Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell (April 25, 1599 - September 3, 1658) was an English statesman and soldier born in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire. He was educated at Huntingdon Grammar School and Sydney Sussex College, Cambridge, and went on to study law in London. He is often referred to as "God's Englishman".
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Parliamentarian
Sponsored by the Montagu family, he was elected as a Member of Parliament (M.P.) for Huntingdon to the House of Commons in 1628. When Parliament was dissolved by King Charles I in 1629, Cromwell took up farming in Huntingdon. Soon afterwards he was converted to Puritanism. When Charles was forced by a shortage of funds to recall Parliament in 1640, Cromwell was returned to this Parliament as the M.P. for Cambridge. Known as the Short Parliament, Charles again dissolved the house after only 3 weeks. A second Parliament was called later in 1640, afterwards known as the Long Parliament. Cromwell returned to this Parliament again as M.P for Cambridge.
The Civil War
Cromwell was a fierce critic of King Charles and on the outbreak of the Civil War in 1642 he joined the Parliamentary army, serving under Edward Montagu, the Duke of Manchester. Although Cromwell had no military training, his experience as a large landowner had given him a good knowledge of horses. Cromwell became convinced that if he could produce a well-disciplined army he could defeat the Royalist forces under the king's nephew Prince Rupert, the Duke of Cumberland, and his Cavaliers. He also knew, as a result of his limited experience with the local county militia that pikemen, armed with sixteen-foot-long pikes, who stood their ground during a cavalry attack, could do a tremendous amount of damage.
Cromwell had also realised that the Prince's cavalry were poorly disciplined, and that after they charged the enemy they then went in pursuit of individual targets. At the first major battle of the civil war at Edgehill, the majority of the Prince's cavalry did not return to the battlefield until over an hour after the initial charge. By this time the horses were so tired they were unable to mount another attack.
Cromwell instead trained his cavalry to stay together after a charge, and in this way his forces could repeatedly charge the Cavaliers. Cromwell's new cavalry took part in its first major battle at Marston Moor in Yorkshire in July 1644. The king's forces suffered a crushing defeat, and Cromwell's soldiers became known as the Ironsides because of the way they cut through the Cavaliers on the battlefield. Cromwell himself earned the nickname Old Ironsides.
New Model Army
At the beginning of the Civil War, Parliament relied on soldiers recruited by large landowners who supported their cause. In February 1645, Parliament decided to form a new army of professional soldiers. This army of 22,000 men became known as the New Model Army and its commander-in-chief was General Thomas Fairfax. Cromwell was placed in charge of its cavalry.
Members of the New Model Army received proper military training and by the time they went into battle they were very well-disciplined. Previously, people only became officers because they came from powerful and wealthy families. In the New Model Army men were promoted when they showed themselves to be good soldiers. For the first time it became possible for working-class men to become army officers. Cromwell thought it was very important that soldiers in the New Model Army believed strongly in what they were fighting for. Where possible he recruited men who, like him, held strong Puritan views and the New Model Army always went into battle singing psalms, convinced that God was on their side.
One strong faction among the regiments of the Army were known loosely as the "Levellers" "for they intend to sett all things straight, and rayse a parity and community in the kingdom".[1] who subscribed to a belief in the "natural rights" of men that had been violated by the king's side. These natural rights, they asserted, came from the law of God expressed in the Bible.
The Battle of Naseby
The New Model Army took part in its first major battle just outside the village of Naseby in Northamptonshire on 14 June 1645. The battle began when Prince Rupert led a charge against the left wing of the parliamentary cavalry which scattered and Rupert's men then gave chase. While this was going on Cromwell launched an attack on the left wing of the royalist cavalry. This was also successful and the royalists that survived the initial charge fled from the battlefield. Cromwell then ordered his cavalry to attack the now unprotected flanks of the infantry. Charles I was waiting with 1,200 men in reserve, but instead of ordering them forward to help his infantry he decided to retreat. Without support from the cavalry, the royalist infantry realised their task was impossible and surrendered. By the time Prince Rupert's cavalry returned to the battlefield the fighting had ended and his horses were exhausted after their long chase and not in a fit state to take on Cromwell's cavalry. The prince had no option but to ride off in search of the fleeing Charles I.
The battle was disastrous for the king, with 1,000 of his men killed, and another 4,500 of his most experienced men taken prisoner. The Parliamentary forces were also able to capture the Royalist baggage train that contained the king's complete stock of guns and ammunition. After Naseby, Charles was never able to raise another army strong enough to defeat the parliamentary army in a major battle.
Second English Civil War
In January 1647, Charles I fled to Scotland where he was captured and handed over to the New Model Army. Charles was imprisoned in Hampton Court, but in November 1647 he escaped and managed to rally support to raise another army. This time he was able to persuade the Scots to fight on his side. However, in August 1648 Cromwell's New Model Army defeated the Scots army (the "Engagers") at Preston, where Cromwell tool sole command for the first time over an army of 9,000, which won a brilliant victory against the 18,000 strong Scots force.Once again Charles was taken prisoner.
Politics and regicide
Now that Parliament was in full control of England its members began to argue amongst themselves. Most Members of Parliament were Presbyterians, and were willing to share power with the king. Presbyterians also had strong feelings on religion. They disapproved of other puritan groups such as the Anabaptists, Quakers and Congregationalists and wanted them suppressed. The other major group were called the Independents. They tended to be followers of the religious groups that the Presbyterians wanted to suppress. The Independents argued for a policy of religious toleration. Some Independents also wanted to bring an end to the monarchy.
The Independents had a strong following in the New Model Army and had the support of Cromwell. Afraid of their power, Presbyterian members of the House of Commons now tried to disband the army. The soldiers were furious, especially as Parliament made no effort to pay them the wages that were due to them. The army decided to take action and the Presbyterians were expelled from Parliament. With the Independents now in control, it was decided to put Charles I on trial as a traitor. In 1649 Charles was found guilty and executed by beheading outside his Whitehall Palace.
The Independents now passed a series of new laws. The monarchy, the House of Lords and the Anglican church were abolished. Lands owned by the royal family and the church were sold and the money was used to pay the parliamentary soldiers. The Independents also kept their promise regarding religious toleration. People were no longer fined for not attending their local church. However, everyone was still expected to attend some form of religious worship on Sundays.
Conquest of Ireland
In August 1649, Cromwell and 12,000 soldiers arrived in Ireland to eradicate the military threat of the alliance between the Irish Confederate Catholics and English royalists, and also to punish the Irish for their rebellion in 1641. After initially landing at Dublin on August 15, 1649 Cromwell captured the fortified port towns of Drogheda and Wexford. When Drogheda fell to the siege in September 1649, Cromwell's troops massacred nearly 3,500 people. Although this figure comprised around 2,700 royalist soldiers and all the men in the town bearing arms, a concerted propaganda campaign followed which ensured Cromwell was seen as a bloodthirsty tyrant in the national consciousness of Ireland. As recently as the 20th century Irish novelist James Joyce wrote in his novel Ulysses: "What about sanctimonious Cromwell and his ironsides that put the women and children of Drogheda to the sword with the bible text "God is love" pasted round the mouth of his cannon?".
In May 1650 Cromwell learned that Charles II had landed in Scotland and been proclaimed king by the Scots Covenanter regime so he returned to England to put down this latest threat, leaving Henry Ireton and Edmund Ludlow in command of the English forces. The last Catholic held town, Galway, surrendered in April 1652 and the last Irish troops surrendered in April 1653.
Conquest of Scotland
In an effort to avert war, Cromwell appealed to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland to break their alliance with the royalists, famously urging them: "I beseech you, in the bowels of Christ, think it possible you may be mistaken." The Scot's rejected peace, and Cromwell invaded in August, 1650. After early setbacks, Cromwell destroyed the main Covenanter army at the battle of Dunbar on September 3 1650. Leaving 4,000 Scottish soldiers dead and 10,000 taken prisoner, he quickly moved to capture the Scottish capital of Edinburgh. In 1651 Charles II and the remaining Covenanters made a final desperate bid to invade England and capture London while Cromwell was still in Scotland. Cromwell rapidly pursued them south, however, and caught them at Worcester in September. In the ensuing battle Cromwell's forces wiped out the last major Scottish royalist army. Scotland was henceforward ruled from England under military occupation.
Lord Protector
By 1653 Cromwell and his Army effectively controlled all Britain, and in December 1653 the Army decided that Cromwell should become England's new ruler. Some officers wanted him to become king but he refused and instead took the title Lord Protector of the Commonwealth. Cromwell now imposed martial law in England and the country was divided into eleven districts, each district being overseen by a Major-General. The responsibilities of these Major-Generals included maintaining order, collecting taxes, granting poor relief and imposing Puritan morality. In some districts bear-baiting, cock-fighting, horse-racing and wrestling were banned. Betting and gambling were also forbidden. Large numbers of pubs were closed and fines were imposed on people heard swearing. In some districts, the Major-Generals also closed the theatres.
Former members of the Levellers grew disillusioned with the dictatorial policies of Cromwell and in 1655 Edward Sexby, John Wildman and Richard Overton were involved in fomenting a plot to overthrow the government, but the conspiracy was discovered and the men were forced to flee to the Netherlands. In May 1657 Edward Sexby published (under the pseudonym William Allen) Killing No Murder, a political pamphlet that argued the justification of an assassination of Cromwell. The following month he arrived in England to carry out the assassination, but was arrested and imprisoned in the Tower of London.
In 1658 Cromwell announced that he wanted his son, Richard Cromwell, to replace him as Lord Protector of the Commonwealth. The English army was unhappy with this decision. While they respected Oliver as a skillful military commander, Richard was just a country farmer.
Oliver Cromwell died on 3rd September 1658. His son became Lord Protector but in May 1659, the generals forced him to retire from government. As a result of the Restoration in 1660, Cromwell's body was disinterred from the tomb of kings in Westminster Abbey and was hung from the gallows at Tyburn.
Further reading
- Ashley, Maurice The Greatness of Oliver Cromwell (Macmillan, New York; 1958). Full text online at Questia.
- Blauvelt, Mary Taylor Oliver Cromwell: A Dictator's Tragedy (G.P. Putnam's Sons, New York; 1937). Full text online at Questia.
- Paul, Robert S. The Lord Protector: Religion and Politics in the Life of Oliver Cromwell (William B. Eerdmans Publishing, Grand Rapids, Michigan; 1964).
Full text online at Questia. - Morley, John Oliver Cromwell (Century, New York; 1900). Full text online at Questia.
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