The Rule of the Major-Generals from August 1655 – January 1657,[1] was a period of direct military government during Oliver Cromwell's Protectorate.[2]
England was divided into 10 regions[3] each governed by a Major-General who answered to the Lord Protector.[2]
There were ten regional associations covering England and Wales administered by major-generals. Ireland under Major-General Henry Cromwell,[4] and Scotland under Major-General George Monck were in administrations already agreed upon and were not part of the scheme.[5]
| Name | Period | Region | Deputies | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| James Berry | Appointed in 1655 | Herefordshire, Shropshire, Worcestershire and Wales | John Nicholas in Monmouthshire; Rowland Dawkins in Carmarthenshire, Cardiganshire, Glamorgan, Pembrokeshire. |
|
| William Boteler (Butler) | Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, Northamptonshire and Rutland | Zealous and uncompromising in his hostility to his religious and political enemies, Boteler was a severe persecutor of Quakers in Northamptonshire; in 1656 he advocated that James Nayler should be stoned to death for blasphemy. Boteler was also aggressive in his persecution of Royalists in his area, unlawfully imprisoning the Earl of Northampton for failing to pay his taxes. | ||
| John Desborough | Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire | |||
| Charles Fleetwood | Appointed in 1655 | Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Isle of Ely, Norfolk, Oxfordshire and Suffolk | George Fleetwood (a distant kinsman) in Buckinghamshire; Hezekiah Haynes in Essex, Cambridgeshire, Isle of Ely, Norfolk, Suffolk; William Packer as military governor of Hertfordshire and Oxfordshire |
Owing to his other responsibilities on the Council of State, day to day matters in his region were overseen by Fleetwood's three deputies.[5] |
| William Goffe | October 1655 | Berkshire, Hampshire and Sussex | ||
| Thomas Kelsey | Surrey and Kent | |||
| John Lambert | Cumberland, County Durham, Northumberland, Westmorland and Yorkshire | Charles Howard in Cumberland, Northumberland, Westmorland; Robert Lilburne in County Durham, Yorkshire |
Owing to his other responsibilities on the Council of State, day to day matters in his region were overseen by Lambert's two deputies.[5] | |
| Philip Skippon | Middlesex; including the cities of London and Westminster | Sir John Barkstead | Skippon was by now elderly, and on the Council of State, so most of the day to day matters in his region were largely undertaken by Barkstead,[5] | |
| Edward Whalley | Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Warwickshire, | |||
| Charles Worsley; Tobias Bridge |
1655–June 1656; June 1656–January 1657 |
Cheshire, Lancashire and Staffordshire |