The Protectorate

The Protectorate in English history refers specifically to the English government of 1653 to 1659 under the direct control of Oliver Cromwell, who assumed the title of Lord Protector of England, Scotland and Ireland after the English Civil War.

The Protectorate came into being four years after the execution of Charles I and the successive failures of the Rump Parliament and the Barebones Parliament. Although The Protectorate was supposed to divide power between the Lord Protector and an appointed council of state and Parliament, The Protectorate under Cromwell became a de facto dictatorship.