Pride's Purge

Pride's Purge was the December 1648 exclusion of many members of England's Long Parliament by soldiers under Colonel Thomas Pride. It left a reduced assembly that ordered the trial of Charles I.

Long Parliament: The English Parliament summoned by Charles I in 1640, which sat through the English Civil Wars and beyond. The purge was an intervention in this parliament, removing members from its Commons.
Second English Civil War: The 1648 conflict between Royalist forces and Parliamentarians in England, Wales, and parts of Scotland. The army's victory in this war strengthened demands to punish Charles I and obstruct negotiations.
Execution of Charles I: The public beheading of Charles I outside the Banqueting House in London on 30 January 1649. The reduced Commons authorized the king's execution after the purge.
Army Remonstrance of 1648: A petition presented by the New Model Army in November 1648 demanding justice against Charles I and changes to government. It set out the army's stated case for action against a Parliament still negotiating with the king.
Thomas Pride: An officer in the New Model Army who led soldiers enforcing the exclusion of MPs in December 1648. He commanded the soldiers who carried out the purge at the Commons entrance.
Treaty of Newport: The 1648 negotiations on the Isle of Wight between Charles I and Parliament, aimed at resolving the civil wars. The army rejected the settlement Parliament pursued with the king, helping precipitate the purge.
Commonwealth of England: The republican government established in England after the monarchy and House of Lords were abolished in 1649. The Rump Parliament proclaimed the Commonwealth after the king's execution.
Grand Remonstrance: A 1641 parliamentary statement criticizing Charles I's policies and demanding reforms, adopted by a narrow Commons majority. Unlike this earlier parliamentary challenge, the purge used soldiers to determine which MPs could deliberate.
Rump Parliament: The reduced House of Commons remaining after Pride's Purge, which governed England until 1653. The purge created this diminished assembly by excluding or detaining many MPs.
Remonstrance of the Army: A 1648 statement by the New Model Army calling for the king to face justice and for political reforms. Its demands clashed with Parliament's renewed negotiations and foreshadowed military intervention.

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