For many people who have studied the English Civil War and its associated conflicts, the name Richard Overton will be familiar. He was a political activist and writer of the mid-17th century, who was part of a group who are known as the Levellers. Their radical and democratic view of the world was shaped by their times and their view of what a Christian society should look like.
Overton himself found fame as a writer of tracts and pamphlets, which were produced in great numbers in the feverish political atmosphere of the late 1640s. The period around the English Civil War, which spread to Scotland and Ireland during the 1640s, was a controversial and stormy period in Britain, which saw the execution of King Charles I, in 1649, and the rise to power of Oliver Cromwell. In this febrile atmosphere, the Levellers became well-known in 1648 and 1649.
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 word 'Leveller' was first heard in the early years of the 17th century, when rural rebels who 'levelled' hedges in protest against enclosures were disparaged with the term. In the 1640s, the term Leveller came to be associated with a New Model Army faction who were accused of planning the assassination of Charles I. Richard Overton, John Lilburne and William Walwyn were among the most prominent of the people who were known as Levellers.
Many of the political demands made by the Levellers have been incorporated into the political systems of countries all over the world now, but at the time they seemed very radical. The Levellers wanted to see all adult males given the vote, for Parliament to be elected every two years, the abolition of imprisonment to punish debtors, and for measures to be put in place to eliminate parliamentary corruption. Religious toleration, a vital issue in the 17th century, was also one of their principles.
Overton himself was of the opinion that liberty was the natural right of every person, something which is familiar today. Some Levellers also felt that the natural rights of the English people had been eroded since the Norman Conquest. Others felt that the justification for universal freedom could be found in the Bible.
Some units in the New Model Army would go on to mutiny in support of the Levellers, but the government could not tolerate their continued existence. With Oliver Cromwell to the fore, the government crushed the mutiny, shooting the ringleaders. Overton, as well as other political leaders like Lilburne and Walwyn, were imprisoned.
The eventual fate of Richard Overton is obscure, though he is mentioned in some documents again over the next two decades after the Levellers' demise. He spent some time in prison, and abroad. He is also believed to have been a spy for Cromwell, and later Charles II.
Overton himself found fame as a writer of tracts and pamphlets, which were produced in great numbers in the feverish political atmosphere of the late 1640s. The period around the English Civil War, which spread to Scotland and Ireland during the 1640s, was a controversial and stormy period in Britain, which saw the execution of King Charles I, in 1649, and the rise to power of Oliver Cromwell. In this febrile atmosphere, the Levellers became well-known in 1648 and 1649.
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 word 'Leveller' was first heard in the early years of the 17th century, when rural rebels who 'levelled' hedges in protest against enclosures were disparaged with the term. In the 1640s, the term Leveller came to be associated with a New Model Army faction who were accused of planning the assassination of Charles I. Richard Overton, John Lilburne and William Walwyn were among the most prominent of the people who were known as Levellers.
Many of the political demands made by the Levellers have been incorporated into the political systems of countries all over the world now, but at the time they seemed very radical. The Levellers wanted to see all adult males given the vote, for Parliament to be elected every two years, the abolition of imprisonment to punish debtors, and for measures to be put in place to eliminate parliamentary corruption. Religious toleration, a vital issue in the 17th century, was also one of their principles.
Overton himself was of the opinion that liberty was the natural right of every person, something which is familiar today. Some Levellers also felt that the natural rights of the English people had been eroded since the Norman Conquest. Others felt that the justification for universal freedom could be found in the Bible.
Some units in the New Model Army would go on to mutiny in support of the Levellers, but the government could not tolerate their continued existence. With Oliver Cromwell to the fore, the government crushed the mutiny, shooting the ringleaders. Overton, as well as other political leaders like Lilburne and Walwyn, were imprisoned.
The eventual fate of Richard Overton is obscure, though he is mentioned in some documents again over the next two decades after the Levellers' demise. He spent some time in prison, and abroad. He is also believed to have been a spy for Cromwell, and later Charles II.
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