Informing and informers were pervasive in successive governments’ attempts to maintain the security and stability of the English Republic between 1649 and 1660.
Some members of the public felt that by informing on others they significantly and positively contributed to the security of the Interregnum Regimes. Indeed, many members of the public considered that informing on others, including their own neighbours, was a responsibility of every supporter of the Government.
Recently this little-studied aspect of life in the Republic has been researched by doctoral researcher, Waseem Ahmed at University College London. Here he discusses the topic of “Everyday informing in Revolutionary England”.
