This was a constitutional document that replaced the Instrument of Government, was written by parliamentarians rather than army officers, and that brought the constitution slightly closer to a pre-civil wars state. It ran from 1657 until the end of the Interregnum.
Humble Petition and Advice
Fact of the Day
After the Battle of Val-es-Dunes in 1047, the river became so clogged with bodies that mills downriver came to a standstill.
Quote of the Day
"Advertisements contain the only truths to be relied on in a newspaper.
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~ Thomas Jefferson
On This Day
1536 The trial of four of Anne Boleyn's 'lovers'. Only one confessed (under torture), which he maintained up to the point of his death.
1689 William III went to war with France. It was the start of more than a century of titanic clashes for global hegemony.
1789 William Wilberforce made his first speech to the Commons on the abolition of slavery.
1926 Limited power of unions shown as TUC calls off General Strike without consulting miners, who went back to work in November on reduced pay.
1937 In a ceremony that had originally been scheduled for his brother, Edward VIII (who had abdicated in December 1936), George VI was crowned at Westminster Abbey.
1969 The minimum voting age in Britain was reduced from 21 to 18.
1994 The popular Labour leader John Smith died of a heart attack. He was replaced as leader by Tony Blair.