Developments and Debates in English Censorship during the Interregnum

Abstract

The topic of early modern censorship has attracted muchattention from historians and a variety of models have been created to explainit.  In the case of censorship during theCromwellian Protectorate, none of models place enough emphasis on the role of thearmy in the censorship process.  TheProtectorate was the first English government that had access to a standingarmy, and it made use of this new power to control the book trade.  With the army now responsible for monitoringthe press, the Stationers Company, the traditional watchdog of the printindustry, was sidelined.  This situationdid not sit well with the Company members, and a printed debate raged over whoshould hold the reigns of the press. Censorship during the Cromwellian Protectorate was unique in English history because of the presence of a standing army, and this uniqueness createda debate over the nature of censorship.