Oliver Cromwell

**Oliver Cromwell** (25 April 1599 – 3 September 1658) was an English military and political leader best known for making England a republic and leading the Commonwealth of England and primarily because of ethnic cleansing in Ireland that was called by a euphemistically, the Cromwellian conquest.

Cromwell's actions during his career seem confusing today. He supported Parliament against the King, but he ordered his soldiers to break up Parliament. Under his rule, the Protectorate said that people's religious beliefs should be respected, but some people who went against what most of them believed were tortured and imprisoned.

Cromwell was the first ruler of England to be a Puritan. He created the New Model Army. Many English people today think he was one of their greatest leaders.

## Early life

Oliver Cromwell started off as a gentleman from Huntingdon and first studied at Huntingdon Grammar School. He had a bad relationship with his father. He went on to Sidney Sussex College. At the new small college of the University of Cambridge, he had the chance to talk about thr new Puritan ideas, which he shared. However, he never took a degree because his father died in 1617 while he was studying.

## English Civil War

In 1628, Cromwell became a Puritan Member of Parliament and supported Parliament in its quarrel with King Charles I. When the English Civil War broke out in 1642, the King's army was stronger and better prepared than the Parliamentary army. That made Cromwell decide to train men to fight better. Soon, the New Model Army, which he had trained began to win battles. As a result, Parliament won the war. By then, Cromwell had become very powerful.

## Commonwealth: 16491653

During the following years, Cromwell conducted two campaigns to subdue the Irish Catholics (1649-1650), and in the Battles of Dunbar and Worcester (1650-1651), he crushed the Scottish Royalists, who had proclaimed Charles II as king, the first son of Charles I, who had been executed in 1649.

### Rump Parliament

After the execution, a republic was declared, known as the Commonwealth of England. A Council of State was appointed to manage affairs, which included Cromwell among its members. His real power base was in the army.

### Takeover of Ireland

In 1652, Cromwell took over Ireland. Many historians believe that Cromwell committed an ethnic cleansing against the Irish Catholics. Cromwell wanted them to move out of eastern Ireland into the island's northwest. According to those historians, Cromwell and his army used massacres, starvation, and threats of execution to force the Irish to leave. According to the historian Frances Stewart, 600,000 Irish people, 43% of the Irish population, died from those policies.

## Protectorate:  16531658

The House of Commons tried hard to control the army but was unable to. In 1653, Cromwell dissolved the House of Commons; yielded legislative power to 139 people of his confidence; and took the title of Lord Protector of England, Scotland and Ireland, with powers wider than those enjoyed by the monarch. During his tenure, he reorganized public finances, promoted the liberalization of commerce to ensure the prosperity of the mercantile bourgeoisie, promulgated the Navigation Act (1651) through which he imposed English maritime supremacy on the Netherlands, defeated the Netherlands (1654), snatched Jamaica from Spain (1655), persecuted the Catholics, and placed England at the head of the European Protestant countries.

A new constitution, known as the Instrument of Government, made Cromwell Lord Protector for life. He had the power to call and dissolve parliaments.

In 1657, Cromwell was offered the crown by Parliament. Cromwell thought about the offer for six weeks and then rejected it.He was ceremonially reinstalled as "Lord Protector", with greater powers than had previously been granted him under the title, at Westminster Hall.

Cromwell is thought to have suffered from malaria, which had probably first been contracted while on campaign in Ireland. He died at Whitehall on 3 September 1658, the anniversary of his great victories at Dunbar and Worcester.

## After Cromwell's death

Cromwell was succeeded as Lord Protector by his first son, Richard Cromwell. Although Richard was not entirely without ability, he had no power base in either Parliament or the army and was forced to resign in the spring of 1659, which brough the Protectorate to an end. The Commonwealth had a period of chaos, which ended with the restoration of the monarchy in the person of Charles II by Parliament (1660). A year later, Parliament restored Charles II as king.

After the Royalists returned to power, despite his his prudence, the new monarch allowed Cromwell's corpse to be exhumed, hanged in chains, have its head cut off, and exposed in the Tower of London. That was in revenge for Cromwell having Charles I executed.

It is said that Cromwell's head was lost for months until a soldier found it. His skull was passed around as a token until it was buried at Tyburn.

## References

- Adamson, John (1987). "The English Nobility and the Projected Settlement of 1647", in _Historical Journal_, 30, 3.
- Carlyle, Thomas (ed.) (1904 edition). _Oliver Cromwell's letters and speeches, with elucidations_ http://www.gasl.org/refbib/Carlyle__Cromwell.pdf ; https://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=98993729
- Durston, Christopher (1998). _The Fall of Cromwell's Major-Generals_, in _English Historical Review_ 1998 113(450): pp. 18–37, ISSN 0013-8266 .
- Gardiner, Samuel Rawson (1901). _Oliver Cromwell_, . https://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=6034779
- Kishlansky, Mark (1990), "Saye What?" in _Historical Journal_ 33, 4.
- Worden, Blair (2000). "Thomas Carlyle and Oliver Cromwell", in _Proceedings Of The British Academy_ 105: pp. 131–170. ISSN 0068-1202 .

## Footnotes

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### Biographies

- Ashley, Maurice (1958). _The Greatness of Oliver Cromwell_ (Macmillan). https://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=3806780
- Gardiner, Samuel Rawson (1901). _Oliver Cromwell_, . Classic biography. https://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=6034779
- Morrill, John (2004). "Cromwell, Oliver (1599–1658)", in _Oxford Dictionary of National Biography,_ (Oxford University Press) http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/6765
- Paul, Robert (1958). _The Lord Protector: Religion And Politics In The Life Of Oliver Cromwell_. https://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=3672431

### Military studies

- Durston, Christopher (2000). "'Settling the Hearts and Quieting the Minds of All Good People': the Major-generals and the Puritan Minorities of Interregnum England", in _History_ 2000 85(278): pp. 247–267, ISSN 0018-2648 . Full text online at Ebsco.
- Durston, Christopher (1998). "The Fall of Cromwell's Major-Generals", in _English Historical Review_ 1998 113(450): pp. 18–37, ISSN 0013-8266
- Woolrych, Austin (1990). "The Cromwellian Protectorate: a Military Dictatorship?" in _History_ 1990 75(244): 207-231, ISSN 0018-2648 . Full text online at Ebsco.

### Surveys of era

- Trevor-Roper, Hugh (1967). _Oliver Cromwell and his Parliaments_, in his _Religion, the Reformation and Social Change_ (Macmillan). online

### Primary sources

- Abbott, W.C. (ed.) (1937-47). _Writings and Speeches of Oliver Cromwell,_ 4 vols. The standard academic reference for Cromwell's own words. https://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=98993729 .
- Carlyle, Thomas (ed.) (1904 edition), _Oliver Cromwell's letters and speeches, with elucidations_. http://www.gasl.org/refbib/Carlyle__Cromwell.pdf ; https://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=98993729
- Haykin, Michael A. G. (ed.) (1999). _To Honour God: The Spirituality of Oliver Cromwell_ (Joshua Press), Excerpts from Cromwell's religious writings.
- Morrill, John (1990). "Textualizing and Contextualizing Cromwell", in _Historical Journal_ 1990 33(3): pp. 629–639. ISSN 0018-246X . Full text online at Jstor. Examines the Carlyle and Abbott editions.
- Worden, Blair (2000). _Thomas Carlyle and Oliver Cromwell_, in _Proceedings Of The British Academy_ 105: pp. 131–170, ISSN 0068-1202 .

## Other websites

- The Cromwell Association
- The Cromwell Museum in Huntingdon
- Chronology of Oliver Cromwell World History Database
- Biography at the British Civil Wars & Commonwealth website

## Infobox (officeholder)

- **honorific-prefix**: His Highness
- **name**: Oliver Cromwell
- **image**: Oliver Cromwell by Samuel Cooper.jpg
- **caption**: A 1656 Samuel Cooper portrait of Cromwell
- **office**: Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland
- **term start**: 16 December 1653
- **term end**: 3 September 1658
- **predecessor**: Council of State
- **successor**: Richard Cromwell
- **term start1**: 1640
- **term end1**: 1649
- **constituency mp1**: Cambridge (UK Parliament constituency), Cambridge
- **monarch1**: Charles I of England, Charles I
- **term start2**: 1628
- **term end2**: 1629
- **monarch2**: Charles I
- **constituency mp2**: Huntingdon (UK Parliament constituency), Huntingdon
- **birth date**: 25 April 1599
- **birth place**: Huntingdon, Huntingdonshire, Kingdom of England
- **death date**: 3 September 1658 (aged 59)
- **death place**: Palace of Whitehall, London, The Protectorate
- **restingplace**: Tyburn, London
- **nationality**: English
- **alma mater**: Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge
- **occupation**: Farmer, parliamentarian, military commander
- **signature**: Signature of Oliver Cromwell (1651).png
- **nickname**: Old Noll; Old Ironsides
- **allegiance**: Roundhead
- **branch**: Eastern Association (1643–1645); New Model Army (1645–1646)
- **serviceyears**: 1643–1651
- **rank**: Colonel (1643 – bef. 1644); Lieutenant-General of Horse (bef. 1644–1645); Lieutenant-General of Cavalry (1645–1646)
- **commands**: Cambridgeshire Ironside (cavalry), Ironsides (1643 – bef. 1644); Eastern Association (bef. 1644–1645); New Model Army (1645–1646)
- **battles**: **English Civil War (1642–1651):**
* Battle of Gainsborough, Gainsborough
* Battle of Marston Moor, Marston Moor
* Second Battle of Newbury, Newbury II
* Battle of Naseby, Naseby
* Battle of Langport, Langport
* Battle of Preston (1648), Preston
* Battle of Dunbar (1650), Dunbar
* Battle of Worcester, Worcester


## Infobox (british royalty styles)

- republic
- **name**: Oliver Cromwell,
Lord Protector of the Commonwealth
- **dipstyle**: His Highness
- **offstyle**: Your Highness
- **altstyle**: Sir