Oliver Cromwell: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 18:44, 8 January 2018

25 April 1599 in Huntingdonshire-3 September 1658.

Oliver Cromwell was leader of the New Model Army and a staunch Parliamentarian. He fought against Charles I and was also involved in the trial against him and his execution in 1649. 1653, Cromwell became Lord Protector of the Commonwealth.

Oliver Cromwell has left distinct impressions on the people of the British Isles. Many consider him the saviour from Stuart tyranny and celebrate the religious freedom he guaranteed, others, especially the Irish, remember him as a relentless person who brutally crushed rebellions slaughtering many inhabitants.

Cromwell was a man of a humble background who lived the first 40 years of his life in obscurity as a farmer and businessman. He studied at Cambridge University for one year before the death of his father urged him to return to Huntingdon. Cromwell became MP in the Parliament of 1628-1629.

When Charles I dissolved Parliament in 1629 Cromwell returned to Huntingdon, where he experienced a spiritual crisis. The puritan beliefs he acquired in the 1630s had a great impact on his life. As a follower of Puritanism he distanced himself from the conventions and rituals of the Church of England (which Puritans deemed superstitious remnants of Catholicism) and was convinced of being spiritually guided and carrying out God’s will. His knowledge that God had a plan for him and for England had an important influence on his later politics.

He began to gain a nationwide reputation when he was elected MP first in the Short Parliament and then in the Long Parliament (1640). In 1642 civil war broke out between Parliament and Charles I, who was supported by a powerful army and the established Church. Despite not having any military experience Cromwell was soon made lieutenant-general of the Parliamentarian Army due to his extraordinary skills in battle. In 1645 Cromwell and his New Model Army won a decisive victory and defeated the Royalists at Naseby.

After the Second Civil War, in which Charles I allied with the Scots, Cromwell was convinced that the King should be prosecuted. In 1649 Charles I was found guilty and sentenced to death. The warrant was signed by Cromwell, amongst others. In 1650 Cromwell landed in Ireland to suppress rebellions. He restored order by infamously slaughtering the Irish in Drogheda and Wexford. By defeating supporters of Charles II at Dunbar (1650) and Worcester (1651) Cromwell successfully put an end to the civil war.

In 1653 he dissolved Parliament and accepted office as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland. As Lord Protector he successfully captured Jamaica (1655) and allied with France to fight Spain. He encouraged the Jews to return to England after they had been expelled by Edward I. He is also famous for refusing the offer of kingship in 1657.

After Cromwell’s death in 1658 his son Richard Cromwell failed in succeeding him and resigned in 1659. The Restoration of the monarchy took place in 1660. Charles II was intent on moving on from the dissensions of the Civil War. Nevertheless, he prosecuted the Regicides, who had signed the death warrant against his father. Thus, Cromwell's corpse was disinterred and publicly executed.

Sources

Crespi, Alfred. "Oliver Cromwell." After Work 3 (1876): 104-108.

Morrill, John. Oliver Cromwell and the English Revolution. London: Longman, 1990.

Roots, Ivan. Cromwell: A Profile. London: Macmillan, 1973.

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-                              '''A Historical Outline
+April 1599 in Huntingdonshire-3 September 1658.
-                         '''of the Life of Oliver Cromwell''''''
-'''1509'''
-Henry VIII ascended to the throne of England later beheading wives, Sir Thomas More, and anyone else in the way. Thomas Cromwell, an ex-soldier, became Henry's advisor. His suggestion "Why don't you try getting a divorce from this one, instead of cutting off her head as usual?" led to the establishment of the Anglican Church in 1532 and the first translation of the Bible into English in 1537.
-'''1599'''
-Oliver Cromwell was born on 25 April in Huntingdonshire, in fulfillment of the prophecies.
-'''1618'''
+Oliver Cromwell was leader of the New Model Army and a staunch [[Roundhead|Parliamentarian]].
-Oliver began his travels in the Middle East, spending time in Damascus, Cairo, the northern Arabian desert, and elsewhere in western Asia and north-eastern Africa.
+He fought against [[Charles I]] and was also involved in the trial against him and his execution in 1649.
+, Cromwell became [[Lord Protector]] of the [[Commonwealth]].
-Detailed itineraries of his time there have been lost to history. What becomes clear later is that he spent most of his time studying a wide variety of indigenous fighting techniques while developing his own style of mixed martial arts.
+Oliver Cromwell has left distinct impressions on the people of the British Isles. Many consider him the saviour from [[Stuarts|Stuart]] tyranny and celebrate the religious freedom he guaranteed, others, especially the Irish, remember him as a relentless person who brutally crushed rebellions slaughtering many inhabitants.
-'''1623'''
+Cromwell was a man of a humble background who lived the first 40 years of his life in obscurity as a farmer and businessman. He studied at Cambridge University for one year before the death of his father urged him to return to Huntingdon. Cromwell became MP in the [[Parliament]] of 1628-1629.
-Oliver returned to England.
+When [[Charles I]] dissolved Parliament in 1629 Cromwell returned to Huntingdon, where he experienced a spiritual crisis. The [[Puritanism|puritan]] beliefs he acquired in the 1630s had a great impact on his life. As a follower of [[Puritanism]] he distanced himself from the conventions and rituals of the [[Church of England]] (which Puritans deemed superstitious remnants of [[Catholicism]]) and was convinced of being spiritually guided and carrying out God’s will. His knowledge that God had a plan for him and for England had an important influence on his later politics.
-'''1625'''
-Oliver published A New & Violent Meanes of Fighting, based on what he learned and developed during his time in Damascus, Cairo, and elsewhere in the Middle East 1618-1623.
- '''1627'''
-Oliver invented an early version of the cotton gin
- to mechanize harvests on his farm.
-This led to vastly increased English cotton production.
- '''1628'''
+He began to gain a nationwide reputation when he was elected MP first in the [[Short Parliament]] and then in the [[Long Parliament]] (1640). In 1642 [[Civil War|civil war]] broke out between Parliament and Charles I, who was supported by a powerful army and the established Church. Despite not having any military experience Cromwell was soon made lieutenant-general of the Parliamentarian Army due to his extraordinary skills in battle. In 1645 Cromwell and his New Model Army won a decisive victory and defeated the [[Cavaliers|Royalists]] at Naseby.
-Oliver joined parliament representing Huntingdonshire.
- '''1642'''
+After the Second Civil War, in which Charles I allied with the Scots, Cromwell was convinced that the King should be prosecuted. In 1649 Charles I was found guilty and sentenced to death. The warrant was signed by Cromwell, amongst others. In 1650 Cromwell landed in Ireland to suppress rebellions. He restored order by infamously slaughtering the Irish in Drogheda and Wexford. By defeating supporters of [[Charles II]] at Dunbar (1650) and Worcester (1651) Cromwell successfully put an end to the civil war.
-Civil Wars broke out. Oliver joined the anti-king Parliamentarians against the pro-king Royalists, a.k.a. the Cavaliers. He led the New Model Army, nicknamed the "Roundheads," and rampaged through England.
-'''1644'''
+In 1653 he dissolved Parliament and accepted office as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland. As Lord Protector he successfully captured Jamaica (1655) and allied with France to fight Spain. He encouraged the [[Judaism|Jews]] to return to England after they had been expelled by [[Edward I]]. He is also famous for refusing the offer of kingship in 1657.
-The anti-royal forces won stunning victories after they adopted a method of hand-to-hand combat developed by Oliver — a synthesis of traditional sporting fisticuffs, Irish pub brawling, and Moorish edged-weaponry work. While initially denigrated as "Crom-Fu" by its detractors (most of which were royalists), it eventually became the standard hand-to-hand combat method employed by elite English (and later, British) forces, and has come to proudly bear the name once used to scorn it. It is used today by the SAS and SBS.
- '' 1646'''
+After Cromwell’s death in 1658 his son [[Richard Cromwell]] failed in succeeding him and resigned in 1659. The [[Restoration]] of the monarchy took place in 1660. Charles II was intent on moving on from the dissensions of the Civil War. Nevertheless, he prosecuted the Regicides, who had signed the death warrant against his father. Thus, Cromwell's corpse was disinterred and publicly executed.
-King Charles I fled to Scotland and his son fled to France, both of them crying like little girls. The Scots soon realized, "Hey, it's not like he's a Scottish king," and ransomed Charles I to Cromwell's forces. ( what a pity!)
- '''1649'''
-The trial and execution of Charles I, and establishment of the Commonwealth, both under Oliver's leadership.
-Cromwell became Lord-General and Commander in Chief of the Commonwealth, and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.
+'''Sources'''
-This period is often referred to as the English Renaissance due to the flourishing of the arts and sciences under Oliver Cromwell's guidance.
+Crespi, Alfred. "Oliver Cromwell." ''After Work'' 3 (1876): 104-108.
-'''1651'''
-An exploration representing Oliver's new government discovered Australia.
-The newly discovered land was quickly settled and became very productive.
-Local factories were established to construct cotton gins of Oliver's design. These were then used to process the cotton crop that soon covered most of the new continent's arable lands.
+Morrill, John. ''Oliver Cromwell and the English Revolution''. London: Longman, 1990.
-'''1653''' Oliver Cromwell was coronated as Lord Protector of England.
+Roots, Ivan. ''Cromwell: A Profile''. London: Macmillan, 1973.
-England without a king was working out just fine, so why not England without a Parliament? Oliver disbanded Parliament, no doubt to the surprise of remaining Parliamentarians, and established the Protectorate.
-Despite his Puritanism and military ruthlessness, the Protectorate is said to have been a time of religious tolerance, governmental stability, and economic progress.( Well, if you ignore Ireland.... )
-Science also benefitted. Early forms of telegraphy were used to link outlying regions to Oliver's capital of London.
-Visual semaphore methods had been used to signal from hilltop to hilltop, but under Oliver's patronage an early form of electrical telegraphy using low-power voltaic piles was used at least in southern England.
-The "Voltaik Semaphore", as it was known, provided links from Canterbury, Winchester, Salisbury and Bath to London.
-Unfortunately, all this progress was discarded by the rather backward and superstitious royal family when the Cromwellian Protectorate was overthrown in 1660. Britain would not see another efficient and fast long-distance communication system until the second telegraphy revolution of the mid 1800s.
- '''1655'''
-Under Oliver's leadership, the wide-spread practice of slavery in England was banished. Slavery had been practiced in England since slaves were first brought to the island by the Normans in 1066. Oliver became known as "The Great Emancipator" and his face appeared on one-pence coins minted 1656-1660. Many of the emancipated slaves, mostly Belgians brought by their Norman French masters following the invasion of 1066, were shipped to Australia, where they established cotton plantations in that suitably warm and dry climate. The strong tradition of Belgian culture so prominent in today's Australia comes from Oliver's emancipation.
-'''1656'''
-Oliver welcomed the banished Jewish people back to England. The Jews had been expelled in 1290 under Edward I(see Wikipedia articles for details of the expulsion).
-  London was largely rebuilt under Oliver's direction, following his personal designs to make it a shining outpost of civilization beyond the western shore of Europe.
-'''1658'''
-Oliver died, 3 September 1658
-'''1660'''
-Oliver's inept son Richard ran the Protectorate poorly, so in what is widely believed to be one of the worst political moves ever, English mobs overthrew the Protectorate. Charles II was invited back from exile in France, where he was undergoing treatment for advanced syphillis. Cromwells started leaving Britain for the Colonies, mostly Maryland.