Talk:The Protectorate

Lead

Although this edit arguably removes repetition, having the "Commonwealth of .." wording here does stress that the Commonwealth continued in one sense, and it is also the formal term used in the Instrument of Government, so saying it is making a slightly different point from the opening assertion that the Lord Protector was in charge of England, Scotland and Ireland. Not least because whatever they seemed to have called their state at any one point doesn't always correlate exactly to what territory was held. A couple of other points:

• The second sentence now doesn't make sense grammatically (I would just repair that but, as noted, I'm not convinced by the substance of the change that caused it). In addition footnote a, which offers alternative translations of the term, now makes no sense
• I'm not convinced by the 1654 date for annexing Scotland or the use of the word "later" in the opening sentence. As discussed previously elsewhere, there is no fixed date for the definitive "annexation", but we can probably say with some certainty that Scotland was more or less under Cromwell's/parliament's authority by 1653

N-HH talk/edits 17:25, 25 September 2013 (UTC)

I think the lead needs to be restructured to exclude repetition, but also include the formal term used in the Instrument of Government. I agree with the other things that you stated. Also from my understanding, the Protectorate followed the voluntary dissolution of Barebone's Parliament, not the forcible dissolution of the Rump.

Rob (talk) 20:01, 25 September 2013 (UTC)

I'll have a think about further changes and suggest something here (or anyone else should just go ahead). On the latter point, off the top of my head and without looking into it right now, my recollection is that the creation of the post of Lord Protector preceded Cromwell's formal appointment into it. Hence, again, there may some inexactitude when it comes to dates and events, although we should be able to refer to how reliable sources lay out the precise timetable. N-HH talk/edits 12:00, 26 September 2013 (UTC)

War with Spain

The Robles case about whether Jews could be in England (see for example ) suggested that England and Spain were at war in 1656 (so it was better in England to be Jewish than Spanish). If so, it should be covered in the Foreign policy section. --Rumping (talk) 22:46, 11 March 2014 (UTC)

National flag

Trial of Charles I in January 1649 -- the Cross of St George is clearly visible above the seated commissioners/judges

With reference to national flags. @User:108.162.103.13, User:Sodacan and User:BilCat please see Talk:Flag of England/Archive 1#English Commonwealth and English flag. -- PBS (talk) 20:36, 17 October 2017 (UTC)

Also Talk:English Army#English Empire -- PBS (talk) 09:56, 18 October 2017 (UTC)

For the Protectorate, it might be appropriate to remove the English flag and make it that it clear that the arms are those of of Oliver Cromwell. I think it is a point worth discussing. -- PBS (talk) 09:56, 18 October 2017 (UTC)

What actually is this article about?

If we're talking here about the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland, that existed until 1660. The article talks about the state that had a Lord Protectorate as head of state, obviously, but that state didn't cease to exist when Cromwell resigned, there was simply a period until the Stuart Restoration when "the Protectorate" had no "Lord Protector". If the article was solely about "the Protectorate" that claim would be fine, but it also appears as an article about the state, the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland; the article falsely claims at numerous points that the Commonwealth of England was restored when Cromwell resigned. Perhaps it should be clarified that the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland existed until 1660, or just have Commonwealth of England, Scotland, and Ireland WP:SPLIT away? Coleisforeditor (talk) 18:19, 14 July 2025 (UTC)