List of events
Events from the year 1649 in England . The Second English Civil War ends and the Third English Civil War begins.
3 January – An explosion of several barrels of gunpowder in Tower Street, London kills 67 people and destroys 60 houses.[ 1] [ 2]
4 January – The Rump Parliament passes an ordinance to set up a High Court of Justice for the trial of Charles I for high treason in the name of the people of England.
20 to 27 January – Trial and conviction of King Charles I by the High Court of Justice convened in Westminster Hall .[ 3]
30 January
9 February – Eikon Basilike : the Pourtrature of His Sacred Majestie in His Solitudes and Sufferings , purporting to be the spiritual autobiography of Charles I, is published.
23 February – Ships of the Parliamentary navy are to fly the flag of England .[ 6]
17 March – The Rump Parliament formally abolishes the English monarchy by passing an act abolishing the kingship [ 3] creating the Commonwealth of England , a republican form of government later extended to Scotland and Ireland.
19 March – The House of Commons passes an act abolishing the House of Lords , declaring that it is "useless and dangerous to the people of England".[ 3]
March – Robert Blake is promoted to become a General at Sea of the English fleet.[ 7]
April – Bishopsgate mutiny : Soldiers of the New Model Army refuse to leave London – some are court martialled and one executed.
2 May – Lawyer and regicide Sir Isaac Dorislaus , while in The Hague to negotiate an alliance with the Dutch Republic , is murdered by royalist exiles.[ 8]
17 May – Banbury mutiny ends – leaders of the Leveller mutineers in the New Model Army are hanged at Burford .
19 May – An act declaring England to be a Commonwealth is passed by the Rump Parliament.
22 May–October – Robert Blake blockades Prince Rupert 's fleet in Kinsale , Ireland.
August
15 August – Oliver Cromwell lands in Dublin to begin the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland .
3–11 September – Siege of Drogheda in Ireland: Cromwell's New Model Army massacres the Irish Catholic Confederation garrison.[ 4]
2–11 October – Sack of Wexford in Ireland: New Model Army massacres the Irish Catholic Confederation garrison.
October – John Milton 's Eikonoklastes : in Answer to a Book Intitl'd Eikon Basilike , a defence of the execution of Charles I, is published.
^ Munsell, Joel (1858). The Every Day Book of History and Chronology . D. Appleton & Co.
^ "BBC London, Features, Tower Street" . Archived from the original on 25 February 2006. Retrieved 5 December 2007 .
^ a b c Palmer, Alan; Palmer, Veronica (1992). The Chronology of British History . London: Century Ltd. pp. 185–186. ISBN 978-0-7126-5616-0 .
^ a b Penguin Pocket On This Day . Penguin Reference Library. 2006. ISBN 978-0-14-102715-9 .
^ "HMS Garland (+1649)" . Wrecksite . Retrieved 21 May 2021 .
^ Groom, Nick (2007). The Union Jack: the story of the British flag (Paperback ed.). London: Atlantic Books. p. 145. ISBN 978-1-84354-337-4 .
^ Baumber, Michael (2004). "Blake, Robert (bap. 1598, d. 1657)" . Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi :10.1093/ref:odnb/2582 . Retrieved 24 August 2010 . (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
^ Todd, Margo (2004). "Dorislaus, Isaac (1595–1649)" . Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi :10.1093/ref:odnb/7832 . (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
^ Keay, Anna (2011). The Crown Jewels . London: Thames & Hudson. pp. 40–3. ISBN 978-0-500-51575-4 .
^ "Charles I | Accomplishments, Execution, Successor, & Facts | Britannica" . www.britannica.com . Retrieved 6 September 2022 .