1646-1649: The Heads of Proposals

Reading - July 16th, 1647

• The Army's General Council met. Appeared to be signs that the general unity of the army that had held to date was beginning to break down. 
• The agitators had become more impatient with the slow progress in achieving their demands and were pushing for a more immediate march on London to secure their demands 
• At Reading, it became more clear that senior officers now had a fundamental design for settlement and were negotiating directly with Charles
• These negotiations opened Ireton and Cromwel up to charges of hypocrisy. 

Heads of Proposals - August 2nd, 1647

• Regular biennial parliaments 
• Reform of parliamentary representation 
• Parliamentary control of army and navy
• Parliamentary appointment of great offices of state for 10 years 
• Religious settlement that maintained national Church with bishops, but no coercive power
• Act of Oblivion (pardon) that exempted only a few royalists from punishments 

Negotiations with Charles 

• Their willingness to compromise with Charles brought division in the army to a head and would also be the basis of their own more hard-line attitude to Charles after the 2nd Civil War 
• The Grandees of the NMA wanted settlement because they wanted a good working relationship with the King, with Berkley commenting that Ireton may able to get the "Heads" through the Army Council. 
• Ireton modified the "Heads" after talking to the King and there is little doubt that Ireton and Cromwell went as far as they felt they could in trying to get Charles to accept the Heads
• The tension between the Army and Parliament increased. The Political Presbyterians organised demonstrations in favour of peace on the 26th July, with the convenience of Holles, a mob invaded the Commons and forced the passing of a resolution to invite the King to London. 
• By 3rd of August, the Army was just outside of London, where the Political Independents joined them after walking out of Parliament. 
• Charles escaped from Hampton Court on 11th November. In response to the new military threat posed by Charles' escape and his negotiations with the Scots, the NMA officers reunited. An attempted Leveller inspired military in the army at Wore was crushed.