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You are here: UK History > Royal History > House of Stuart > Oliver Cromwell | England’s Lord Protectorate
After the execution of Charles I, a commonwealth of England (Wales was part of England at the time), Scotland and Ireland was created and administered by Oliver Cromwell. Despite his involvement with abolishing the monarchy, Cromwell appeared to enjoy the very kingly powers he obtained after being made Lord Protectorate, including being called Your Highness and sitting on King Edward’s chair. While not officially a monarch of England or Britain, he is a fascinating and controversial figure who served as a representative of England for a number of years, which is why we have included him here.
Born: 25th April 1599, Huntingdon, England
Died: 3rd September 1658 (aged 59), Palace of Whitehall, London&...Read More
After the execution of Charles I, a commonwealth of England (Wales was part of England at the time), Scotland and Ireland was created and administered by Oliver Cromwell. Despite his involvement with abolishing the monarchy, Cromwell appeared to enjoy the very kingly powers he obtained after being made Lord Protectorate, including being called Your Highness and sitting on King Edward’s chair. While not officially a monarch of England or Britain, he is a fascinating and controversial figure who served as a representative of England for a number of years, which is why we have included him here.
Born: 25th April 1599, Huntingdon, England
Died: 3rd September 1658 (aged 59), Palace of Whitehall, London
Reign: 16th December 1653 – 3rd September 1658
Parents: Robert Cromwell and Elizabeth Stewart
Predecessor: Charles I
Successor: Richard Cromwell (son) / Charles II
Spouse: Elizabeth Bourchier
Children: Robert Cromwell, Oliver Cromwell, Bridget Cromwell, Richard Cromwell, Henry Cromwell, Elizabeth Cromwell, James Cromwell, Mary Cromwell and Frances Cromwell.
Royal House: Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland.
Many may be wondering how this seemingly unimportant person from Huntingdon became a king in everything but name. Cromwell didn’t come from complete obscurity, records show that he was actually distantly related to Charles I and was a direct descendent of the equally famous Thomas Cromwell, the minister that arranged Henry VIII’s marriage to Anne of Cleves and presided over the trials of Anne Boleyn.
Image: Statue of Oliver Cromwell
Cromwell was born into the landed gentry and first began to make a name for himself as a politician prior to the English Civil War. Not much is known about his early life before politics, but it is noted that he underwent a religious conversion in the 1630s, becoming an Independent Puritan and resulting in being intensely religious. Throughout his time in parliament and later as Lord Protectorate, he had a relatively tolerant view of Protestants but was not kind to those of a catholic faith and actively referred to other forms of Protestantism as heresy.
Although not brought up in a lifestyle similar to that of the monarchy, Cromwell was a member of the landed gentry on both his mother and father’s sides and went on to marry into money too. His wife, Elizabeth Bourchier was the daughter of a prominent Essex landowner and merchant, giving Cromwell access to networking opportunities which furthered his political and military careers.
As one might expect from a highly religious man, Oliver Cromwell was deemed to be faithful to his wife and brought his family up in a moral and religious household. Together, he and Elizabeth had nine children, two of which died as children and one died while serving the Parliamentarian army. The remaining children included Richard, who would succeed his father as Lord Protector, Henry who would become Lord Deputy of Ireland, and four daughters, all of whom would marry well.
Cromwell’s first foray into politics came in 1628 when he served as a Member of Parliament for his hometown of Huntingdon. He held the position for a year but would appear to have made very little impression. Surviving records show only one speech and it did not seem to have been well received. He didn’t have much time to prove himself however, as Charles I dissolved parliament and instated Personal Rule, ruling without a government for eleven years, something that became known as the 11 Year Tyranny.
Towards the end of the Personal Rule, Charles I had upset several Scottish Bishops resulting in the first Bishop’s War. As only parliament could legally raise funds for conflict, he was forced to recall parliament. Cromwell returned to the House of Commons, but this time as a member for Cambridge. Known as the Short Parliament , the session only lasted for three weeks before it was dismissed. Later the same year, a second was called, this time known as the Long Parliament. Cromwell retained his seat in Cambridge and appeared to be working on behalf of several landowners who had sponsored him to his position.
The English Civil War broke out between parliamentarians and the king while the Long Parliament was in session. Cromwell joined the army created to fight on the side of parliament, recruiting a cavalry troop in Cambridgeshire, blocking a valuable shipment intended for the king and coming to the attention of those in charge.
Before joining the army, his only military experience was in local county militia, but it wasn’t long before he was promoted to a full regiment making up part of the Easter Association under the Earl of Manchester where he gained experience in several actions in East Anglia, notably the Battle of Gainsborough. These missions saw him gain the title of Governor of the Isle of Ely. He was later promoted to Lieutenant General of Horse in the Earl of Manchester’s Army and was credited in securing a parliamentary victory at the Battle of Marston Moor. In fact, so committed was he to his cause, that he was injured during the battle, but returned to the fighting after being patched up by onsite medics.
Because of the ongoing civil war and members of parliament being unavailable due to army commitments, Parliament passed an act forcing members of both Houses to choose between civil office and military command. All of them, except Cromwell, who was given continued extensions and allowed to remain in parliament, chose to renounce their military positions. The new Act also decreed that the parliamentary army be remodelled so it took on a national rather than regional basis. Cromwell contributed to this reform, working to create the New Model Army, which took to the field for the first time in April of 1645. The army was led by Sir Thomas Fairfax, with Cromwell retaining his Lieutenant General position and being seen as Fairfax’s second in command.
The Civil War waged on with victories and defeats on both sides. Eventually the Royalists surrendered when Charles I approached Scottish regiments on 5th May 1646, ending the first batch of civil warfare.
Though Cromwell had no formal military training, his instinctive ability to lead and proven track record made him popular among his men and trusted by parliament, allowing him to raise very quickly through the ranks.
Once the First English Civil War had come to a close, the parliamentarians found themselves split over the issue of the king. The majority appeared to want to disband their armies and pay off the Scots, reinstating the king in return for a presbyterian settlement of the church. However, there were others, Cromwell among them, who felt the only way to truly end the war was to remove the king completely from office.
Parliament decided to negotiate with the King, who was brought out of captivity, but failure to come to an agreement led to the outbreak of more fighting, which became known as the Second English Civil War. Scottish fighters invaded England in support of Charles I and Cromwell rode north to meet them, in sole command of an army for the first time since fighting began. While he was in the north, Thomas Pride MP forcibly removed everyone who was not in support of the New Model Army from parliament in an act known as Pride’s Purge. The remaining body of MPs, the Rump Parliament, agreed that the only way to end the fighting was to execute the king. On his return to London, Cromwell supported Pride’s motion and was the third person to sign his death warrant, one of only 59 signatures. Charles I was tried for high treason, found guilty and executed on 30th January 1649.
Following the execution, a republic was declared in England, Scotland and Ireland, which went by the name of the Commonwealth of England. The Rump Parliament exercised both executive and legislative powers and administered a smaller Council of State which saw to the general running of the country, Cromwell was permitted to sit on both the Parliament and the Council. Tensions continued between parliamentarians, with some wanting to extend suffrage and grant religious tolerance, however Cromwell was one of those who disagreed, stating that such an act would give too much freedom to the people and that if the vote had to be extended, it should only be to landowners. Rebellions sprang up in support of the new voting rules but were quickly crushed by Cromwell and his allies.
Not long after the creation of a Commonwealth, there were revolts in Ireland led by Irish Royalists and Cromwell was chosen to command the campaign against the insurgents. The invasion began in 1649 and occupation lasted into the early 1650s. Parliament were keen to reconquer Ireland and with men and finances now freed up thanks to the end of the civil war, they had plenty of opportunity to push ahead. Though the campaign did not end troubles in Ireland, it was viewed as being effective, with England occupying most of the eastern and northern parts of the country by the end of Cromwell’s campaign.
Historians have stated that Cromwell in particular was very hostile to the Irish, not just politically but religiously and the extent of his brutality while in the country has been strongly debated. Some argue that Cromwell never took responsibility for the killing of civilians, while others note that he did make record of civilians being injured and killed in the crossfire. It is true that troops under his command did kill nearly 3,500 people in one town alone. During the conflict, catholic land was taken and given to Scottish and English settlers and by the end, the public practise of Catholicism was banned and priests were regularly captured and killed.
Despite there being evidence as to Cromwell’s own brutality while in Ireland, the very worst atrocities took place after he had left for England, but it is fair to say that he set a precedent while in command. One such campaign in Ireland saw the killing and deportation of thousands of women and children, many of whom were sold as slaves. It has been noted by some historians that the massacres that took place during the Irish invasion were typical for the time, similar incidents had occurred all over Europe during the recently ended 30 Year’s War, while others equate it to attempted genocide. It is true that Cromwell personally carried out a series of massacres in a bid to end Irish support of Charles II’s attempts to claim his father’s former position. Following Cromwell’s departure, the English Commonwealth, of which he remained a part, adopted a deliberate policy of crop burning and starvation.
Support for Charles II persisted in Scotland as well as Ireland and following Cromwell’s perceived successes, he was commissioned to invade Scotland. It would appear that Cromwell and his forces were much less hostile to the Scottish than they were to the Irish but the war was still a bloody one.
During the invasion of Scotland, Charles II returned to England, attempting to capture London as part of the Battle of Worcester, however, they were overpowered and Charles fled to France where he stayed until 1660. As a result, Scotland was kept under military occupation and was ruled from England for the foreseeable future.
With Charles I dead and Charles II in exile, there were still divisions among the parliamentarians. At one point, Cromwell forcibly cleared the chamber and dissolved parliament, working with allies to set up a new government, known as the Barebone’s Parliament to come up with a permanent solution to the constitution.
The Barebone’s Parliament brought in new legislature which created a new constitution and made Cromwell Lord Protector for life, granting him the ability to run the Commonwealth and giving him administrative and legislative powers. He was sworn in for the first time on 16th December 1653 and then for a second time in June 1657. At the first ceremony, Cromwell and his supporters wore black and kept proceedings brief, but at the second, things were very different. This time around the ceremony mimicked that of a coronation, with Cromwell wearing a purple ermine lined robe and holding a sword and a sceptre. King Edward’s Chair was even moved from Westminster Abbey to Westminster Hall for the occasion, something that seems very ostentatious for someone who wanted to abolish the idea of a monarchy. Even more ostentatious was the fact that Cromwell began to answer to Your Highness and using his powers to create peerages and name his own successor. He also received a large yearly wage.
As Lord Protector, Cromwell appeared to have two main aims: establishing a stable society and finding a solution to ongoing religious conflict across the Commonwealth. As a ruler, Cromwell is believed to have executed a very aggressive and effective foreign policy and only showed tolerance for certain religious denominations. During his tenure, penal laws were passed, allowing the Commonwealth to take control of lands owned by Catholics and redistributed among prominent protestants.
Cromwell died in 1658 and was succeeded by his son Richard, who he had chosen to be the second Lord Protector. Richard’s weakness and incompetence led to a power vacuum, allowing one of Cromwell’s former generals to mount a coup. The coup saw the return to London of Charles I’s son, Charles II and the royalists returned to power in 1660.
Cromwell is believed to have been suffering from malaria and kidney stones at the time of his death and was buried with great ceremony at Westminster Abbey. However, when Charles II was reinstated, his body was exhumed and was subjected to a posthumous execution on the 12th anniversary of Charles I’s own demise. His body was hung in chains at Tyburn and then thrown in a pit before being decapitated. His head was displayed outside Westminster Hall until 1685. Afterwards, it was bought and sold by several collectors and was publicly exhibited on numerous occasions before finally being reburied in 1960. While these events can be proved to have happened, there is some debate as to whether the body subjected to the posthumous execution was actually Oliver Cromwell’s. There were stories that his body had been moved serval times to protect it from royalists. The vault that he was originally buried in, the Cromwell Vault, was later used as a burial place for Charles II’s illegitimate descendants.
However, you view Oliver Cromwell, he continues to be one of the most controversial figures in British and Irish history outside of his role as Lord Protector. Winston Churchill famously referred to him as a military dictator, though later had a falling out with King George VI over naming a warship the Oliver Cromwell. Leon Trotsky, who rose to fame as part of the Russian Revolution called him a Bourgeois revolutionary. In 2002, a BBC Poll saw him named as one of the greatest Britons of all time.
Turnham Green, London
The Battle of Turnham Green took place towards the end of the First Civil War and the site can still be visited today, it is beside Turnham Green tube station.
Astley Hall Museum and Art Gallery, Lancashire
It is said that Oliver Cromwell stayed here during a battle and so called left his boots behind.
Chavenage House, Gloucestershire
Oliver Cromwell’s House, Ely, Cambridgeshire
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