Oliver Cromwell was born in 1599 in Huntingdon. Thomas Cromwell, a distant relative, had secured his family monastic lands. His grandfather used to entertain the King, as well as other prominent people. His father, however, inherited a little family fortune, but following increased debts, he sold his fortune and obtained a lease in St. Ives. In the year 1634, Cromwell attempted to migrate to America, but the government prevented him from leaving. He had already converted to Puritan faith because he did not enjoy the popish ceremonies. He longed for a time when gospel would be preached unadorned. He remained strong in his religion. He, in fact, preached illegally where he would call for assemblies. Cromwell vied for a parliamentarian seat at Cambridge when he got the chance (Covington 8).
Oliver Cromwell is a person who rose from, a middle level society, to become Lord Protector of Ireland, Scotland, as well as England. He remains the only lord Protector, who was non-royal, to hold that position. He played a key role to bring ensure the trial and execution of Charles I. He undertook a brutal conquest that England has ever undertaken against their neighbour. He also championed the fight for the struggle for freedom of religion, which was unheard of in England. However, his experiment collapsed a few years after his death. He remains a contentious figure in the world history (Gaunt 17).
Member of Parliament
Cromwell was a visible parliamentarian between 1640 to 1642. He remained outspoken when it came to church reforms. He was also the first man to demand abolition of church bishops. He was also a prominent member of parliament to force the ruling king to call for annual parliament sessions. Oliver demanded that home defence be controlled by people, appointed by the parliament, rather than being under the control of the king. During the civil war, he was sent to provinces in order to raise the troops to ‘defend the realm’. He managed to galvanize Huntingdon and Ely areas. He also used force to ensure that Cambridge colleges did not send silver to the headquarters where the king lived, to support the war efforts (Storrs 85).
He was commissioned to the army where he spent four years. In 1645, he went back to parliament. Bitterly, he denounced generals in the parliament for lack of a willing heart to promote low religious men who longed for victory over men who preferred negotiation and compromised peace. It was quite controversial that he was not recalled back to serve back in the parliament when the other members were recalled. However, he served in the ‘New Model Army’ on 40 day commissions. In 1647, he was named and confirmed lieutenant General.
In 1648, Oliver argued that the king needed to accept his political allies to serve as ministers; hence guaranteeing freedom of religion to all Protestants. This put him into conflict with parliamentarians who wanted Church of England to be replaced with Presbyterian Church following Calvin teachings and Scotland experiences. Radical voices had also come up demanding democracy including the right to vote. For a long time, Oliver trusted that the king would give in to his proposals. However, when second civil war broke out, the king escaped from the custody of the army, and Oliver rounded on him, and killed him (Sherwood 49).
Soldier
Oliver lacked military experience and his rise is termed as spectacular. In 1642, he became a captain, in 1643 he became colonel who was in charge of Cavalry, and 1645 he became Lieutenant General. Between 1649- 1650, Oliver was a lord general in Ireland. In the year 1642, he assisted in bringing East Anglia under the control of the parliament. Oliver is also remembered for structuring civilian support by ensuring constant flow of money, as well as troop supplies. Out of the ten greatest battles, Oliver participated in two of them. He would move his troops to far places such as Newbury and York. He played a significant role in the victory of Marston in 1644. He would also play vital roles in major battle fields and also campaign planning. For instance, he destroyed royalist armies in Northampton (Sherwood 64).
Oliver cannot be termed as military innovator or a tactician. However, he was characterized by, extraordinary ability, to make his men believe in themselves. He would tell them that God was always with them and willing to protect them. God would also give them victory. He also ensured that his men were well paid and fed even if that meant acquiring extra supplies. In 1647, Oliver struggled a great deal to bring unity within the army when the parliament attempted to disband parliament before reaching a political settlement by defeating the king (Covington 18). Cromwell also wanted to see fair and equal distribution of national wealth and resources by eliminating monarchy and establishing a new constitution that would allow for those changes. In 1648, King Charles attempted to overturn his defeat by forming alliances with Scots and former royalists. He also wanted parliamentarians to rise. This led to division of the entire new model and Oliver got the biggest share of work by crushing rebels in the South Wales hence defeating Scots and pacifying Yorkshire (Storrs 81).
In 1649, at summer time, Cromwell went to Ireland to put it under English control and confiscate all the lands belonging to rebels. This resulted to distribution of at least 40% of Ireland to non-Catholics born in Britain (Covington 21). He first targeted Drogheda, which he stormed and ended up capturing and killing more than 2,500 armed men. Several catholic priests and soldiers were also killed. This was, however, in accordance with ‘war laws’, but the general went far beyond that. This is still a controversial conquest to date. In 1650, he was sent to Scotland where King Charles II had been crowned king of Britain and Ireland. He brutally wiped out all the royal armies and established military that lasted until 1660. In 1661, he went back to London in an entry that was roman style triumph. People predicted that Cromwell would become the king of Britain (Gaunt 77).
Statesman
Oliver Cromwell stayed in London from 1651 until his death, seven years later. He remained powerful in the parliament being the lord General. He also served as the council of the state (the 41st man). He was getting irritated by self-serving the development of long term solutions, and he eventually lost patience in 1653. He decided to use military force so as to disband the parliament. He aimed at establishing what was referred to as a ‘parliament of saints’ and bring a new constitution that would allow gospel values of freedom. He wanted the country to turn from things of the flesh to spiritual things. After five months power was surrendered back to Oliver by the parliament. He was advised, by his army colleagues, to take power as constitutional monarch through a paper constitution (Storrs 82).
Cromwell did not seem averse to Monarchy. He wanted to have Charles II replaced by one of his sons, even during Regicide. He had declined the title in 1652 and so given the powers that had been assigned to monarchy under the title Lord Protector (Covington 15). He had to work closely with the council of State. He was also constrained to meet the parliamentarians regularly. His commitment was mainly on religious liberty. He formed a state church under the name Cromwell, but it was not attended. However, everyone include Catholics, was allowed to have private worship. Membership was not through qualification as done in public universities and public offices (Gaunt 82).
Those people who condemned other faiths denied that Jesus was the son of God and those who disturbed other people’s liberty were put under regulation. Oliver desired to see a common wealth that was godly. He would indeed become rough on those who came his way. For example, some people would raise tax without consent and override the law that protected ex-royalists. Such people would be imprisoned without trial because Cromwell believed they wanted to interfere with his regime (Sherwood 93).
Assessment
In 1657, Oliver’s conservative supporters attempted to make him the king so as to place him under the influence of ancient restrictions, as well as rules. Once again he refused the title. He, however, accepted that his powers be redefined in ‘The Humble Petition and Advised’. Unfortunately, his health deteriorated, and died in 1658 (Gaunt 78). He was buried in Westminster Abbey. Before his death, Oliver led the minority government. This government, together with the coalition that he represented stopped following his death, paving the way for restoration 20 months later.
Oliver’s achievements can be termed as transient, but, in the short term, it was negative. He is believed to have escalated Ireland’s instability whereby Catholics were oppressed. The financial and military reforms underpinned them. However, the same person spearheaded religious liberty in Britain, which is the role of the leaders to their people. His activities inspired nonconformists, as well as liberals in the nineteenth century. Several roads in Britain have been named after him. He remains a dominant person/ figure in the history of Britain. He is also the only public figure with whom many people disagree about (Storrs 84).
Apart from the positives, the critical receptions that Cromwell received are significant. Storrs shows that he was of deep religious conviction to the point that he never believed in individual talent but rather God’s providence (85). This was a negative as Britain at the time believed in empirical thinkers as opposed to rational which Cromwell advocated. Furthermore, his oratory skills were deemed low, but still delivered with passion. Sherwood (56) shows that Cromwell was never a man of his word, for instance, he advocated for equality of all religions yet deep down he knew it was recipe for disaster.
In conclusion, Oliver Cromwell cannot be termed as a villain. Instead, he comes out as a hero following the above discussion. He is a person who fought for what he believed in. As a member of parliament, he fought for freedom of worship. He believed that all people did not have to be Catholics, but they had to choose the religion they believed in; hence the fight for protestant rights. He even ensured establishment of a protestant church, which was under him. He also served as a soldier, and we have discovered that he played a key role in paramount battlefields. He would easily influence his men because he made them trust that God would help them win. This encouraged them to fight, and would win several battles, for example, in Ireland. Oliver also served as a statesman between 1651-1658. He was a respected leader because it was found that, on many occasions, his colleagues wanted to make him the king of Britain.
Works Cited
Covington, Sarah. Revolutionary England, 1642-1702. Oxford: Oxford University Press. (2010). Print. : 3-30
Gaunt, Peter. Oliver Cromwell. London: British Library. (2004). Print. : 3+
Sherwood, Edward, R. Oliver Cromwell: King in All But Name, 1653-1658. New York: Palgrave McMillan. (1997). Print. : 23-166
Storrs, Jean E. S. "The King and the Gentleman: Charles Stuart and Oliver Cromwell, 1599-1649." Library Journal 124.17 (1999): 80-87. ABI/INFORM Complete. Web. 22 May 2012.
