It is said that the weakness of class consciousness is one chracter of the English Revolution in comparison with other civil revolution. At first, the Royalists and the Parliamentarians conflicted with laxity, because there were many intermediate men around each of them. The contending parties have taken attitudes of compromise for a long time, so Independents (they were the left wing of Parliament) thought that in order to,
obtain some results in the civil war, Presbyterians (they lie on the right of Parliament) should be removed, and be concluded the negotiation with the King. So, Independents removed Presbyterians on the sixth of December in 1648.
Continually, they hung the Chares the first and abolished the House of Lord. As the result of that, the constitution which was a long traditional system of England, was broken in the middle. After that, they established the Commonwealth of England as a new state.
They obtained many good results by the revolutionary movement not. only in the political field but also in economical field. During the revolution, the Court of Ward was abolished, and the land of King and churches was confiscated, then it was sold. In the end, many new landowners.
appeard. But when imperial regime was restored in 1660, the new landowners had to return the ownership to the old landowners. But they were. not the same landowners as those in the middle age. They had only owner ship and hired out the land.
In those days of civil war, as the lease-holders were in profitable position, many of then could tecome industrialists. They improved the land to increase the productive capacity and become agricultural capitalists.
At the same time, throughout all the field of mental history, they obtained many good results of thoughts. Absolutism was overthrown by fighting Puritans, especially by the members of Independents. But about 1650, the revolutionary force receded and the leaders of revolution become conservative. At that time, mystecism raised it's head among the masses of the people, and the rationalism exerted a strong influence upon intelligentsia. The former disappeared unitil the year 1685, but the latter developed into empiricism. During the period of revolution, Henry Packer asserted that "Sovereignty resides with the people". But he put the idea of people and parliament and state into the same category so, his thought was not sufficent as compared with the contemporary meaning of sovereignty.
The true assertion concerning sovereignty was made by Thomas Hobbes. He rooted out the religious colour and social standings and asserted on the theory of social contract.
The theory was based on the natural laws that containes the right of self preservation. According to his view, the people should leave all of the natural rights to the ruler and by the social contract between the people and the ruler, a new state comes into existence. Once the social contract is concluded to make a state, the sovereignty must be desperate.
Hobbs went through the disorder during the puritan Revolution and he stressed the need of absolute sovereignty.
Consequently his theory justified the stuart Absolutism. His theory had such a limitation which justified the absolutism, so John Locke must correct Hobbs' theory of social contract. Locke asserted that the people leave not all of the natural rights but a part of them to the ruler, so they can change the ruler when he can not keep the social contract well.
When the time of restoration came, nothing had resulted from all the efforts that were acquired by puritan Revolution. In saying so, the fact had not gone to naught. When the Kings of latter Stuart Dynasty forgot
the lessons of Puritan Revolution and tried to rebuild absolute state, then parliament and Bourgeaisies revolted against them and broke down by the Grolious Revolution. And the most of results, obtained during Puritan Revolution were restored again and preserved.