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The Putney Debates were a series of discussions between members of the New Model Army – a number of the participants being Levellers – concerning the makeup of a new constitution for Britain. After seizing the City of London from Presbyterian opponents in August 1647, the New Model Army had set up its headquarters at Putney, in the county of Surrey (now in South West London). The debates began on 28 October 1647 at the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, but moved to the nearby lodgings of Thomas Grosvenor, Quartermaster General of Foot, the following day. The debates lasted until 11 November. ==Background== Earlier that summer Oliver Cromwell (then Member of Parliament for Cambridge), Henry Ireton (Cromwell's son-in-law) and other officers, known as the ''Grandees'', attempted to negotiate a settlement with Charles I of England in the aftermath of the First Civil War. Their proposals, termed the Heads of Proposals, included provisions for social justice, but the monarchy and House of Lords would have retained a power of veto over the House of Commons. A further feature of the Heads of Proposals was that the king would be restored before the issues of the soldiers' indemnity and arrears were entrenched in law. This was contrary to the New Model Army's Declaration of 14 June 1647 and consequently the Heads of Proposals lost the support of the more radical elements among the military and civilian populations. The New Model Army was the first army in history to have some kind of democratic debate in its ranks.〔(from "Lecture 7: The English Civil War" at historyguide.org )〕 Sometime before October 1647, five of the most radical cavalry regiments elected new Agitators – known as the ''New Agents'' – to represent their views. The New Agents issued a political manifesto: ''The Case of the Armie Truly Stated''.〔(The Case of the Armie Truly Stated )〕 The fundamental ideas of the Case of the Armie would later be reflected in the constitutional proposals drafted in the ''Agreement of the People''.〔(The Agreement of the People ) as presented to the Council of the Army at Putney on 28 October 1647((alternative site ))〕 The Putney Debates came about as a result of the publication of the ''Case of the Armie''. According to the author of a book called ''A Call to all the Soldiers of the Armie'' (a work usually ascribed to John Wildman), Ireton was so incensed by the ''Case of the Armie'' that the New Agents were invited to debate the ''Case of the Armie'' before the General Council of the Army. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Putney Debates」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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