1653

1653 is a year in the 17th century notable for the consolidation of Cromwellian rule in England and for the ending phase of the Fronde in France. In England, the year began under the Rump Parliament, but prominent political change soon followed.

On 20 April, Oliver Cromwell dissolved the Rump Parliament, triggering the creation of a national assembly of nominated members known as Barebone's Parliament, which sat from July to December 1653. In December, the Instrument of Government established the Protectorate and named Cromwell Lord Protector; he was sworn in on 16 December, inaugurating a new constitutional framework that would govern England, Scotland, and Ireland until his death in 1658.

In France, the Fronde, a series of civil wars against royal authority, largely ended in 1653, leading to the strengthening of centralized royal power under Cardinal Mazarin and the young Louis XIV, shaping the crown's policies for years.

Beyond Western Europe, the Qing dynasty continued to consolidate control over China after the Ming collapse; in the Atlantic world, European colonial powers maintained their overseas possessions and trade networks. The year thus marked a turning point in the mid-17th-century balance of power in Europe and the Atlantic world.