Oliver Cromwell - the 'Great Protector' or a treasonous pretender?
Oliver Cromwell was an English general and political leader who, first as a subordinate, and later as Commander-in-Chief, led revolutionary armies under the flag of the 'Parliament of England' against King Charles I during the English Civil War. He succeeded in becoming ruler as Lord Protector from 1653 until his death in 1658, when the monarchy was restored.
Oliver Cromwell was born in Huntingdon near Cambridge, in 1599. He was educated at Huntingdon Grammar School and then Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge. Cromwell's father died in 1617, and he left Cambridge without a degree, to return home and support his mother and seven unmarried sisters. With his modest inheritance, Cromwell first made a living as a minor landowner. He relocated to St Ives, Cambridgeshire in 1631, and then to Ely in 1636, supported by the inheritance of property from his maternal uncle. This underpinned a rise in his status, and Cromwell underwent a self-declared 'spiritual awakening', committing himself to the puritan way of life. Cromwell became an MP for Cambridge, but he was not significantly involved in national politics until the 1640s.
The summer of 1642 saw the outbreak of the first English Civil War between the Royalists - the supporters of King Charles I who claimed that the King should have absolute power - and the Parliamentarians who favoured a constitutional monarchy, and later the abolition of the monarchy and the House of Lords completely. Cromwell was a committed member of the parliamentary army. He became second in command of the newly formed main parliamentary army, the New Model Army in 1645.
When Civil War again flared up in 1648, Cromwell’s military successes meant his political influence greatly increased. December 1648 saw a split between those MPs who wished to continue to support the King, and those such as Cromwell, who felt that the only way to bring a halt to the civil war was through Charles’ trial and execution. Cromwell was the third of 59 MPs to sign Charles’ death warrant.
Following the King’s execution in 1649, The 'Commonwealth of England' was introduced, led by a Council of State to replace the monarchy. Cromwell led the English military campaigns to establish control of Ireland, in 1649, and later Scotland, in 1650. Cromwell was appointed to Lord General, effectively commander in chief, of the parliamentary armed forces in the same year. His achievements on the battlefield resulted in the end of the Civil War, with a Parliamentary victory at the Battle of Worcester on 3rd September 1651, and the introduction of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland.
In December 1653, Cromwell became Lord Protector, a role in which he remained until his death through ill health five years later. Cromwell’s national leadership role might be regarded as akin to that of a monarch, involving 'the chief magistracy and the administration of government'. As Protector, Cromwell ruled the country through his major-generals, which meant that England virtually became a dictatorship. He allowed greater religious freedom for Protestants, but introduced a string of 'moral' laws to 'improve' people's behaviour, which banned theatre and bear-baiting, and forbade people to drink or celebrate Christmas, among other things. This undermined his popular support and legitimacy.
As the acknowledged leader of the uprising and successor to the monarch, his death was pivotal. It is thought that Cromwell suffered from kidney stones or similar urinary/kidney complaints and in 1658, in the aftermath of malarial fever, he succumbed to a fatal urinary infection at the age of 59. When Cromwell died, he was succeeded by his son Richard, but the Protectorate collapsed and Charles II was restored as king shortly after.
Further reading
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