Leveller England

A fully developed version of the Agreement was issued in May 1649 which proposed:
  • The right to vote for all men over the age of 21 (excepting servants, beggars and Royalists);
  • No army officer, treasurer or lawyer could be an MP (to prevent conflict of interest);
  • Annual elections to Parliament with MPs serving one term only;
  • Equality of all persons before the law;
  • Trials should be heard before 12 jurymen, freely chosen by their community.
  • No-one could be punished for refusing to testify against themselves in criminal cases;
  • The law should proceed in English and cases should not extend longer than six months;
  • The death penalty to be applied only in cases of murder;
  • Abolition of imprisonment for debt;
  • Tithes should be abolished and parishioners have the right to choose their ministers;
  • Taxation in proportion to real or personal property;
  • Abolition of military conscription, monopolies and excise taxes.
This is a boiled down version of the Agreement of the People, the manifesto of the Levellers, a group within England's New Model Army (NMA) who advocated radical social reform. The group was extremely popular among the regular soldiers of the NMA, and had to be forcibly suppressed by the NMA ruling body, the Army Council.

There were several Leveller-inspired mutinies, all of which were suppressed. So what-if sometime between 1647 and 1649 the Levellers are able to launch a successful coup. The now Leveller-led NMA forces Parliament to pass an updated version of the Agreement of the People as the first English constitution, and elections are held soon after.

Effects?
 

Thande

Donor
You'd have to get rid of Cromwell.

I'm not sure if the Levellers could have come to power, although it's an interesting thought.

I suspect they would be overthrown by the Restoration just as readily. The English people tend to tire of flighty reformist ideas in favour of stability, especially in the 17th century.
 
I had an idea for an ASB thread with a similar concept, though I never actually posted it: WI all Puritans in England, Scotland and Ireland became convinced Levellers.
It would not get rid Cromwell, but he'd be a Leveller in any case, so it wouldn't matter.
 
The coup would have to be after the Second Civil War. At that point the New Model Army was the only power in the land, so if the NMA was taken over by Leveller leadership, they would be in a position to impose their reforms on the country.

I think these reforms would have very wide popular support, and once enacted would be hard to take away. By giving the vote to such a wide swath of the population I think that you're giving them a stake in the government, a stake that no previous regime had seen fit to hand them. I'm going to predict that the Leveller Republic would have both popular support and the means to maintain itself in the face of foreign opposition. After all there has been no successful invasion of England without her consent since 1066.

My question would be, once the reforms were enacted and the new Parliaments start holding session, what would compel the people of England to bow down to a King?
 
Why would they be popular? British society in the 17th century has nothing along the lines of a mass media that can propagate Leveller ideas and propaganda amongst the population, meaning that, for much of the populace, the only word they would receive of the Levellers would be from their local vicar or the occasional letter (either of which may or may not be against the project). Furthermore, I think you're forgetting that a lot of Cromwell's power rested on the fact that a lot of gentry, while not exactly supporting Cromwell, at least didn't actively oppose him. There is no way that they would support a Leveller government in this context, and City merchants and so on, which were fairly important for the success of Cromwell OTL, will be fully against this. In short, basically you're up against the vast majority of Parliamentarians, local elites and the moneyed interests - it's going to be a very hard task getting the Levellers to anything approximating a position of power, and it'll be almost impossible for them to maintain power for any length of time, as the British people tend to look with suspicion upon radical ideas, and the Levellers ideas are about as radical as they get.
 
Why would they be popular? British society in the 17th century has nothing along the lines of a mass media that can propagate Leveller ideas and propaganda amongst the population, meaning that, for much of the populace, the only word they would receive of the Levellers would be from their local vicar or the occasional letter (either of which may or may not be against the project).

I think you're really underestimating the power of that era's "mass media." Printing presses had been in operation for centuries at this point. Furthermore, the Levellers enjoyed a high level of support among the regular soldiers of the New Model Army, based primarily on the religious radicalization that the NMA underwent. There were Puritan chaplains with every unit. England had been pretty deeply changed by the Civil War, and I think that a lot of those local vicars would be in favor of these changes.

Furthermore, I think you're forgetting that a lot of Cromwell's power rested on the fact that a lot of gentry, while not exactly supporting Cromwell, at least didn't actively oppose him. There is no way that they would support a Leveller government in this context, and City merchants and so on, which were fairly important for the success of Cromwell OTL, will be fully against this.

I think that you're forgetting that their was no check on the New Model Army's power. They gone to war for Parliament, defeated the King once, then defeated him again, then purged Parliament, then executed the King. At this point there was no way to oppose to the New Model Army with military force. If Leveller leadership takes over in an internal coup, then the country will march to whatever tune the Army plays.

In short, basically you're up against the vast majority of Parliamentarians, local elites and the moneyed interests - it's going to be a very hard task getting the Levellers to anything approximating a position of power, and it'll be almost impossible for them to maintain power for any length of time, as the British people tend to look with suspicion upon radical ideas, and the Levellers ideas are about as radical as they get.

As I state above, the New Model Army was the only power in the land. Also, I think that the ENGLISH people (not British yet) might be willing to accept these radical ideas. The Parliament, put the King on trail for treason against his own country and then executed him. That is extraordinarily radical. A bill of rights, to protect the people from the supposed evils that the King had committed, is it really that far of a leap? After all, if you don't actually get anything out of killing the King, then what was the point?
 
If Cromwell were somehow persuaded that the Levellers were inspired by God he might have used his skills to promote instead of destroy their cause.

However, depending somewhat on how organized people were, what might happen if a freely elected Parliament invited Charles II back.

(I am not saying that would happen but we do not know what public opinion might have been like and peasants, the majority of the people, are often quite conservative or even reactionary)
 

Thande

Donor
I think these reforms would have very wide popular support, and once enacted would be hard to take away. By giving the vote to such a wide swath of the population I think that you're giving them a stake in the government, a stake that no previous regime had seen fit to hand them. I'm going to predict that the Leveller Republic would have both popular support and the means to maintain itself in the face of foreign opposition.

I really doubt that; in OTL Cromwell made plenty of voting reforms (abolishing the rotten boroughs, giving more votes to recently growing towns) which were then swept away by Charles II at the Restoration.

In fact in OTL one of the reasons why electoral reform in Britain was delayed until the 1830s was 'Cromwell did it, therefore it's wrong'.

If the Levellers put in universal suffrage, I doubt England would have universal suffrage now, as it would have been reversed at the Restoration and then been taboo afterwards.
 

Thande

Donor
If Cromwell were somehow persuaded that the Levellers were inspired by God he might have used his skills to promote instead of destroy their cause.

However, depending somewhat on how organized people were, what might happen if a freely elected Parliament invited Charles II back.

(I am not saying that would happen but we do not know what public opinion might have been like and peasants, the majority of the people, are often quite conservative or even reactionary)

A parliament elected by universal suffrage in the late 1640s would definitely be Royalist.

Heck, that happened even in OTL when suffrage was limited, which was one reason why Cromwell had to rule without Parliament in the first place.
 
Remember Cromwell held power mostly because the radical "saints" in the army trusted him to do the Godly thing while the Gentry trusted him to be true to his roots and support the (small) landed gentry. His policy wobbled between the two positions.

As soon as he died the Commonwealth collapsed as nobdy else could hold the two parties in balance. If he had supported the levellers then the army lords would have thrown thier lot in with the Royalists and we would get an early restoration.

So how do we get a leveller Britain?

Suppose the army is even more radicalised and Cromwell dies in Battle. Parliament is overthrown and a sort of Rule of the Saints imposed.
I imagine it would be a little like the Reign of Terror in the French Revolution.

The constitution might protect freedom of religion but hunting papists is good sport:D.
I suspect the whole system would collapse pretty quick.

However with that as a model what do future radicals do?
Chartist republic of Great Britain and Ireland anybody?
 
cut bit about Cromwell being politically unable to support levellers.

Suppose the army is even more radicalised and Cromwell dies in Battle. Parliament is overthrown and a sort of Rule of the Saints imposed. I imagine it would be a little like the Reign of Terror in the French Revolution.

The thing that I think would set this apart from our modern experience of Revolutions (and a Revolution this would be) is that its intellectual grounding is coming from an entirely different place than any modern Revolution. Their argument in support of "natural rights" for all men was backed up not by humanist or enlightenment philosophy, but with theology. They argued that there was biblical support for "natural rights." In order for the Levellers to take power, furthermore, it is not important that they gain support from any public institutions. Rather, they must simply take over the Army.

The regular soldiers of the army appeared to have a lot of support for the Levellers and their agenda. Reading the history, there were 3 separate mutinies, and the Army Council actually had a debate, called the Putney Debate, to discuss the Levellers complaints and ideas. The Army Council recognized the danger that the Leveller agenda represented to them and suppressed it.

The constitution might protect freedom of religion but hunting papists is good sport:D.

That bit about religious liberty was for everyone except Catholics. Catholics are actually specifically picked out in the full versions of the Agreements as not being included in freedom of religion.

I suspect the whole system would collapse pretty quick.

My question is, if the Levellers are able to gain control of the Army, then what would stop them?

So the POD is that instead of small unorganized mutinies the Levellers raise a significant part of the army in revolt. The Grandees demand that they disarm, they refuse, shots are fired, and there would be a Third Civil War, between the Leveller Army and the Grandee Army. This would have to happen in the immediate aftermath of the execution of the King, because by 1650 the Levellers had been destroyed. This actually works in the Levellers favor though. The execution was very recent, and the Grandees were the ones responsible for it. So the civil war would have to stay an internal affair, because neither side is going to become Royalist. The Levellers have significant support in the City of London, and would be able to win over the city. With London under their control the Levellers win a major propaganda victory. Their message of equality before the law gets a lot of support from common people, and the Grandees are having a tough time holding their army together. By 1652, after suffering a major defeat, the Grandees negotiate the terms of their surrender. Their soldiers are pardoned, but the Army Council leadership is forced into exile. The Levellers are now in control of England.

A parliament elected by universal suffrage in the late 1640s would definitely be Royalist.

Heck, that happened even in OTL when suffrage was limited, which was one reason why Cromwell had to rule without Parliament in the first place.

Because certain things were true in limited sufferage, does not mean that they would be true in universal sufferage. For instance, in the Reconstruction South, I don't think that blacks would have been elected had there not been universal sufferage. By the same token non-propertied commoners could not sit in the House of Commons until certain voting rules were changed because they did not meet the voting requirements. Popular opinion was not really known, because there was no polling in 17th century England, and no voting for the great mass of people. If Leveller England suddenly gave every freeborn man the right to help make decisions that would affect his life, then they might support that regime.
 
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I think you're approaching this from the point of view that the people actually want to have the power to vote. Of course, there's no evidence from the time as it was never a serious question, but I doubt they would - the country's recovering from a civil war, many people's homes and crops will have been burnt, I suspect being able to vote will be the last thing on their mind, especially considering that it's a pretty alien idea. Besides which, the people were horrified at the execution of Charles I - so the question of 'defending their newly gotten gains from the Stewarts' doesn't really come into it, as a large proportion of the population, probably a majority, would support a Restoration.

I think you're overestimating the power of the New Model Army. While it was the primary military power on the British Isles, it wasn't a homogenous entity - there would be many officers who would heartily disapprove of the Levellers and act to crush them. Not to mention that, pre-1651/52, you still have to deal with the Scottish army, over 20,000 troops, which is either in Scotland or coming over the Border. If the New Model Army is supporting something as radical as the policies of the Levellers, the chances of the Scots' success under Charles II and General Leslie is a lot larger.

As for British vs English, depending upon when in the 1650s you're talking it is in a British context. Even pre-Cromwellian Union with Scotland, it would be foolish to take the idea out of a British context. The main problem with the Levellers is that Leveller control would usher in a long period of unrest and instability. Cromwell managed to gain the support of the more conservative groups in society, and that in a large part was responsible for the (relative) success of his regime. The Levellers would have alienated those groups, and it's likely that they would sponsor a restoration even more than they did in OTL.
 
I think you're approaching this from the point of view that the people actually want to have the power to vote. Of course, there's no evidence from the time as it was never a serious question, but I doubt they would - the country's recovering from a civil war, many people's homes and crops will have been burnt, I suspect being able to vote will be the last thing on their mind, especially considering that it's a pretty alien idea. Besides which, the people were horrified at the execution of Charles I - so the question of 'defending their newly gotten gains from the Stewarts' doesn't really come into it, as a large proportion of the population, probably a majority, would support a Restoration.

Its not the right to vote in my mind that is the most important of the reforms that the Agreement of the People puts forward. Equality before the law, abolition of imprisonment for debt, abolition of monopolies and excise tax, and taxation in proportion to personnel property, are all reforms that would go a long way in improving the situation of small landowners and petty bourgeoious (sp), and thus would, I believe, get popular support for these policies. Since the country is recovering from a Civil War, these reforms would be all the more important because of the economic difficulties that the Civil War would have imposed on the common people.

I think you're overestimating the power of the New Model Army. While it was the primary military power on the British Isles, it wasn't a homogenous entity - there would be many officers who would heartily disapprove of the Levellers and act to crush them. Not to mention that, pre-1651/52, you still have to deal with the Scottish army, over 20,000 troops, which is either in Scotland or coming over the Border. If the New Model Army is supporting something as radical as the policies of the Levellers, the chances of the Scots' success under Charles II and General Leslie is a lot larger.

I address the fact that the Levellers would not be popular with a great many in the Army, that's why I'm proposing a third round of civil wars between the Leveller forces and the Army Council (Grandee) forces, as the POD.

The window for that POD is really quite small. It would really be based around two things, the organization of the Levellers into a cohesive faction within the Army, and that faction's ability to raise a significant portion of the Army in revolt. So let's say that the Levellers organize during the Putney debates, which were held in October/November 1647. The Second English Civil War happens as OTL, and the Army reacts the same way at the end of it, committing "Pride's Purge" and having Charles executed.

With the removal via execution of Charles a major Leveller plank, that the King be removed, has been completed. The execution also serves to radicalize the Army because it has made the Army into regicides and made a Kingless future, that is a Republic, the only real choice. With an organized Leveller faction now within the officer corps the desire for the Leveller's program spreads and is used to expand the Leveller faction.

When the Bishopgate Mutiny takes place the Leveller faction, fearing that they will be attacked, reacts. Leveller supporter arrest Cromwell, Fairfax, and Ireton and the Leveller leadership declares itself the new Army Council. The Leveller Army Council declares that the Agreement of the People is to be the new manifesto of the Army, and requires that all units swear and sign alliegence to the new manifesto. The pro-Grandee forces are left disorganized, with their leadership in Leveller custody. The Leveller faction raises its civilian supporters in London, taking over the city, and officers loyal to the Leveller cause raise their units in support of the new Army Council.

The coup in England encourages the already suspicious Scottish Conventer forces to reach out to Charles II for an alliance. Charles II moves up the date of his arrival in Scotland, hoping to take advantage of the unrest in England. Charles II lands in Feb 1650 in Scotland, and signs agreements with the Scots that bring them onto his side. Pro-Grandee units basically have the choice of joining Charles II or joining the Levellers. Most of the Pro-Grandee units choose to submit to the new manifesto.

The Third Civil War is fought much as OTL, with the New Model Army beating Charles in a series of battles. The final battle sees Charles II killed, and the Royalist cause across the British Isles collapse. With the Royalists destroyed the Levellers are now in control of England and Scotland, and proceed with an invasion of Ireland to suppress rebels there.

Domestic polities are now ready to be addressed. The Rump Parliament is at odds with the Army and is dissolved in favor of new elections. The Army already realizes that the elections will be difficult to carry out, and so dissolves the “Rump Parliament.” The Army Council takes over governing, and declares the Agreement of the People the Republic’s new Constitution. Elections are set to be held in 1654 under the new constitution.

During this time the Leveller leadership works to build support for its programs. When the elections come they are supervised by the Army, and Levellers dominate the first Republican Parliament.

To address the Scottish threat, though the Levellers may not be popular, but I don't think that the Scotch forces, who were trying to impose their own religious views (Presbyterianism), would be any more popular. At least the Levellers are Englishmen, who hold the same religious convictions as most the English people. The Scottish forces viewed themselves as foreigners. Charles II was able to get Scotland to unite for him because he signed agreement recognizing the independence of the Scottish church, and because the Scotch forces that had been allied to the Parliamentry forces thought that the English were going to infringe of their independence.

As for British vs English, depending upon when in the 1650s you're talking it is in a British context. Even pre-Cromwellian Union with Scotland, it would be foolish to take the idea out of a British context. The main problem with the Levellers is that Leveller control would usher in a long period of unrest and instability. Cromwell managed to gain the support of the more conservative groups in society, and that in a large part was responsible for the (relative) success of his regime. The Levellers would have alienated those groups, and it's likely that they would sponsor a restoration even more than they did in OTL.

Remember that it was the army that imposed the Republic in the first place, marching on Parliament after the Second Civil War and carrying out "Pride's Purge" on Parliament. In my reading of the period's history the reason that the Army held power was because they had the will to hold onto power. Cromwell was the mainspring of that will, and with his death the Army's leadership splintered and the Restoration occured.

With a different leadership (the Levellers) committed to Republican rule (or at least not monarchy) then I can't see the New Model Army welcoming a Restoration. In fact, with the POD and subsequent TL as presented, I think that popular want for a Restoration would be much reduced. James II would not be as easy to get along with as Charles II.
 
Some of the arguments against a Leveller England could equally be put against a Republican France. Thus in principle the Levellers could achieve their objectives, especially if they used the salami approach that the French Republicans and Russian communists used, namely eliminating groups of enemies gradually rather than rushing in and trying to do it all in one go.

The parts of the Leveller programme that I believe that the average peasant is going to be more attracted to is the death penalty to be applied only in cases of murder and taxation in proportion to real or personal property. The former means no hanging for stealing property whilst embezzlers get a slap on the wrist. The latter means soak the rich and that has always been attractive.
 
Or persuade him that the Levelers were in fact reflecting God's view.

I don't actually think this is ASB. I think that the Leveller program really could have given the English Commonwealth the constitutional direction it lacked, and the social justice parts of the Agreement would appeal to the lower and middle classes.

Some of the arguments against a Leveller England could equally be put against a Republican France. Thus in principle the Levellers could achieve their objectives, especially if they used the salami approach that the French Republicans and Russian communists used, namely eliminating groups of enemies gradually rather than rushing in and trying to do it all in one go.

Who would you identify as the prime enemies of the regime though? Off the top of my head I would say the anti-Leveller army commanders would be the prime targets, but they actually could be relatively easily dealt with after a Leveller coup and victory in the Third Civil War. The Irish Rebellion needed crushing, and I can think of no better place for politically unreliable officers and units than off crushing the half-savage papists (the Irish ended up being crushed by a lot of pro-Leveller officers and units, so it would be a logical reverse). Besides the officers and Catholics (who were enemies of most patriotic English regimes) who as a group could be targeted for liquidation as explicitly anti-Leveller?

The parts of the Leveller programme that I believe that the average peasant is going to be more attracted to is the death penalty to be applied only in cases of murder and taxation in proportion to real or personal property. The former means no hanging for stealing property whilst embezzlers get a slap on the wrist. The latter means soak the rich and that has always been attractive.

You're right, these things are quite popular. So what do you think that they are popular enough to maintain the Leveller Republic in the face of knee-jerk royalism?

And further, if the Leveller's Republican experiment does go forward, what kind of knock-on effects would this have on the rest of Europe? Would the radical idea of equality among freemen influence anything on the continent, which was still recovering from the destructive 30 Years War.
 
I am impressed by the work you've put into this. Sorry i can't offer more help, but something's bothering me.

When the Bishopgate Mutiny takes place the Leveller faction, fearing that they will be attacked, reacts. Leveller supporter arrest Cromwell, Fairfax, and Ireton and the Leveller leadership declares itself the new Army Council. The Leveller Army Council declares that the Agreement of the People is to be the new manifesto of the Army, and requires that all units swear and sign alliegence to the new manifesto. The pro-Grandee forces are left disorganized, with their leadership in Leveller custody. The Leveller faction raises its civilian supporters in London, taking over the city, and officers loyal to the Leveller cause raise their units in support of the new Army Council.

The coup in England encourages the already suspicious Scottish Conventer forces to reach out to Charles II for an alliance. Charles II moves up the date of his arrival in Scotland, hoping to take advantage of the unrest in England. Charles II lands in Feb 1650 in Scotland, and signs agreements with the Scots that bring them onto his side. Pro-Grandee units basically have the choice of joining Charles II or joining the Levellers. Most of the Pro-Grandee units choose to submit to the new manifesto.

The Third Civil War is fought much as OTL, with the New Model Army beating Charles in a series of battles. The final battle sees Charles II killed, and the Royalist cause across the British Isles collapse. With the Royalists destroyed the Levellers are now in control of England and Scotland, and proceed with an invasion of Ireland to suppress rebels there.
This seems a bit too easy. I really doubt that the New Model Army would be just as strong as OTL. It just doesn't feel right. If the NMA isn't as strong, winning the 3rd Civil War should be much harder. Maybe they wouldn't be able to keep Scotland? Still, a fascinating TL. Bravo!
 
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