Non-fiction: Defensio pro Populo Anglicano (Defence of the People of England)

Title and Nature
John Milton's Defensio pro Populo Anglicano (Defence of the People of England) is a forceful Latin polemic from 1651 that seeks to justify the actions of the English Commonwealth and Parliament against foreign and royalist criticism. Commissioned as a response to continental attacks, most notably the pamphlet by the French scholar Claudius Salmasius, Milton addresses a learned European audience, using classical, biblical, and legal authorities to argue for the legitimacy of England's revolutionary settlement.

Historical Context
The pamphlet emerges from the immediate aftermath of the English Civil Wars and the execution of Charles I, a moment when the new republican regime faced intense diplomatic and intellectual hostility abroad. Monarchists depicted regicide as sacrilege and rebellion against divine and natural order, while republican apologists insisted on the right of people to resist tyranny. Latin remained the lingua franca of European intellectuals, and Milton consciously frames his defence in that language to counter the monarchical narrative across scholarly Europe.

Purpose and Aims
The central aim is to vindicate Parliament's removal and execution of the king by demonstrating that sovereignty resides with the people and that tyrannical rule forfeits legitimate authority. Milton argues that resistance to a monarch who violates law and common welfare is not only lawful but morally necessary. He seeks to dismantle the legal and theological foundations of the royalist position by showing that kings are subject to law and that the community retains ultimate authority to protect itself.

Main Arguments
Milton deploys a mix of historical examples, legal reasoning, and theological reflection to support the right of resistance. He contends that political power is conditional and contractual rather than absolute and hereditary, and that rulers who become tyrants lose their claim to obedience. Drawing on biblical narratives and classical precedents, he insists that the protection of the commonwealth and the rule of justice justify extreme measures, including the removal of a monarch. He also systematically criticizes Salmasius's scholarship and interpretation of history and law, exposing what he sees as errors, inconsistencies, and partisan distortions in the royalist case.

Style and Rhetoric
The prose combines erudition with fierce invective. Milton's classical learning and scriptural fluency provide the backbone of his argumentation, while his rhetorical energy turns to sharp personal attacks against opponents. The Latin is polished but often cutting, moving between cold juridical analysis and vivid moral denunciation. This mixture aims both to persuade learned readers through reasoned argument and to delegitimize royalist thinkers by discrediting their motives and competence.

Reception and Legacy
The Defensio pro Populo Anglicano made a notable impact on European debates about sovereignty, resistance, and the moral limits of monarchy. It enhanced Milton's reputation as a polemicist and intellectual defender of the Commonwealth while provoking further responses from royalist scholars. The pamphlet also helped shape republican discourse by articulating a robust theory of popular authority that would continue to influence political thought. Its combination of learned argument and uncompromising rhetoric ensured it remained a controversial and widely discussed contribution to seventeenth-century political apologetics.