Introduction

With richard cromwell's defacto abdication in may 16 59, the rump parliament was back in power. By this point, there were only 78 members left, and their base of political support was so narrow it didn't even cast a shadow. But both the army and navy pledged their support, so the rump was insulated from its manifest unpopularity. Te task facing the returning m ps was, first, govern the country adequately,. Second, think up a method of political succession - because nobody is going to be able to tolerate the rump sitting indefinitely. And third, keep the army and Navy happy. They basically decided to do none of these things because that