In all the current out-pouring of monarchical enthusiasm in the wake of the Queen’s eightieth birthday (even The Guardian yesterday published a long letter defending the principle of monarchy) we should remember that there has always been a small but very vocal minority who want a republic.
I photographed the above republicans (at least I think they are republicans, they were too drab to be Cavaliers) re-enacting a scene from the English Civil War. They had chosen the old Court House as a backdrop (the building is Victorian and has got nothing to do with the Roundheads). Towards the end of the bank holiday afternoon they packed up their camp and marched in a parade through the streets eventually ending up in a little car park where they self-consciously stopped in a huddle, as if wanting the on-lookers to disperse.
The English Republic under Cromwell was a disaster, leading to extreme religious intolerance, massive internal cultural destruction, and military adventurism overseas (Cromwell crushed Ireland “with the Bible in one hand and a sword in the other”). Cromwell called himself the Lord Protector. His cruelty was based upon the conviction that he was right, and that therefore all actions he took were justified (Tony Blair recently announced that he will be answerable only to God and history for his actions in Iraq).
2 comments:
I am anti-monarchy in general, perhpas because I am Canadian? But I once worked with someone who explained that the major industry in england was the monarchy. so people have those jobs and England can make a living I wouldn't want it to end for them. I just think Cananda should not be a part of a monarchy...but it is only by theory. Enjoyed your photos.
Candy
http://gnosticminx.blogspot.com/
I think you'd find that most of the Royalist soldiery were a pretty scruffy lot too: they weren't all Prince Rupert!
It was the Civil War that was a disaster, wasn't it,and the Republic its inevitable conclusion? I hate to use the term 'historical necessity' but really, what else was going to happen, given the forces at play in the seventeenth century?
The main victims of religious intolerance were surely the Nonconformists, after the restoration, and the main problem with Cromwell that he wasn't republican enough, and couldn't stomach the Levellers' ideas.
Even Ireland isn't as clear cut as it looks: Ireland's fate was part of England's pathology: someone else would have done the same.
But this is a lovely site: the description of your office shenanigans was hilarious: especially the bit about the radio.
regards
Betty
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