportion, so as all Counties, may have a number of Parliament members allowed of their choice, proportionable to the respective Rates they beare in the common charges, and burthen of the Kingdome, according to some other rule of equality.

   2. 

      XII That there be a repeale of all Acts or Clauses in any Act, (from previous page (9), not shown.)

      (10)

      enjoyning (ordering) the use of the Book of Common Prayer, and imposing any penalties, for the neglect thereof, as also of all Acts or Clauses in any Act, imposing any penalty for not coming to Church, or for meetings elsewhere, for prayer, or other religious duties, exercises or Ordinances, and some provision to be made for the discovering of Papists and Popish recusants, and for disabling of them, and of all Jesuits, or Priests for disturbing the State.

      XIII. That taking of the Covenant be not enforced upon any, nor any penalties imposed upon the Refusers, whereby men might be constrained to take it against their judgements, or consciences, but all Orders or Ordinances tending to that purpose be repealed.

      XIV. That (the things here before proposed, being provided for settling and securing the Rights, Liberties, Peace and Safety of the Kingdome) his Majesties person, His Queen, and Royall issue, may be restored to a condition of safety, Honour, and freedom in this Nation, without diminution (reduction) to their personal Rights, or further limitation to the exercise of the Regall (royal) power the according to the particulars aforegoing. (previously explained.)

      Source glossary

      • Book of Common Prayer: Charles I wanted to align religious worship in England and Scotland by making Scottish Presbyterian practices closer to traditional Anglican liturgy. Therefore, he imposed the Book of Common Prayer in Scotland which was greeted by massive resistance.
      • Popish recusants: Roman Catholics who refused to attend compulsory Church of England services
      • Papists: offensive term used to describe Roman Catholics during the English Reformation.
      • Jesuits: Order of Catholic priests established in 1534.
      • Covenant: this means the Solemn League and Covenant, a 1643 religious and military alliance between the English Parliament and supporters of the Scottish Presbyterian Church.

   Examine the source

   • According to the Heads of the Proposals why was the Triennial Act to be repealed?
   • Why do you think the proposals were so specific about the frequency and duration of parliaments?
   • What institution was to exist between the calling of parliaments? (Clue: see points 3 & 4.)
   • What changes were proposed to ensure that the counties could elect their own members of Parliament?
   • How were the Heads of the Proposals designed to address religious grievances of all the Kingdoms in the second extract?
   • How was the royal family to be treated according to these proposals?
   • Why do you think Charles I did not accept these proposals?
   • Using both extracts, and your own knowledge, make a list of five key causes of the English Civil Wars.

6. Source 6: Front page of An Agreement of the People

   From February 1647 Parliament tried to disband the New Model Army without payment of wages. In March, representatives, known as ‘Agitators’ were elected by various regiments to demand redress. The Agitators represented ordinary soldiers against the army leadership by the Grandees. The army split, and this faction supported the more radical political demands of the Levellers.

   1. 

      PROPOSALS

      From

      NINE REGIAMENTS of HORSE and,

      SEVEN REGIAMENTS of FOOT for a

      MODELL of an AGREEMENT

      OF THE

      PEOPLE

      FOR

      A firm and present Peace, upon grounds of common right and freedom.

      As it was proposed by the Agents of the five Regiaments of Horse, to be offered to the joynt concurrence of all the free Commons of England.

      And since adhered to by the General approbation of the ARMY.

      November 4. 1647 Imprimatur G.M.

      First Printed for the Agitators, and use of the Army,

      And reprinted by Robert Ibbitson, in Smithfield, 1647

7. Source 7: Extract from An Agreement of the People

   1. 

      Therefore these things in the Agreement, the people are to claime as their native right, and price of their blood, which you are obliged absolutely to procure for them.

      And these being the foundations of freedom, its necessary that they should bee settled unalterably, which can be by no means, but this Agreement with the people.

      And we cannot by mind you, that the ease of the people in all their Grievances depends upon the Setling those principles or rules of Equal Government for a free people and were but this Agreement established, doubtless all the Grievances of the Army and People would be redressed immediately, and all things propounded in your Case truly to be insisted on, would be forth with granted…

   Examine the source

   • What does the term ‘native right’ mean for the people?
   • What are the aims of the Agreement of the People?
   • How will the army benefit from the Agreement of the People?

8. Source 8: More extracts from An Agreement of the People

   1. 

      That the people of England being at this day very unequally distributed by Counties, Cities, and Buroughs, for the election of their Deputies in Parliament, ought to be more indifferently (fairly) proportioned (divided), according to the number of the Inhabitants; the circumstances whereof, the number, place, and manner, are to be set downe before the end of this present Parliament.

      That to prevent the many inconveniences apparently arising, from the long continuance of the same

   2. 

      (4)

      persons in authority, this present Parliament to be dissolved upon the last day of September, which shall be in the year of our Lord, 1648.

      III

      That the People doe of course chuse themselves a Parliament once in two years, viz upon the first Thursday in every second March, after the manner as shall be prescribed before this present Parliament end, to begin to sit upon the first Thursday in April following at Westminster, or such other place as shall be appointed from time to time by the preceding Representatives, and to continue till the last day of September then next ensuing, and no longer.

   3. 

      Extract C

      1. That in all the laws made, or to be made, every person may bee bound alike, and that Tenure, Estate, Charter, Degree, Birth, or place, do not confer any exception from the ordinary Course of Legall proceedings whereunto others are subjected.
      2. That as the Laws ought to bee equall, so they must bee good, and not evidently destructive to the safety and well-being of the people.

      These things we declare to be our native Rights and therefore are agreed and resolved to maintaine them with our utmost possibilities, against all opposition whatsoever, being compelled thereunto, not onely by the examples of our Ancestors, whose blood was often spent in vaine for the recovery of their freedoms, suffering themselves, through fraudulent accommodations, to bee still deluded…

   Examine the source

   • Article I from an Agreement of the People demanded universal suffrage (the right to vote) for all men. How different is this from the Heads of the Proposals?
   • Why do you think that Article II demands the end of the present Parliament, known as the Long Parliament?
   • How does Article III compare to the Heads of the Proposals on matters of parliamentary frequency?
   • How are points (4) and (5) designed to ensure justice for everyone in the country?
   • How does the language of these extracts from an Agreement of the People differ from the Heads of the Proposals?
   • Why is an Agreement of the People a more radical document?

Extension activities

• Write profiles of Levellers: John Lilburne, Richard Overton, and William Walwyn.
• Why did Cromwell and other military leaders consider the Levellers' democratic demands and army agitation a threat to the army and social order?
• What were the key differences between the Heads of the Proposals and the Agreement of the People?
• Discuss and debate your choice for the most useful or interesting sources in this lesson for understanding the causes of the English Civil Wars.