Treasons Act 1649

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The Treason Act 1649 was a law passed on 17 July 1649 by the Rump Parliament in the Commonwealth of England. It defined what offenses would be Treason, replacing an earlier act from 14 May 1649. Because the country was now a republic without a king, treason against the king didn’t fit the new government, so this act set out treason in the context of the Commonwealth and its threats.

Key points:
- After Charles I was executed on 30 January 1649, the Parliament moved to establish the Commonwealth, abolishing the monarchy and the House of Lords and setting up a Council of State.
- The July 17 act declared treason to include saying the House of Commons (without the Lords or the King) was not the supreme authority.
- It also stated treason for any person who was not a member of the New Model Army, and it introduced a rule that someone could not be prosecuted for treason unless indicted within one year of the offence.
- Penalties were death and forfeiture of lands and goods, as with other high treason. There was no corruption of blood for treason by coin counterfeiting (the issue had been dealt with earlier).
- The act stopped being in effect in 1660 when the monarchy was restored. Acts from the Civil War period did not receive royal approval and were considered void after the Restoration.
- The idea of treason related to inviting foreigners to invade was later echoed in the Sedition Act 1661, and similar concepts appear in later laws, including the Treason Felony Act 1848.