CROMWELL

''thus always to tyrants''

MILITARY

DOMESTIC POLITICS

POLITICAL

THEPURITANS

COMMONWEALTH

DEATH

CAREER

Who was he?

OLIVER CROMWELL

Who was he?

• he was born on 25 April 1599
• wealthy family
• no degree
• he embraced the moviment of Puritans
• he became part of the parliament
• he's remembered for having been:

1) an intransigent political and religious leader but a brillant military leader2) Lord Protector od England3) the one who abolished Christmas in 1645

The Parliament

Under king Charles I the Parliament was divided in two different factions:

• cavaliers
• roundheads

• the only way to end the civil war
• ''cutting his head off with the crown on it''
• Book of Numbers, 35:33
• the first to sign the order of beheading
• ''cruel necessity''

Cromwell's role in the King's trial

• the Irish threat
• violence against those ''in arms'' and ''many inhabitants''
• ''the righteous judgement of God upon these barbarous wretches''
• ''to Hell or Connaught''
• the Siege of Drogheda in James Joyce's Ulysses
• ''the curse of Cromwell''

Cromwell's brutality during the Irish campaign

Military career

• In 1642 Cromwell joined the army as the leader of a small platoon
• In 1643 he was assigned his own regiment of cavalry

• Successful leader in a series of small battles:

- 1642 Edge Hill - 1644 Marston Moore - 1645 Naseby

New Model Army

• standing army composed mainly by part-time militia known as Trained bands
• instituted in 1645 by the Parliamentarians
• new structure and a new internal organisation
• the leaders of the army were prohibited from having a seat in the Parliament
• on the field soldiers were organised in fewer but larger regiments

Commonwealth of England

After the execution of Charles I and the declaration of the Republic in 1649; the Commonwealth of England was established.

• The Commonwealth is governed by the Rump Parliament
• Following the end of the military campaigns in Scotland and Ireland, citizen discontent with the Rump Parliament's inability to work together.

In December 1653 Oliver Cromwell became head of state as Lord Protector of England

Domestic politics

The Commonwealth in the domestic politics:

• implemented strict moral and religious codes.
• faced economic difficulties

Cromwell's rule as Lord Protector (1653-1658) saw a period of strict governance and military rule. While he implemented some reforms his regime was marked by controversy and criticism for its authoritarian nature.

Cromwell's goals

During his protectorate Cromwell aimed to achieve a series of main goals.

• create a so-called ''Godly Nation'' of which he'd become the Protector and ruler.
• prevent at all cost any attempt to re-establish the monarchy.
• make England extremely powerful compared to other European nations (politically, economically and militarily).

Death

Upon Cromwell's death in 1658, his son Richard briefly succeeded him as Lord Protector, but the political instability that followed led to the restoration of the monarchy in 1660, with the return of Charles II.

The Puritans

• Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th-century aiming to reform the Church of England, of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices
• Puritanism played a significant role in English and early American history, especially during the Protectorate.

• By the late 1630s, Puritans aligned with commercial interests and parliamentary opposition, gaining political influence.
• Almost all Puritan clergy left the Church of England after the restoration of the monarchy in 1660 and the 1662 Uniformity Act.
• Historians still debate a precise definition of Puritanism. Originally, Puritan was a pejorative term characterizing certain Protestant groups as extremist. As a term of abuse, Puritan was not used by Puritans themselves. Those referred to as Puritan called themselves terms such as "the godly", "saints", "professors", or "God's children".

• history repeats itself: Oliver P
• posthumous views: an hypocrite driven by power or a new Moses?
• Whigs' reshaping of his image: a military tyrant
• the positive light of Romanticism: ''the last of our heroes''
• was Cromwell a proto-fascist?

''See what crimes it costs to be a moment free and famous through all ages''

Political reputation

"I was by birth a gentleman, living neither in considerable height, nor yet in obscurity."

Who was he really?