Anyone who has studied the history of the English Civil War of the mid-17th century will have heard of the Levellers. These radicals, whose ideas about the world were shaped by their version of democratic Christianity, are famous in England. Richard Overton was just one of the many people who were associated with this movement.
Overton himself was famous for writing pamphlets and tracts about the issues of the day. This was a controversial and stormy period in British history, with the so-called English Civil War of the 1640s spreading to Scotland and Ireland, and King Charles I being executed by Parliament in 1649. The Levellers were at their most influential in the period between the outbreak of the Second Civil War in 1648, and the execution of the King.
Although by 1650 the Levellers were, to all intents and purposes, finished as meaningful political force, their fame still persists today, especially among political groups with left-wing persuasions. Many would describe the Levellers as one of the world's first political parties, as they wore sea-green ribbons to show their loyalties, and campaigned using pamphlets and petitions. Overton was prominent in the movement as the writer of many of these pamphlets.
The term 'Leveller' probably dates back to the early 17th century, when rebels who 'levelled' hedges in protest against enclosures were abused with the word. By the 1640s, it had come to be used to refer to members of a New Model Army group who were said to favor the killing of Charles I. As well as Richard Overton, prominent Levellers included John Liliburne and William Walwyn.
The political demands that the Levellers made seem somewhat tame to modern eyes, but they were considered very radical indeed by the standards of the 17th century. Concepts such as the vote for all adult males, parliamentary reform to eradicate corruption, Parliament to be elected every couple of years, and the abolition of imprisonment as a punishment for debt, all formed part of their program. They were also in favor of religious toleration, which had continued to be controversial during the 17th century.
While some Levellers took the inspiration for their views from the Bible, there were several shades of opinion within the movement. Many agreed with Overton's assertions that liberty was the natural right of every person. Some felt that the English had had their natural liberties removed during the Norman Conquest.
The forces of the government, with Oliver Cromwell to the fore, did not tolerate the Levellers for long. A mutiny amongst some New Model Army units was brutally crushed, with some ringleaders shot, while political leaders like Walwyn and Lilburne were put in prison. Many of the Levellers' demands would later come into law, in England and across the world.
Richard Overton would go on to vanish into relative obscurity, though it is known that he spent time in prison, as well as overseas, in the two decades or so after the end of the Levellers. It is also believed that he may have spied on behalf of both Cromwell's government and Charles II. As part of the Levellers, he helped to bring the plight of the common people to history's notice.
Overton himself was famous for writing pamphlets and tracts about the issues of the day. This was a controversial and stormy period in British history, with the so-called English Civil War of the 1640s spreading to Scotland and Ireland, and King Charles I being executed by Parliament in 1649. The Levellers were at their most influential in the period between the outbreak of the Second Civil War in 1648, and the execution of the King.
Although by 1650 the Levellers were, to all intents and purposes, finished as meaningful political force, their fame still persists today, especially among political groups with left-wing persuasions. Many would describe the Levellers as one of the world's first political parties, as they wore sea-green ribbons to show their loyalties, and campaigned using pamphlets and petitions. Overton was prominent in the movement as the writer of many of these pamphlets.
The term 'Leveller' probably dates back to the early 17th century, when rebels who 'levelled' hedges in protest against enclosures were abused with the word. By the 1640s, it had come to be used to refer to members of a New Model Army group who were said to favor the killing of Charles I. As well as Richard Overton, prominent Levellers included John Liliburne and William Walwyn.
The political demands that the Levellers made seem somewhat tame to modern eyes, but they were considered very radical indeed by the standards of the 17th century. Concepts such as the vote for all adult males, parliamentary reform to eradicate corruption, Parliament to be elected every couple of years, and the abolition of imprisonment as a punishment for debt, all formed part of their program. They were also in favor of religious toleration, which had continued to be controversial during the 17th century.
While some Levellers took the inspiration for their views from the Bible, there were several shades of opinion within the movement. Many agreed with Overton's assertions that liberty was the natural right of every person. Some felt that the English had had their natural liberties removed during the Norman Conquest.
The forces of the government, with Oliver Cromwell to the fore, did not tolerate the Levellers for long. A mutiny amongst some New Model Army units was brutally crushed, with some ringleaders shot, while political leaders like Walwyn and Lilburne were put in prison. Many of the Levellers' demands would later come into law, in England and across the world.
Richard Overton would go on to vanish into relative obscurity, though it is known that he spent time in prison, as well as overseas, in the two decades or so after the end of the Levellers. It is also believed that he may have spied on behalf of both Cromwell's government and Charles II. As part of the Levellers, he helped to bring the plight of the common people to history's notice.
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