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Struggle in England between King and Parliament 357 on every side, put himself in the hands of the Scotch army which had come to the aid of Parliament (1646), and the Scotch soon turned him over to Parliament. During the next two years Charles was held in captivity. 608. Pride's Purge. There were, however, many in the House of Commons who still sided with the king, and in December, 1648, that body declared for a reconciliation with the monarch, whom they had safely imprisoned in the Isle of Wight. The next day Colonel Pride, representing the army, which constituted a party in itself and was opposed to all negotiations between the king and the Commons, stood at the door of the House with a troop of soldiers and excluded all the members who were known to take the side of the king. This outrageous act is known in history as "Pride's Purge." 609. Execution of Charles (1549). In this way the House of Commons was brought completely under the control of those most bitterly hostile to the king, whom they immediately pro- posed to bring to trial. They declared that the House of Com- mons, since it was chosen by the people, was supreme in England and the source of all just power, and that consequently neither king nor House of Lords was necessary. The mutilated House of Commons appointed a special High Court of Justice made up of Charles's sternest opponents, who alone would consent to sit in judgment on him. They passed sentence upon the king and on January 30, 1649, Charles was beheaded in front of his palace of Whitehall, London. It must be clear from the above account that it was not the nation at large which demanded Charles's death, but a very small group of extremists who claimed to be the repre- sentatives of the nation. II. OLIVER CROMWELL ; ENGLAND A COMMONWEALTH 610. England becomes a Commonwealth, or Republic. The "Rump Parliament," as the remnant of the House of Commons was contemptuously called, proclaimed England to be thereafter a "commonwealth"; that is, a republic, without a king or House