Pride's Purge: Army Removes MPs from Parliament
Two hundred and thirty-one members of Parliament arrived at Westminster that December morning. Only 154 made it inside. Colonel Thomas Pride and his musketeers stood at the door with a list, physically blocking anyone who might vote to negotiate with Charles I rather than put him on trial. Some MPs were arrested on the spot. Others turned away and never came back. The remnant that remained — the "Rump Parliament" — had exactly enough votes to do what Oliver Cromwell needed: declare a king could face justice. Six weeks later, Charles I lost his head. But Pride's troops didn't just purge Parliament that day. They proved that when an army controls who gets to vote, the vote itself becomes a formality.
December 6, 1648
378 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on December 6
en la actual Guatemala, se documentan los primeros escritos de América, estelas de época olmeca tardía.
Gerhard von Burgund wird in Siena als Nikolaus II. Papst. Er muss sich des in Rom gewählten Gegenpapstes Benedikt X. erwehren.
Béla I ascended the Hungarian throne after defeating his brother, Andrew I, in a decisive civil war. His reign stabilized the kingdom by standardizing currency …
Tello Pérez de Meneses funda el Hospital de Villamartín y lo dona a la Orden de Santiago.
Vladislav Heinrich aus dem Geschlecht der Přemysliden verzichtet zugunsten seines Bruders Ottokar auf die böhmische Herzogskrone und wird dafür erster Markgraf …
Batu Khan's forces crush Kiev, toppling its defenses and ending the city's status as a political center under Danylo of Halych and Voivode Dmytro. This conquest…
Talk to History
Have a conversation with historical figures who witnessed this era. Ask questions, explore perspectives, and bring history to life.