Commonwealth of England

The Commonwealth of England, enlarged in 1653 as the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland, was the political structure from 1649 to 1660 when the Kingdom of England dissolved into a republic following the Second English Civil War and the execution of Charles I. The republic's existence was declared through An Act declaring England to be a Commonwealth, adopted by the Rump Parliament on 19 May 1649, and power was vested primarily in Parliament and a Council of State. In 1653, after dissolving the Rump Parliament, Oliver Cromwell became Lord Protector under the Instrument of Government, inaugurating the Protectorate period; following Cromwell's death and his son Richard's brief rule, the Protectorate Parliament dissolved in 1659, the Rump was recalled, and the monarchy was restored in 1660.