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Long Parliament reforms in Westminster

The Long Parliament was an English Parliament which nominally lasted from 1640 until 1660, making it the longest-lasting Parliament in English and British history.

The Long Parliament was an English Parliament which nominally lasted from 1640 until 1660, making it the longest-lasting Parliament in English and British history. It followed the fiasco of the Short Parliament, which had convened for only three weeks during the spring of 1640 after an 11-year parliamentary absence. In September 1640, King Charles I issued writs summoning a parliament to convene on 3 November 1640. He intended it to pass financial bills, a step made necessary by the costs of the Bishops' Wars against Scotland. The Long Parliament received its name from the fact that, by an act of Parliament, the Parliament Act 1640 (16 Cha. 1. c.

Historical Significance

The Long Parliament was an English Parliament which nominally lasted from 1640 until 1660, making it the longest-lasting Parliament in English and British history.

Events Before

  1. Sweden and Denmark sign the Treaty of Roskilde; Denmark cedes Scania, Trondheim, and Bornholm to Sweden

    Sweden and Denmark sign the Treaty of Roskilde; Denmark cedes Scania, Trondheim, and Bornholm to Sweden

  2. Battle of the Dunes: English and French forces defeat the Spanish near Dunkirk during Franco-Spanish War

    Battle of the Dunes: English and French forces defeat the Spanish near Dunkirk during Franco-Spanish War

  3. Dutch troops occupy last Portuguese Fort at Jafnapatnam in Ceylon

    Dutch troops occupy last Portuguese Fort at Jafnapatnam in Ceylon

  4. French fleet recaptures Duinkerk

    French fleet recaptures Duinkerk

  5. Spanish garrison at Dunkirk surrenders to French and English

    The siege of Dunkirk in 1658 was a military operation by France and the Commonwealth of England intended to capture the fortified port city of Dunkirk, Spain's greatest privateering base, from a...

Events After

  1. English Colonel George Monck, with two brigades of troops, crosses the Anglo-Scottish border by fording the River Tweed

    English Colonel George Monck, with two brigades of troops, crosses the Anglo-Scottish border by fording the River Tweed at Coldstream and heads through knee-deep snow to London to end military rule and restore the monarchy

  2. English Long Parliament disbands

    The Convention Parliament of England (25 April 1660 – 29 December 1660) followed the Long Parliament that had finally voted for its own dissolution on 16 March that year.

  3. English Convention Parliament meets and votes to restore Charles II

    The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Royalists and Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651.

  4. English Parliament proclaims Charles II King of England and invites him to return

    Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651 and King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in…

  5. On his 30th birthday, Charles II returns to London from exile in the Netherlands to claim the English throne after the P

    On his 30th birthday, Charles II returns to London from exile in the Netherlands to claim the English throne after the Puritan Commonwealth comes to an end

More from the 1650s

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on December 26, 1659?
The Long Parliament was an English Parliament which nominally lasted from 1640 until 1660, making it the longest-lasting Parliament in English and British history. It followed the fiasco of the Short Parliament, which had convened for only three weeks during the spring of 1640 after an 11-year parliamentary absence. In September 1640, King Charles I issued writs summoning a parliament to convene on 3 November 1640.
Why is Long Parliament reforms in Westminster significant?
The Long Parliament was an English Parliament which nominally lasted from 1640 until 1660, making it the longest-lasting Parliament in English and British history.

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